Bio Materials: Making Seaweed Plastic

From foraged seaweed to bioplastic with a purpose.

Key details

Location

Falmouth Campus

Course duration

1 day

Course overview

Join us for this one-day practical introduction to bio-materials in the fashion industry. Seaweed is an exciting prospect as an alternative to many of our currently used petro-plastic fibres and is increasingly being explored as an alternative, sustainable, material.

We'll learn about seaweed types and preparation methods then make several bio-plastic samples, experimenting with different methods and ingredients to create a collection of bio-material plastics to take home.

Tuition fees per individual: £150

Location: Open Access Workshop, Falmouth Campus

How to apply

See course dates below that are available to book.

Upcoming Short Courses

Thu 25 Mar 2027

1-day course | £150

Bio materials - March 2027

In-person

Make bio-plastic samples in this 1 day practical introduction to bio-materials.

Bio materials - March 2027

Thu 03 Jun 2027

1-day course | £150

Bio materials - June 2027

In-person

June cohort: Make bio-plastic samples in this 1 day practical introduction to bio-materials.

Bio materials - June 2027

If no upcoming Short Courses are displayed above, get in touch with us for more information.

Apart from our Short Courses for 14-17 Year Olds, all of our Short Courses are for adults 18+.

Course details

This is a one day practical and fun introduction to sustainable bio-materials and their potential uses in fashion. With micro-plastics in our oceans, and unwanted clothing swamping our landfills there is a current and much-needed focus on exploring alternatives to petro-plastic fibres such as polyester, which are consistently used in the fashion industry and more widely.  

Seaweed is a locally available resource, has exciting properties that can produce biodegradable plastics, and has the potential to provide an alternative answer for our fashion industry with several fashion brands currently exploring this.

Over the course of this day, you’ll be taken on a journey from seaweed and various food waste products, through to finished bioplastics that have a purpose. 

You’ll learn about the seaweed that can be found along our shores, discussing the different types of polysaccharides that are useful to make bio-plastics.

We’ll discuss the process to turn fresh seaweed into bio-plastic, as well as other readily available food-waste materials.

There will be an option to forage in our gardens for materials to use to decorate your bioplastics.

You’ll then experiment with different methods to create several sample bioplastic sheets both from seaweed and from other materials, that you’ll colour using eco-pigments. These will be dried out for you to use after the course. You can either take them home with you as they are, or we’ll post them to you once they have dried.

This one day course will cover:

Learning about biomaterial composition and circular economy integration.
Reviewing different types of seaweed, learning about the different types of polysaccharides that are useful to make bioplastics.
Learning about practical techniques for turning materials such as seaweed and food waste products into biomaterials that can be used for fashion or products.
Experimenting with methods to make bioplastics, using the techniques you have learned to create several sheets of samples and with the option to colour them using eco pigments and decorate them with foraged materials from our campus gardens.

You will leave with:

Ideas about how you might start to include biomaterials in your own practice or business.
The collection of samples that you have made (once they have dried).

Staff

Alice Selwood

Alice Selwood is a Senior Technician at our Fashion and Textiles Institute who specialises in sustainability, natural dye, and textile design. Inspired by strong organic and structural forms, sustainability is key to her design process. Alice pushes the boundaries of traditional natural dyeing within her textile work, embracing the wide variety of colours nature can provide. Through her post-graduate research, she has been developing alternative bio-plastics through natural materials including seaweed and food waste.  Alongside this, Alice works commercially as a textile designer creating elegantly detailed embroidery and embellishment for luxury fashion and interiors. 

How you'll learn

This is a practical course where you will get hands-on experience of making your own bio-plastics from seaweed. Expect to get involved at every step of the process, as Alice guides you through with demonstrations and support.

Who is this course for

Suitable for anyone with an interest in fashion, textiles and sustainability this is an engaging, practical introduction with no prior knowledge required. 

This course includes tea and coffee, along with all materials you’ll need for the day. Please bring a packed lunch with you.

Expect a practical day of hands-on experimentation and learning. Please find a breakdown of timings for the day below:

Arrival: 9.30am (welcome and refreshments)

Morning session: 10am – 1pm

Lunch: 1pm – 2pm (please bring a packed lunch, or visit our café)

Afternoon session: 2pm - 5pm

All materials you will need for this course are provided. Please wear closed-toe shoes and ensure hair is tied back for the studio session.

We will be working with seaweed and various food waste items in the studio so we recommend that you wear clothes you don’t mind getting a little messy for this course.

Don’t forget to bring a packed lunch with you.

All materials you will need are included in the course fee, along with tea and coffee during the day.

Tea/coffee is included, with all diets catered for. Please note: lunch is not included in the course cost, we recommend bringing a packed lunch or visiting our on-campus café.

This course is taught at the Fashion and Textiles Institute on our Penryn campus.

There is plenty of parking available on our Penryn campus and you can also reach us via a range of public transport options. Visit our Penryn Campus page to find out more.

For campus maps and information on visiting us, please visit our How to find us page.

This course is suitable for all levels, no previous experience or knowledge is required. Please note that this course involves a short walk to our local beach and back, and some teaching content on the beach gathering seaweed from the sand. If you have accessibility queries please contact us on shortcourses@falmouth.ac.uk to discuss your requirements.

How to apply

To apply for this course, make your selection from the available dates below, this will take you to an event page where you will be able to book yourself onto the course via the Book now link.

Tuition fees per individual: £150