Our collaboration with the German-Chinese material innovation start-up Peel Sphere started in 2023.

Peel Sphere was one of the first R&D companies with whom we built a trustful and successful relationship, which quickly resulted in multiple collaborations and projects. During this relatively short period of our companies working together, we managed to explore a wide range of exciting opportunities – from early material testing to the production of exhibition pieces for Shanghai Design Week in 2025. Peel Sphere, known for its pioneering research into circular biomaterials derived from fruit waste and algae, has been an important partner in our journey to bring forward-thinking materials into the world of fashion and design.

Substanz became a major partner in prototyping and developing bags from Peel Sphere’s algal bio-polymer – AlgaeSkin – which we successfully used across multiple accessory designs.

AlgaeSkin, one of Peel Sphere’s most notable innovations, is a fully compostable material that combines the new tactile and visual qualities with the advantages of a petroleum plastic-free bio-polymer. Working with it has allowed us to not only prototype beautiful products but also demonstrate the real potential of materials that, until very recently, were still perceived as futuristic concepts.

The most recent project was to showcase selected pieces crafted in Substanz’s studio from this compostable bio-polymer. These pieces were photographed against a backdrop of conventional plastic waste to create a powerful visual narrative contrasting the present-day dependence on plastics with the possibilities of the materials of tomorrow.