Why plant-based PLA
When you sell objects that people hold in their hands, the choice of material is not academic. Whatever sits between your fingers gets warm, gets used, and at some point gets thrown away. So we asked ourselves early on: which material can we print with a clear conscience?
Three candidates
For functional 3D-printed objects, three plastics matter most: ABS, PETG and PLA. ABS is tough, smells during printing, is petroleum-based and more toxic around the house than people like to think. PETG is tough and good for mechanically stressed parts, and it is petroleum-based too. PLA, finally, is rigid, prints cleanly, smells neutral — and can be made from renewable sources.
PLA is not perfect. But it is the most honest choice we have today.
What "plant-based" means
Our PLA is made 100 % from sugar — from sugar cane and sugar beet. That is fermented into lactic acid, and the lactic acid into the polymer. It does not mean the object will compost in your garden. That needs industrial conditions a home compost heap does not reach. It does mean the raw material is renewable and the material can go back into the cycle cleanly at the end of its life — via the organic fraction at the recycling centre, or via us.
Why we do not try to sound "better"
We could put "biodegradable" here in big letters. We don't, because without context it is a half-truth. Instead we say: plant-based PLA is the best choice we currently see for objects you hold in your hand — and we keep questioning it, the moment something better comes along.