Beyond Bio-based

Nowadays, the terms 'bio-based' and 'plant-based' are everywhere. They mean that a material was derived from 'living nature'. From living plants, rather than fossil oils.

The main benefit of this is that most plant-based materials can be harvested year after year -which is very sustainable. Fossil materials, on the other hand, take millions of years to form.

However, there is something you need to consider when it comes to 'bio-based' products. While the origins of the material may be sustainable, the material itself may have been synthesised significantly. This may have involved fossil energy and auxiliary materials. For example, there are binding agents that, chemically speaking, are synthetic plastics. However, since the original building blocks were derived from plants, they are referred to as 'bio-based'. Unfortunately, it required a large amount of energy to turn the plant molecules into synthetic plastics. This may not be so sustainable after all.

RIGO Verffabriek has started a project to develop paints and oils based on minimally processed bio-based materials. I.E.: we keep them as pure and simple as possible.

This has resulted in the Toplin Aqua series of water-based linseed oil paints, which are made of linseed oil and a little natural resin. The only thing that happened to them afterwards is heating to a certain temperature, without any additional chemical reactions or processes. Just the pure, bio-based materials.

For us, Beyond Bio-based stands for simple, plant-based and effective technology.