This Company Is Turning Ocean Pollution Into Vegan Carpeting

Fancy stepping out of your bed onto the ocean floor? European carpet company Sedna can help to make that happen. Using recycled fishing nets collected from the sea bed, Sedna makes five different carpet ranges: Varuna, Kai, Moana, Mazu, and Yara.

Each of the mythology and ocean-inspired ranges is made from Econyl yarn, spun from old carpets and recycled fishing nets.

Nets make up nearly half of all marine plastic pollution; the abandoned waste is known as ghost gear and can continue fishing and trapping animals — such as turtles, dolphins, sharks, and whales — long after the fishermen have gone home.

Many companies have ditched straws and plastic bags, but Sedna — named after the goddess of the sea and marine animals in Inuit mythology — is on a mission to try and reduce the scale of the fishing net problem in particular.

“Sedna carpet is soft, luxurious and durable,” the brand notes on its website. “It is made with Econyl regenerated nylon, a yarn made from recycled waste material such as old carpets and abandoned fishing nets collected from the bottom of the sea.”

“Sedna thus helps to save thousands of beautiful sea creatures like sea turtles, dolphins and seals will no longer get stuck in this life-threatening waste,” it continues.

Sedna’s carpets are also backed with marine waste; the company uses “Eco FusionBac” created from PET plastic bottles.

Companies Fighting Plastic Pollution

Sedna isn’t alone in fighting marine plastic pollution. In November 2018, outerwear brand the North Face launched a new vegan down jacket made with recycled plastic. In partnership with nonprofit Parley Ocean Plastic, it relaunched its popular ThermoBall coat as the ThermoBall Eco, made with recycled plastic bottles.

In October, it was predicted that sneaker brand Adidas would make over $1 billion from its line of vegan shoes made with abandoned fishing nets and plastic collected from the shores of the Maldives. The shoes were also created in collaboration with Parley.

“As a creator brand, we believe that necessity drives innovation and that solving the toughest problems only makes us and our products better — all while doing less harm to the world,” said Eric Liedtke, an executive board member for Global Brands Adidas Group, last year.