Sway

Sway

Climate Technology Product Manufacturing

San Francisco, CA 16,243 followers

Materials that replenish the planet, from sea to soil.

About us

Sway is a cleantech startup scaling seaweed-based, rapidly compostable replacements for plastic, beginning with flexible packaging. Our patented products match the vital performance attributes of conventional plastics and are designed to plug into existing infrastructure, enabling scale and competitive pricing. Unlike plastic, however, our materials are made from an abundant, regenerative resource and decompose into healthy soil after use. In 2023, Sway won first place in the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize. In 2021, Sway also won the Beyond the Bag Challenge sponsored by Closed Loop Partners and a consortium of major retailers. Sway’s solutions have garnered recognition from Vogue, Condé Nast, Forbes, Business Insider, and Fast Company. As a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, the Sustainable Ocean Alliance, and 1% for the Planet, Sway is working holistically to scale their product for a thriving, equitable future. Sway is headquartered in the California Bay Area. To learn more, visit swaythefuture.com.

Industry
Climate Technology Product Manufacturing
Company size
2-10 employees
Headquarters
San Francisco, CA
Type
Privately Held
Founded
2020
Specialties
Biodiversity, Clean Energy, Bio Materials, Design, Aquaculture, Regeneration, Circular Systems, Biodegradable, Packaging, and Graphic Design

Locations

Employees at Sway

Updates

  • Sway reposted this

    View organization page for prAna, graphic

    41,859 followers

    If you haven't heard, we've partnered up with Sway to pilot their seaweed-based packaging alongside Faherty Brand, Alex Crane, and Florence Marine X! This multi-brand partnership, dubbed the Sway Innovation Coalition, marks a significant step towards the adoption of biobased, compostable packaging that matches the performance demands of global supply chains. 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 🌍💧 Learn more https://lnkd.in/gku8WApX 🌊

  • View organization page for Sway, graphic

    16,243 followers

    You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers! Welcome to a new series where we ask Sway team members your most burning questions 🔥 Part one is all about look and feel. Sway Polybags are a versatile, durable packaging format that can withstand global supply chains. With seaweed as its hero ingredient, this bag helps to divert petroleum and support healthy ecosystems and communities. And while it competes with plastic’s performance, it won’t last forever – returning to nature through home and industrial composting 🌱🌞🐛 Learn more about the Sway Polybag and order free samples at swaythefuture.com/pilot 🌊 #swaythefuture #seaweedpackaging #compostable #compostablepackaging #seaweedbioplastic

  • View organization page for Sway, graphic

    16,243 followers

    Amazing news: the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Accelerator powered by Lonely Whale is a finalist in the Sustainability, Environment & Climate Awareness category of The Anthem Awards! 🌱🎉 As a reminder, Sway won 1st place in the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize, and wouldn't be where we are today (Sway Polybags out in the wild with prAna, Faherty Brand, Alex Crane, and TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize early adopter Florence Marine X) without the Accelerator. We hope to see this amazing initiative honored with The Anthem Awards! Help secure a win for this Accelerator, the oceans, and the broader movement for biomaterials by clicking "celebrate" to cast your vote for the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Accelerator ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ecDtTgjG 🌊

    View organization page for Lonely Whale, graphic

    6,228 followers

    We're finalists! The TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Accelerator powered by Lonely Whale is in the running for The Anthem Awards – but we need your help to secure our win. The Anthem Community Voice Award for social impact excellence is chosen by you. Click "celebrate" to cast your vote for the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Accelerator powered by Lonely Whale and help put the ocean on center stage at this year's Anthem Awards ceremony: https://lnkd.in/ecDtTgjG Voting closes on Thursday, October 31st 11:59 PM PDT. #anthemawards #unwrapthefuture #lonelywhale #impact #awards #innovation #seaweed #plastics

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  • View organization page for Sway, graphic

