PHAbulous Philaments - Biodegradable and so Much More

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Austria-based Saphium Biotechnologies has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to highlight and raise funds for production of PHAbulous Philaments, their all-natural 3D printing filament which is completely recyclable, biodegradable--and even helps the garden. The Kickstarter campaign will also help complete prototyping of the product which is made at their facilities in Austria, allowing for optimization of the specific microbes which produce PHA. Read more about the eco-friendly filament in the full story: http://3dprint.com/83371/phabulous-f...t-kickstarter/

[curious aardvark]

Now i know I'm not the most politically correct person in the world (there may in fact be one or two individuals less so even than me).

But does anyone on this forum actually buy filament based on it's carbon footprint and enviromentally soundness, rather than on what it costs in relation to how well it prints ?

I honestly do not give a flying fig how enviromentally sound my filament is. I use pla because I just prefer it to abs. Nothing to do with how it's made.

I am not going to live long enough to genuinely care what happens to the environment. I wish it were otherwise, but humans just don't live long enough to have any real sense of the world around them.
And the world has shown that things evolve to fit whatever environment it currently wears.

Yes it's nice if the filament I use makes treehuggers happy - everybody should be happy :-)
But it is absolutely not in the equation when I'm buying filament.

Am i massively out of touch on this, or do filament manufacturers think if the say it's environmentally sound often enough other people will actually care as well ?

Genuinely interested on what makes you buy a certain filament.

[SarahA]

Just as a counterpoint, I do actually know several people (myself not included among them, necessarily) who do make purchase decisions based on eco-friendliness. Materials take up a lot of manufacturing power, and the better the processes for making anything along the line, the more people will pick up on that.

Sort of like a few ladies I know who are outraged at the thought of diamond engagement rings (natural/blood diamonds) and would actually turn down any proposal that included one; that principle does apply to some in the maker community as well.

If filaments were more broadly available with better eco backgrounds, and could be made to hit the specs preferred at (eventually) lower costs, it'd be a pretty huge benefit to everyone. That will take time, but I know I love seeing that the drive is there.

[LambdaFF]

What hit me the most reading your article is the lack of inspiration of the motto (an obvious copy of Colorfabb's, don't you think ?). I understand that as a start up they want to raise some notice but for me it shows a total lack of inventivity (and a disregard for certain matters).
... anyway...
Considering the prices involved I think it's much more efficient and just as green friendly to recycle using a grinder and a filament extruder. Now to wish that Strooder would actually deliver ... A man can dream.

PS : stressing poor microbes to make filament, have you no heart ? ;-)

PPS : the mechanical specs seem way lower than for other filaments, more elastic it seems. Not exactly gonna replace ABS.