Tara Olivo, Associate Editor06.21.23
A startup from Berlin is on the cusp of launching a new plant-based tampon derived from an unexpected source—seaweed.
Ines Schiller, founder and CEO of Vyld (pronounced “wild”), has been working on the development of 100% biodegradable seaweed-based tampons, which she calls “kelpons,” since 2021. A trained neuroscientist and philosopher, Schiller has also worked as a film producer and scriptwriter for her own company. At a certain point, she felt the urge to do more in the real world outside of the film industry and went to South Africa to become a certified marine guide.
“This is the moment where I came across seaweed in very much detail and I really understood the importance of it for the marine ecosystem and how versatile it is,” she recalls. “We know we can eat seaweed—it’s a superfood, it’s healthy—but there’s so much more you can do with it. This idea that we can grow something in the ocean that actually gives back to the ocean while growing it—and then we can also produce healthy products from it, that was really the initial idea.”
After returning to Germany, Schiller began working in biotechnology in the cultivated meat sector and worked with the first European cultivated fish company. In this field seaweed was also present all the time in many different mediums. “That really was the last push that I needed to understand that there must be a way to mainstream seaweed as a sustainable raw material in applications that make sense,” she says.
When Schiller was looking into seaweed and its different applications, she was amazed by how many fields it is already used in. Besides the food industry, it’s also used widely in medical applications. “That’s when I realized we already know it’s safe because it’s already used in these really sensitive areas,” she says.
For Schiller, period products were the logical way to go because, as she discovered, seaweed comes with the exact properties needed for period products. “It’s healthy and it’s naturally absorbent,” she says. “The period product world and the seaweed industry are very far away from each other, but I think it is very important that someone is doing the job that we’re doing at the moment. There are also other startups working on seaweed-based products, but it’s only us for period products to bridge that gap and act as a translator between them.”
This is especially the case for cotton because of the way the fiber absorbs fluid is harsh, she adds. “That’s why many menstruators have problems with cotton tampons because it can irritate the skin, but it also dries out the vaginal environment and sometimes hurts during insertion or removal. This is one of the problems we are solving with the seaweed fiber because the seaweed fiber is very soft in general and the way that it absorbs is much more suited to the menstrual fluid, which is very viscous, it’s not like water—it also contains cells—and so our fiber really helps the product feel better and respects the vaginal microbiome. It also absorbs better, and in terms of the absorption capacity it is superior to cotton. With that we can really bridge this gap that exists, that there are products that perform very well but usually contain plastic and there are more sustainable ones without plastic but then they don’t really perform very well—they leak and irritate the skin. That’s the solution that we’re bringing. And of course, in terms of sustainability, seaweed is a sustainability champion.”
Another benefit to seaweed is that they are not limited to a specific species. Vyld is currently using European seaweed, but it could also use an American seaweed species for the American market. This is also another benefit compared to cotton, which is grown in a very limited area, Schiller says.
According to Vyld, seaweed is one of the most sustainable materials around and a regenerative resource—its controlled cultivation doesn't harm the oceans but can actually help them. Seaweeds grow super-fast and as a zero-input-crop, without fresh water, pesticides, fertilizers or land resources. In the process, algae bind large amounts of CO2 and nitrogen and produce more oxygen than trees.
Photo: Clemens Barth
To get the fiber, there is an extraction process that gives the company one of the polymers that they can then use to spin the fibers, in a similar fashion to how viscose is formed, and they can adjust the fiber properties. Also, because the fiber has a white or beige color naturally, it doesn’t need to be bleached. Moreover, because the whole seaweed biomass isn’t used, there aren’t issues with heavy metals or iodine, aspects that are typically relevant for food applications.
Vyld is just beginning its first consumer trial for the “kelpons,” and it hopes to launch on the market by early next year. The company is also working on other products as part of its vision of a “regenerative algaeverse.” It is currently running a baby diaper project, and adult incontinence care is of interest to the company because of the high volumes and waste. “Everything you can imagine at this point being cotton or viscose can be made with our fibers,” Schiller says.
Ines Schiller, founder and CEO of Vyld (pronounced “wild”), has been working on the development of 100% biodegradable seaweed-based tampons, which she calls “kelpons,” since 2021. A trained neuroscientist and philosopher, Schiller has also worked as a film producer and scriptwriter for her own company. At a certain point, she felt the urge to do more in the real world outside of the film industry and went to South Africa to become a certified marine guide.
“This is the moment where I came across seaweed in very much detail and I really understood the importance of it for the marine ecosystem and how versatile it is,” she recalls. “We know we can eat seaweed—it’s a superfood, it’s healthy—but there’s so much more you can do with it. This idea that we can grow something in the ocean that actually gives back to the ocean while growing it—and then we can also produce healthy products from it, that was really the initial idea.”
After returning to Germany, Schiller began working in biotechnology in the cultivated meat sector and worked with the first European cultivated fish company. In this field seaweed was also present all the time in many different mediums. “That really was the last push that I needed to understand that there must be a way to mainstream seaweed as a sustainable raw material in applications that make sense,” she says.
When Schiller was looking into seaweed and its different applications, she was amazed by how many fields it is already used in. Besides the food industry, it’s also used widely in medical applications. “That’s when I realized we already know it’s safe because it’s already used in these really sensitive areas,” she says.
For Schiller, period products were the logical way to go because, as she discovered, seaweed comes with the exact properties needed for period products. “It’s healthy and it’s naturally absorbent,” she says. “The period product world and the seaweed industry are very far away from each other, but I think it is very important that someone is doing the job that we’re doing at the moment. There are also other startups working on seaweed-based products, but it’s only us for period products to bridge that gap and act as a translator between them.”
A Sustainable & Comfortable Choice
Typically, tampons are made with viscose or cotton, but Schiller says these fibers are used because they are both commodities. “It’s not because they are very suited for the application,” she says.This is especially the case for cotton because of the way the fiber absorbs fluid is harsh, she adds. “That’s why many menstruators have problems with cotton tampons because it can irritate the skin, but it also dries out the vaginal environment and sometimes hurts during insertion or removal. This is one of the problems we are solving with the seaweed fiber because the seaweed fiber is very soft in general and the way that it absorbs is much more suited to the menstrual fluid, which is very viscous, it’s not like water—it also contains cells—and so our fiber really helps the product feel better and respects the vaginal microbiome. It also absorbs better, and in terms of the absorption capacity it is superior to cotton. With that we can really bridge this gap that exists, that there are products that perform very well but usually contain plastic and there are more sustainable ones without plastic but then they don’t really perform very well—they leak and irritate the skin. That’s the solution that we’re bringing. And of course, in terms of sustainability, seaweed is a sustainability champion.”
Another benefit to seaweed is that they are not limited to a specific species. Vyld is currently using European seaweed, but it could also use an American seaweed species for the American market. This is also another benefit compared to cotton, which is grown in a very limited area, Schiller says.
According to Vyld, seaweed is one of the most sustainable materials around and a regenerative resource—its controlled cultivation doesn't harm the oceans but can actually help them. Seaweeds grow super-fast and as a zero-input-crop, without fresh water, pesticides, fertilizers or land resources. In the process, algae bind large amounts of CO2 and nitrogen and produce more oxygen than trees.
Photo: Clemens Barth
Vyld is just beginning its first consumer trial for the “kelpons,” and it hopes to launch on the market by early next year. The company is also working on other products as part of its vision of a “regenerative algaeverse.” It is currently running a baby diaper project, and adult incontinence care is of interest to the company because of the high volumes and waste. “Everything you can imagine at this point being cotton or viscose can be made with our fibers,” Schiller says.
