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.

After foraging for suitable types of seaweed at the beach and learning about their uses, we will take these back to the studio and make bio-plastic samples, experimenting with different design applications to create a collection of bio-material plastics to take home.

Tuition fees per individual: £150

Location: Open Access Workshop, Falmouth Campus

Upcoming Short Courses

Making Bioplastic from seaweed

Wed 20 Aug 2025

Price: £150

Bio materials - Making seaweed plastic

In-person

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

Bio materials - Making seaweed plastic

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

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 foraged seaweed from our local beaches through to finished bioplastics that have a purpose. 

We’ll meet in the studio for tea, coffee and a talk about the day. Then we’ll head straight to our local beach (a 10 minute walk) where you will be guided through the different types of seaweed, learning about the different types of polysaccharides that are useful to make bio-plastics.

Back in the studio, you’ll get hands-on with the process to turn your seaweed into bio-plastic, and then create several sample sheets that can be coloured using eco-pigments. These will then be dried out for you to use after the course. Finally, you’ll use some seaweed bio-plastic to create a small sample no-sew wallet or purse that you can take away with you.

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.
Trying practical techniques for turning materials such as seaweed into biomaterials that can be used for fashion or products.
Experimenting with foraged seaweeds 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.
Using pre-prepared seaweed bioplastic to make a no-sew wallet or purse.

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).
A sample no-sew wallet or purse made from seaweed bioplastic.

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 for our studio session (no flip flops or sandals), bring a suitable coat in case of rain, and ensure hair is tied back for the studio session.

We will be foraging on the beach then working with seaweed in the studio (including liquidising some of it) 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 on our Falmouth Campus and includes a foraging walk to the local beach.

Our Falmouth Campus can be reached via a range of public transport options. You can find out more, here.

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