    16,243 followers

    Meet the Sway Innovation Coalition! prAna, Faherty Brand, Florence Marine X, and Alex Crane are now using Sway Polybags to ship apparel 🌿 This multi-brand partnership, dubbed the #SwayInnovationCoalition, marks a significant step towards the adoption of biobased, compostable packaging that matches the performance demands of global supply chains. 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 🌍💧 Thank you to our amazing production partner EcoEnclose for making this possible! Learn more and order samples at swaythefuture.com/pilot 🌊

  • Sway reposted this

    View profile for Saloni Doshi, graphic

    CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer at EcoEnclose | Leading voice on sustainable packaging

    So excited to announce this game changing milestone: The Sway Polybag! These bags represent a major step forward in disrupting the industry’s reliance on fossil-fuel derived plastic. 👉 Request your free sample today so you can see, touch and test this groundbreaking material. https://lnkd.in/gAWMcKPA Sway Polybags will be available for purchase soon in various stock sizes and fully customizable at high volumes. 🌊 In case you don’t know about Sway already, they are a material innovation startup based in California. They announced their patented Thermoplastic Seaweed technology earlier this year and since then, they’ve been hard at work scaling it into a viable replacement for the virgin poly bag. These bags are made with at least 50% TPSea™, a certified 100% bio-based resin predominantly made with responsibly sourced seaweed.    🌿 At EcoEnclose the north star for packaging is #circularity. For us, this vision means that one day - packaging is made from packaging, becomes packaging again in its next life, and that raw inputs into packaging materials are restorative rather than extractive and polluting.    We recognize that not all bio-based plastic alternatives are better than the fossil fuels they are replacing. Our research has shown that seaweed cultivation holds tremendous promise by regenerating marine ecosystems, mitigating ocean acidity, and has massive potential to store carbon. Read our research here: https://lnkd.in/gZfenxrx Because of seaweed’s strong alignment with our north star and Sway’s deep commitment to sourcing seaweed responsibly while also rapidly developing their innovative films to be used at scale - EcoEnclose is absolutely thrilled to be Sway’s production partner. Throughout our collaboration with them over the past year, we have been continuously impressed by their vision, passion, and ability to quickly iterate on and advance their innovative seaweed-derived resins and films. Thank you to Julia Marsh, Alyssa Pace, and Dennis Blanco and the entire Sway team for being such wonderful extended teammates. And huge shout out to Sarah Hawkins for your dedication to achieving EcoEnclose's north star. #circularity #circularpackaging #regenerative #seaweed #seaweedpackaging #compostablepackaging #sustainablepackaging

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  • View organization page for Sway, graphic

    16,243 followers

    This #compostable bag is made with #seaweed – and now, it’s being used by your favorite brands!! In case you don’t know us already, we’re Sway, a material innovation startup based in California. Since the announcement of our patented Thermoplastic Seaweed technology earlier this year, Sway has been hard at work scaling it into a viable replacement for a particularly pesky kind of plastic: the polybag. Polybags protect products from the time they’re manufactured until they arrive at your doorstep, ensuring your purchase arrives in pristine condition. 180 *billion* plastic polybags are used annually in the fashion industry alone – it’s time for an upgrade. Through much trial and error, we have optimized this material into a versatile, durable format that can withstand global supply chains. With seaweed as its hero ingredient, this bag helps to divert petroleum and support healthy ecosystems and communities. And while it competes with plastic’s performance, it won’t last forever – returning to nature through home and industrial composting 🌱🌞🐛 Learn more at swaythefuture.com/pilot 🌊

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  • View organization page for Sway, graphic

    16,243 followers

    Seaweed helped protect this Burton Snowboards snowboard 🏂 Burton, the iconic snowboard brand and pioneer of the sport, has always been a leader both on and off the mountain through their progression of the sport, product innovation, and increasingly, sustainability! They’ve made amazing progress in their commitment to phasing single-use plastic out of their supply chains. As an Early Adopter in the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize powered by Lonely Whale, Burton was paired with Sway to test out our home compostable, seaweed-based materials. Together, we prototyped a protective board wrap that could replace the problematic films used throughout the industry. Pretty snazzy, huh? While innovation takes time — this sleeve is still in the early stages of research & development! — we’re beyond thrilled to see outdoor industry leaders like Burton championing seaweed packaging! Stay tuned for more as we continue to test and innovate together 🌊❄️💙

