Photo: tide Ocean Material
Plastic recovered from the ocean was long considered unsuitable for high-quality recycling. Salt water, UV radiation and years of environmental exposure damage the material and make conventional recycling difficult. In 2019, the Swiss company Tide Ocean SA showed that this assumption could be challenged – and won the MATERIALICA Design + Technology Award 2019 as Best of Material.
Together with researchers from the Institute for Materials Technology and Plastics Processing IWK at the University of Applied Sciences in Rapperswil, #tide developed new processing techniques capable of regenerating damaged ocean plastic and transforming it into a high-quality raw material.
The concept went far beyond recycling PET bottles. Polyolefin plastics such as HDPE and PP from shampoo bottles, containers and other discarded products could also be processed into new plastic granulate. This opened up applications ranging from watches and furniture to electronic devices and automotive interiors. PET, meanwhile, could be transformed into fibres for watch straps, clothing and carpets.
The decisive step was to change the perception of ocean plastic itself: from worthless waste into a valuable industrial resource.
At the time of the MATERIALICA Award in 2019, the concept was already attracting international attention. #tide had entered strategic partnerships with Fossil Group and Carnival Cruise Line, while projects with Diesel and Victorinox demonstrated how the material could be integrated into consumer products. Tests had also shown that textile fibres could be produced from 100 percent recycled ocean plastic.
This combination of material technology, design potential and circular thinking convinced the MATERIALICA jury. The innovation addressed an environmental problem not simply by removing waste, but by creating a technically useful material capable of re-entering industrial production.
That approach remains highly relevant today. The transition toward a circular economy depends on materials that do more than reduce environmental impact: they must also deliver the quality, versatility and reliability required by designers, engineers and manufacturers.
More about #tide ocean material and the company’s ongoing developments can be found on LinkedIn.
Since 2003, the MATERIALICA Design + Technology Award has recognised innovations at the intersection of materials, design and technology. The story of #tide shows particularly well why identifying promising material concepts early matters: what begins as an unconventional idea can become a new approach to industrial production and resource use.
Do you have an innovative material, product or process that could help shape the next generation of sustainable design and technology?
Applications for the MATERIALICA Design + Technology Award 2026 are still possible until August 31, 2026.
Submit your innovation for the MATERIALICA Design + Technology Award 2026
https://www.emove360.com/awards/materialica-award/
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