Floating Pennywort

“A concept and product to eliminate the threat that Invasive Exotic Species create to our ecosystem, using the biomass as a resource for industrial applications and creating awareness concerning Invasive Exotic Species among Conscious Consumers.”

An Invasive Exotic Species is a foreign plant, animal or micro-organism that can’t reach the Netherlands on their own, but ended up in the Dutch ecosystem by accidental human implementation (transport, infrastructure, trade, etc.). The Floating Pennywort is an Invasive Exotic Species. This aquatic plant is constantly removed from the Dutch waters, currently this mass is laid to dry on the bank or composted by a processor. (Maybe add something concerning the huge amount of biomass that is currently not used and just wasted).

With this piece of jewellery you arm yourself with information, supported by a certificate about the origin of the Invasive Exotic Species, the risks and consequences it poses. The wearer becomes ambassador and spreads their knowledge about Invasive Exotic Species within their own social circles.

Starting with the thought of being an inspiration to others we also gave this material a functional approach. A valuable characteristic of this material is that it can be shaped into almost any form. To present a few qualities of this material we designed a lamp; the light emittance, flexibility and formability of the material are displayed.

By making use of Invasive Exotic Species, we can design with a resource that positively influences our ecosystem when removed.

This project involved: field research, in-depth interviews, market research, communication strategy, material experiments, product development and exposition production.