Image 1 of 6
Image 2 of 6
Image 3 of 6
Image 4 of 6
Image 5 of 6
Image 6 of 6
TraceMatter™
From material study to printed form
Most plastic is designed to last, then designed to be forgotten.
TraceMatter starts from a different question: what happens after the object has done its job.
At its core, TraceMatter returns to nature on its own. No factory required.
It is our family of PHA biocomposite filaments, made for FDM 3D printing, blended with real biomass residue for texture and colour in every print.
In the studio, we test every blend ourselves. Composition. Print settings. Geometry. So we know exactly how a material behaves before it reaches your printer.
PHA stands for Polyhydroxyalkanoates, a natural reserve microorganisms store after feeding on plant sugars and oils, close to fat. It melts and shapes like any plastic, and at the end of its life, microorganisms break it back down again, in soil or seawater, into carbon dioxide, water and organic matter.
Most bioplastics, PLA included, only return to nature inside an industrial composting plant. TraceMatter works differently. Its core PHA resin is certified by TÜV Austria for both home composting and marine biodegradation.
For architects and brands, it means a sustainability claim that holds up under scrutiny, as procurement and planning rules keep tightening. For larger companies, it means one less material risk in the supply chain. For makers at home, it means a filament that finally lives up to being eco friendly.
Home compostable base resin
Marine biodegradable base resin
Bio based, not petroleum based
Blended with real biomass residue
BIOMASS COLOURS
Colour shaped by its source
We combine PHA with biomass residue to create filaments shaped by their source. Depending on the formulation, that source may appear through colour, translucency, visible particles, texture or scent.
TraceMatter™ has a naturally matte surface and a warm, soft-touch quality. It diffuses light gently, softening the appearance of FDM layer lines and giving printed forms a quieter, less synthetic character.
*New colours and biomass formulations are currently in development.
Shell White
A soft white filament blended with finely processed shell powder.
It has a clean, even appearance, a soft matte finish and a warm, tactile feel.
Seaweed Green
A muted green filament blended with seaweed residue.
It has a slight translucency, allowing fine seaweed particles to remain clearly visible throughout the printed form. These natural variations give the material greater depth and make each print subtly different.
A faint natural seaweed scent may be noticeable during printing or when the material is exposed to heat or water.
PERFORMANCE
>50%
Flexible Response
In injection-moulded tests, specimens stretched past 50% before breaking. Standard PLA typically snaps at under 10%. TraceMatter™ bends instead of shattering.
5–15 kJ/m²
Impact Resistance
In injection-moulded tests, the material resisted cracking under sudden impact - a level of toughness rarely seen in biodegradable materials.
85°C
Heat Resistance
The material holds its shape up to 85°C , well above normal indoor conditions, including direct sun through a window. Tested under load on injection-moulded specimens.
Soft Matte
Surface & Touch
A soft matte finish gently diffuses reflected light, making FDM layer lines less noticeable. The surface feels warm and lightly textured.
*Performance of FDM-printed parts will vary with print settings, wall geometry and orientation.
MATERIAL, PROCESS AND AFTERLIFE
Most materials are chosen for how they perform. Few are chosen for what happens after. TraceMatter™ starts with both questions at once.
Take the shell powder and seaweed residue we use. Published research on PHA composites shows that fillers like these - natural fibres, minerals and organic waste - speed up biodegradation. That is the category TraceMatter sits in. Conventional plastic behaves the opposite way, lingering in soil and water for decades.
Production follows the same logic. A mould locks a shape in early, before anyone has worked out what happens to the material next. 3D printing builds straight from a digital form instead, so small batch and on demand runs create far less offcut and excess stock, and one supplier carries the whole story from material to finished piece.
At the end of an object's life, that early thinking pays off. TraceMatter is built to be consumed and broken down by microorganisms, in soil or seawater.
This is the basis of our approach to sustainable design. We test every blend before it reaches you, because the trace we leave behind should be a soft one.
