CES 2020: Incipio Launches New Plant-Based Compostable iPhone Cases

Cool idea, but just wondering, what happens when it gets wet?

Not going to complain about companies making an effort to produce products from things other than plastic, but the idea that there is a viable composting stream that these cases can go into at end of life is really just marketing. In my industry, commercial print and packaging, we’ve been gettting pressure from big brands to develop compostable packaging.

Not that any of these brands realize that there is no readily available composting stream that consumers can participate in. It just sounds good, so they push to get it. And the fact that these cases require industrial composting, means they require fairly energy and water intense processing to get the cases to break down, which means that they might have been better if they were simply made from PET or some other more commonly recyclable plastic that could go back to be recycled as something else.

I think that a lot of people, including a bunch of big brands and retailers, hear the word compostable and think that it is as simple as tossing the product into the dirt of your garden and in a few weeks the product is broken down into worm food, which is absolutely not how it works.

There’s a company making cases from plastic taken out of the ocean. Lots of good options emerging.

And if you don’t like it, it’s edible and a good source of fiber. I’ve heard it tastes like chicken and pairs well with soy milk.

This is really cool. I never throw out my old cases though, I don’t like the idea of them ending up in a landfill somewhere.

The landfill known as your desk draw?

Cool idea, but just wondering, what happens when it gets wet?

It grows