Areca palm tree (areca catechu, India) drops its leaves naturally when the old leaves are making room for the new leaves. These leaves has been used as plates for dining purposes for centuries. With new technology this natural and rigid material can be compressed to a shape of a design plate which in use with dry food can last longer periods.

The production process of the plates doesn’t require added chemicals or heavy infrastructure. The carbon footprint of making the plate consists mainly of heating water and the metal cast. Because the tree drops its leaves naturally the production process doesn’t require cutting or harming of the trees.

The safety of the food contact material has been verified in several studies conducted by VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland) and the recommendation is that in use with moist food the plate would serve only once.