The product, named “Mon gobelet en lin” (My flax tumbler, registered trademark) is made of a granulated mixture of flax fibres and PLA (polylactic acid), a polymer derived from starch, which is thus bio-sourced and food certified. The designed granules are then placed into an injection-moulding machine that gives the tumbler its shape after pressure and heating. A textile and fibre engineer, Camille Deligne has partnered with her father Eddy, who provides his mechanical expertise to round off the project.
Manufacturing of the first 50,000 tumblers started at the end of November 2019 in France. It would have got off the ground even earlier if the two inventors had decided to outsource manufacturing to China. However, they preferred to make French service providers their number one choice. Sold at less than 1 euro per unit, the first tumblers will go on sale to companies and individuals via a network of organic and bulk-sales shops, which is currently under development.
