Biowear was established in Bali in 2014 with the vision of returning the island’s pristine condition back to what it was in the past, while still acknowledging that locals and tourists need basic amenities.
Being established towards the end of 2014, the company pinpointed one unique product that most locals and ex-pats living on Bali own: a vinyl rain poncho. With this problem defined, the company decided to introduce its first product, the Eco Poncho, priced at IDR 125,000. Eco Poncho is 100% derived from starches of soy, corn, and sunflower seeds and is clinically proven to be fully biodegradable and compostable when placed in soil after 90 days. Of course it is durable enough to hold up to an entire rainy season.
The Eco Poncho
In March 2015, Biowear expanded their “sustainable disposables” catalog by introducing its eco-friendly shopping and garbage bags derived from cassava and tapioca starches through its brand Avani (which means “earth” in Sanskrit). These bags have been clinically proven to be safe when digested by animals and 100% compostable when laid out in landfills.
Biowear’s research taught them that there is a terrible grey scale in the eco-friendly market. Many plastic companies are producing “eco-friendly” hybrid plastics (often referred to as oxo-biodegradable) that are a blend of conventional plastics with natural resins. They may degrade faster, but still leave harmful plastic residue in the soil and water, termed micro-pollution.
Seeing this problem, Biowear made a conscious decision to go “all in” by utilizing natural materials which cost more to produce yet a “greener” in practice. The company believes that there is no grey area regarding bio-plastics. You are either 100% biodegradable and compostable, or you’re just toxic, petroleum-based conventional plastics. In the long run, people will see we are doing it the only way, the right way.
Watch for Biowear’s “I AM NOT PLASTIC” campaign which aims to unite hotels, restaurants and retail shops into a island-wide campaign to battle the plastic waste epidemic. Big resorts or tiny warungs can all join the “I AM NOT PLASTIC” campaign, become “eco-warriors,” and all help fight this senseless plastic problem that is devastating the Earth. After all, why buy plastic if a green alternative option is available?
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