Lauren Earls

Welcome to Regen.

Human activity and the Industrial Revolutions - a result of globalisation and colonisation - has led to a direct loss of accountability for the world’s ecological systems. The purpose of this project is to address the issue of single-use plastics - rampant in modern society - while participating in regenerative design based on the Indigenous paradigms of locality and relationality.

How might we provide everyday packaging solutions and material systems that are home-compostable, and that also demonstrate care for Country?

This concept board depicts the product outcomes, as well as Regen's vision and mission statement.

The Great Southern Reefs of Australia are an invaluable ecological resource for biodiversity, ocean health and carbon capture. Up to 95% of Giant Kelp Forests along Tasmania’s east coast and 60–90% in parts of southern Victoria have been depleted due to Longspined Sea Urchin infestations driven by nutrient loss and ocean warming.
On the other hand, plastic pollution remains one of the greatest threats to Earth; with over 400 million tonnes produced annually that contaminate oceans, soil, ecosystems and our bodies. Plastic production is set to triple its current rate by 2040; a catastrophic amount.
My aim is to develop a product and/or system that addresses both of these issues in tandem.


[View full video here]

Material experimentation and creation is at the heart of this project.
By synthesizing a material and form from the Long-spined Sea Urchin - the very organism that is causing ecological damage to the Great Southern Reefs - this tube design attempts to support the regeneration of these ecosystems.

Other ingredients like chitosan - derived from crab and prawn shell waste - as well as fruit and vegetable peels, aim to utilise existing waste streams to create a useful product, while eliminating the use of conventional plastics.

A toothpaste tube has been chosen as an example of an end outcome, but this could apply to a series of gels, balms, concentrates and food products (it's food safe!)

Here is the tube demonstrated with a toothbrush for scale. This travel size tube measures approximately 85mm tall and 25mm wide.

This block diagram communicates the current issues being faced, existing needs, areas for opportunity regarding the needs and issues, my proposed intervention with Regen, and the goal outcomes that result from this material and system solution.

Regen provides a practical plastic packaging alternative from AS5810 standard home-compostable materials, while demonstrating locality and relationality through material use as a means of assisting in restoring the Great Southern Reefs. This in turn aims to educate and call on the Australian public to further address this ecological issue. The project aims to embody ideologies and practices of decolonised production and human consumption.