  • View organization page for Sway, graphic

    16,243 followers

    Next week, Sway is heading to San Diego for not one, but two events! Find us Monday-Tuesday at Sustainable Brands and Wednesday-Thursday at the 1% for the Planet #GlobalSummit 🌞 Sway CEO & Co-Founder Julia Marsh will be taking the stage at #SB24SanDiego alongside incredible women who have been fundamental in Sway's journey: Karla Mora of Alante Capital, Emy Kane of Lonely Whale, and Ellen Johnson of Columbia Sportswear Company + prAna. Moderated by the incredible Sarah Douglis, this panel will provide an inside look at: 🌊 Why seaweed is growing as an industry and being used in exciting new innovations 🌊 How brands can move beyond sustainability by integrating next-gen materials into their supply chains 🌊 What the future of Sway's seaweed packaging holds — with a special announcement 🤗 Leave a comment if we'll see you there! Location: Town & Country Ballroom B, 4-5pm on 10/15 Learn more: bit.ly/3rLpyY4

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  • View organization page for Sway, graphic

    16,243 followers

    Sway community, meet the newest Swaymates 🤝✨ Amid a season of rapid progress and impact, our team has expanded with multiple members helping build our vision for more seaweed and less plastic in the world. Join us in giving ’em a warm welcome! 🧪 Mitra Ganewatta, Ph.D., Head of Technical Innovation — Mitra is an accomplished scientist and innovative leader with extensive experience in sustainable materials. He leads Sway’s talented R&D team, paving the future of our expanding product portfolio and working diligently to harness the magic of seaweed at every step! 🌊 Catherine O'Hare, Seaweed & Sourcing Specialist — As the founder of Daybreak Seaweed Co., Catherine has been in Sway’s orbit for years helping guide our sourcing strategy, and now she’s doing it officially! We’re lucky to have her expertise shaping the most impactful seaweed sourcing strategy possible. 🥼 Annie Wang, Lab Manager — Annie is a materials science engineer with a passion for interdisciplinary, biobased climate solutions. At Sway, Annie is managing lab operations, streamlining workflows, and supporting R&D initiatives, catalyzing our route to success. Expect to see these lovely humans more in the future!

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  • View organization page for Sway, graphic

    16,243 followers

    As 1st place winner of the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize powered by Lonely Whale, it has been an absolute honor to spend the last few years in their award-winning #UnwrapTheFuture program — and today, we're thrilled to share an overview of this program's impact through their freshly released Impact Report → UNWRAPTHEFUTURE.ORG This program has catalyzed Sway's journey from seaweed material prototypes to market-ready packaging. It helped us facilitate relationships with industry experts who helped strategize our approach, manufacturing leaders who provided ample line time and rapid feedback, and extraordinary fashion brands who tested and piloted evolving versions of our material (looking at you, Burton Snowboards, J.Crew, Florence Marine X, Noah, and Le Club Original). Thank you to TOM FORD BEAUTY, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and Phillip Sarofim’s Trousdale Ventures for sponsoring the Prize purse and Accelerator program. While the program may be wrapped, the journey continues. This is how we #unwrapthefuture 🌊🌞🌈🌱

    View organization page for Lonely Whale, graphic

    6,228 followers

    Today, we celebrate the impact achieved by our award-winning #UnwrapTheFuture program. Together with our extensive community of partners and winners of the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize powered by Lonely Whale, we helped accelerate the adoption of prize-winning seaweed-based alternatives to traditional thin-film #plastic by trailblazing innovators Sway, Zerocircle, and Notpla. We are thrilled to share more about the impact of this multi-year collaboration. Read the report and meet our incredible community of supporters at UNWRAPTHEFUTURE.ORG. Thank you to TOM FORD BEAUTY, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and Phillip Sarofim’s Trousdale Ventures for sponsoring the Prize purse and Accelerator program. This is how we #unwrapthefuture.

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Funding

Sway 4 total rounds

Last Round

Seed

US$ 5.0M

See more info on crunchbase