Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about Candee — our patent-pending plant-based material, how it’s made, and how it behaves at the end of life.
What happens to Candee at end of life?
Candee can be recycled through dedicated recovery schemes and is designed to biodegrade into biomass, water and carbon dioxide under suitable environmental conditions.
Where are your materials and products made?
Formulation work is in the North East of England, our hangers are made in the Midlands, with 3D printing and large scale print produced in London.
What is the scalability?
The current capacity in the commercial supply chain is over 100,000 tonnes per year.
How does the pricing compare to other materials?
Pricing varies depending on the amount of material in the finished product and how much of the overall cost is manufacturing versus raw material. As a general guide, using hangers as an example, costs increase in the following order, from cheapest to most expensive:
Recycled PP (rPP)
Virgin PP
Recycled Candee
Virgin Candee
Candee + wood flour blend (for solid-filled hangers)
Wooden hangers
Can the product be composted?
Yes — in a garden compost heap the material is designed to biodegrade to biomass, water and CO₂ — typically around a year, depending on the density of the finished product. It is not yet certified home-compostable; rates vary with conditions. Soil biodegradation has been independently tested to ISO 17556.
Can the product be recycled?
Yes. We operate a closed-loop recycling process where supplied items are collected by retail stores and returned to Candee’s processing centres for recycling. Our material cannot currently be mixed with fossil polymers in the recycling stream. Over time, as recycling systems are updated, Candee will be processed in mass recycling centres in the normal manner.
What is the timeline for natural biodegradation?
It can be adjusted to suit the use of the material. Left in the natural environment at end of life, the material is consumed by microbes in the soil, leaving biomass, carbon dioxide and water.
What colour options or variations can be integrated?
A full biodegradable colour chart is available on request.
What scent additives can be integrated?
Scents can be added — including the sugar smell of our Candee Bio materials. Specific scent requests are tested in our lab before scaling into full production.
Is Candee compatible with existing manufacturing processes?
Yes. Candee is designed for existing manufacturing processes including injection moulding, extrusion and vacuum forming.
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