Sustainably focused German hygiene company, Vyld, the creator of the seaweed-based tampon, is now embarking on an ambitious project to create a Windelwald, or diaper forest, using composted diaper waste as a humus fertilizer. The used diapers feature an algae-based compostable core developed by Vyld.
 
Vyld recently completed a pilot program where its Vyndel diapers, which contain a compostable core and a reusable pants system, were used in 50 German households. Participants in the pilot program were asked to compare the absorbency, fit and overall performance of the Vyndel to the diapers they normally use.
 
Meanwhile, Vyld is now working on improving the absorbency of the existing core and swapping out the parts of the diaper, which now use PLA, with seaweed-based materials because PLA is not very biodegradable in water, says co-founder and CEO Ines Schiller.
 
“We plan to commercialize but there is a lot more development needed,” she says. “We need to find the sweet spot between a 100% compostable product made without any plastics or conventional superabsorbents while retaining the same performance level to convinece enough of a broader audience to adopt it.”
 
Schiller became interested in the use of seaweed in hygiene products during a marine guided training operation in South Africa. Her mentor was a seaweed expert who taught her to understand how the sustainable material is the base for many things in the marine ecosystems. “It actually has a regenerative quality so if you farm seaweed, you are actually helping the ocean. It grows superfast and doesn’t need fertilizers,” Schiller adds.
 
Vyld’s first efforts in seaweed-based hygiene was the Kelpon tampon, which has been in development since 2021. Schiller says that seaweed offers the exact properties needed for period and other hygiene products because it is healthy and naturally absorbent. Additionally, the way the fiber absorbs is much more suited to the menstrual fluid, which is very viscous, it’s not like water. The fiber really helps the product feel better and respects the vaginal microbiome. This is allowing Vyld to bridge the gap between performance and sustainability.

As Vyld prepares to launch Kelpon commercially, following a pilot program held in German households last year, the expansion into baby care is still in the trial stages. As it improves upon the design of Vyndel, plans for the creation of the diaper forest, aided by Goldeimer, a German company dedicated to increasing access to safe sanitation through sustainable sanitation concepts, continues to move forward.
 
“The recycling and composting part of the project is in the really early stage and it’s part of the pilot project we are doing,” Schiller says. “Goldeimer is the perfect partner. They are experts in composting, have all the know-how and they have done a lot of work on the policy side.”
 
Goldeimer has alredy secured land in Germany for the “diaper” forest, which Schiller describes as a very small forest. In addition to creating a new life for diaper waste, the forest will allow Vyld and its partners to analyze the compostability of its diapers as well as future projects. “We want to know how the different products decompose, how they behave,” Schiller says. “There is a lot of different information about compostability. It’s something we need to test.”
 
To help it achieve these goals Vyld has recently closed a seven-figure financing model. In addition to funding from the German government and the European Union, the founders are using a self-developed sustainable financing instrument called the Future Profit Partnership Agreement (FPA).
 
“Tackling questions of ownership, power and financing is crucial to me as an entrepreneur,” Schiller says. “Business models create realities and extractive models do not only threaten the environment and health but also reproduce exploitative standards and anti-democratic tendencies. We want to counter this with a model that promotes creation instead of consumption, quality instead of quantity and triple top line instead of hypergrowth.”

The model, which combines advantages of equity and debt capital and enables an appropriate return for investors, is appealing for investors who want to invest their money in a regenerative way.
 
“Vyld shows that neither shareholder value-driven venture capital nor unbridled growth is needed to successfully implement sustainable ideas tha really make a difference for our planet and our society,” says investor Kai Veihof. “However, change can only become possible on a broad scale if investors also rethink and provide the necessary capital fairly and with reasonable return expectation.”
 
Vyld will use the initial funding to enable the market launch of Kelpon as well as development of its regenerative Algaeverse portfolio for B2B and B2C outlets.