Performance apparel company Prana is going deeper to get even greener — literally — with a new product polybag made from a proprietary "innovative material" based on an abundant underwater resource: seaweed.
In October 2024, the material innovation startup Sway announced the ground-breaking collaboration with Prana, along with clothing brands Alex Crane, Faherty, and Florence, to swap plastic packaging for fully compostable polybags.
The lightweight, durable bags are made from a mixture of seaweed, plants, and other polymers that naturally break down, making them eligible for industrial composting initiatives while also empowering consumers to compost them at home. Plus, logos and text on the bags are printed with an algae-based ink instead of traditional petroleum-based ink.
Shoppers should expect to see Prana and the other brands rolling out the polybags by the end of 2024 or early 2025 — possibly in time for holiday shopping.
Why is Prana's new collaboration with Sway encouraging?
Prana has been on a mission to discover better ways of delivering its products to shoppers, and its partnership with Sway is helping the brand achieve those aims.
According to Sway, around 160,000 plastic bags are produced every second, and that leads to an incredible amount of waste polluting our oceans, parks, and other community spaces, as well as contributing to overcrowded landfills.
That's partly because traditional plastic bags are typically made using dirty fuels such as oil and gasoline and can take 800 years to break down. However, the Sway x Prana seaweed-based polybag can decompose in six months or less while adding crucial nutrients back into the soil.
"This multi-brand partnership … marks a significant step towards the adoption of biobased, compostable packaging that matches the performance demands of global supply chains," Prana shared in a LinkedIn post.
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"This effort is tethered to positive benefits beyond just reducing pollution — the seaweed in each bag also supports ocean health, climate resilience, and coastal communities."
What is Prana's overall sustainability plan?
The California-based company, which launched the open-source Responsible Packaging Movement in 2020, has been a mover and shaker in the sustainable packaging realm since 2010.
It all started after a disheartening picture from one of its Colorado-based retail stores revealed a mountain of plastic waste after just one day's worth of shipments. In response, the brand developed a "roll pack" method that reduces plastic packaging by basically folding clothing into fabric burritos and securing them with a recyclable raffia tie.
Before collaborating with Sway, Prana had already eliminated plastic polybags in favor of recycled pulp-based paper bags. But seaweed is widely regarded as a more sustainable solution than paper because it's a fast-growing source and can be harvested multiple times per year without exhausting marine ecosystems.
The company reports that it intends to stop using materials from virgin forest fibers by next year.
"There's no end to finding more responsible solutions to packaging, and therefore, we will continue to innovate on our end and support the work others are doing to innovate as well. Our goal is to keep evolving," Prana says on its website. "Always focus on progress not perfection."
Bottom line: Prana is showcasing the innovative possibilities of the sustainable packaging market while still shipping consumers what they need, whether they're prepping to hit the trails, conquer a new climbing challenge, or anything in between.
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