Corbion’s lactic acid, BASF biosurfactants, seed PPE, Hermès mushroom-leather bag, sugarcane UGGs, and more: The Digest’s Top 8 Innovations for the week of March 19th

#1 Seed PPE lets you prevent COVID and plant a garden

In the Netherlands, graphic designer Marianne de Groot-Pons has created biodegradable face masks with embedded seeds to help address the mountain of waste being generated by personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her company, Marie Bee Bloom, produces the masks from rice paper and fills each with meadow flower seeds. If the masks are buried, they will sprout flowers.

The cords are made from wool and employ vegetable materials as an adjuster. Potato-starch glue is used to connect the cords to masks.

While De Groot-Pons admits the eco-friendly masks have not been tested for viral transmission, they are as safe as homemade fabric alternatives. The masks are available at https://mariebeebloom.com/, but are only shipped to Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. De Groot-Pons hopes to expand to worldwide shipping soon.

More on the story, here.