Petrochemicals are superfluous in all of our lives. They are not only in the fuel and lubricants used in machinery, they are used to make plastics and clothing, inks and paints, and so much more. To dive into this topic, Corinna Bellizzi and Tia Walden are joined by Scott Fulbright, CEO and founder of Living Ink, a company that seeks to replace petrochemical-based inks with inks from algae.
00:00 Introduction - Why are we talking about inks on a nutrition podcast?
08:40 Why should you avoid "carbon black" ink from petroleum sources? It's on the list of pollutants listed as cancer causing in California's Proposition 65
10:25 The carbon cost of extracting and refining oil for carbon black ink (the PAH problem) vs. the renewable resource of algae
14:50 Did you know that we interact with ~80,000 chemicals, most of which haven't been tested for their safety?
17:45 Algae biomass as an exponential solution, because it grows constantly and can be harvested daily
19:30 Innovations in fashion using algae ink (including Vollebak's black heather shirts, tinted with algae ink)
24:00 Challenges of innovation from the material science perspective
25:00 Corinna's experience with an organic cotton T-shirt printed with Living Ink at Farm Fresh Clothing Co.
27:15 What algae species has Scott Fulbright eaten?
28:45 Why algae over petroleum? It can feed us. It's carbon-negative, and it even provides over half of the oxygen we breathe.
29:53 Other innovations coming out of algae: alginate fibers for apparel, foam, notPLA plastic replacement, footwear, algae paper, bioplastics, and even the soft gel material in Örlö Nutrition products
33:30 Shifting our mindset to ensure businesses are regenerative, and that our nutrition sources are as well
34:50 The importance of remaining curious, inspiring innovation, and a greener tomorrow
About Our Guest, Scott Fulbright:
Scott has spent his career developing novel products and processes at startups in the biotechnology sector. He spent the last 12 years in the algal byproducts industry including Solix Algredients. He also worked at CSU Ventures promoting the transfer of research and innovation at Colorado State University to the marketplace. During his graduate work he was a National Science Foundation GRFP, IGERT and IREE scholar developing methods to reduce the cost of algae production. At Living Ink, Scott focuses on strategic planning, and collaborating with brands (including Patagonia, Adidas, Nike, and Örlö Nutrition) to incorporate packaging, screen and print Algae Inks within their supply chains.
Living Ink: https://livingink.co/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/living-ink-technologies/about/
Scott's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-fulbright-aa2b0319/
Scott's Ted Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uAAegPkCKo
Scott's interview on Care More Be Better with Corinna Bellizzi: https://caremorebebetter.com/petrochemical-free-this-ink-is-made-from-algae-with-scott-fulbright-ceo-co-founder-of-living-ink/
Companies and Resources Mentioned:
To find out more about Örlö Nutrition, the world's first carbon-negative omega-3 and algae products, visit https://orlonutrition.com. When you visit our podcast page there, you will have access to complete show notes, transcripts, and additional educational resources. You might even choose to pick up an organic cotton tee, cut, sewn, and printed with Living Ink (algae ink) at Farm Fresh Clothing Co. in Northern California. To join the conversation, follow us in social media @orlonutrition, and feel free to email us with topic ideas and guest introductions at hello@orlonutrition.com.