Dr Sandrine Garnier, Floreon

“For twenty plus years, I've been selling chemicals that have not always been very good for the environment. And today, I want to change that. I want to put chemistry into action to develop products that are going to be there for the future.”
Dr Sandrine Garnier, CEO of Floreon
 
In episode eight of UnPacked, Matthew Stadlen talks to Dr Sandrine Garnier of Floreon, whose patented material and business emerged from a desire for a greener, more sustainable form of plastic. Working with the University of Sheffield, the Floreon team embarked on an innovative project to create a specially formulated compound based on polylactic acid (PLA) that performed in the same way as oil-based plastics but with sustainable end-of-life options.
 
Sandrine talks about taking on multiple roles, working in the chemical industry and manufacturing new products, including developing Floreon’s high performance and sustainable materials, which have a range of uses, including 3D printing, toys, construction, automotive, and electrical component manufacturing industries.
 
Sandrine says, “With Floreon’s Therma-Tech, the plant-based alternative bioplastic, we can mechanically and chemically recycle the material, especially because the flame-retardant additive is allergen-free, and can be easily filtered out. And with the high amount of recycled material, we have run trials and through multiple cycles, we can still get the right performance with the material.”