Balena, an Israel-based developer of compostable and biodegradable thermoplastic materials, debuted its fully biodegradable footwear named “BioCir Slides” made of the company’s proprietary, 100% biodegradable plastic (elastomer)—BioCir—designed and manufactured in Italy for both men and women, by launching the first thousand pairs to the Tel-Aviv market.

In parallel with the footwear launch, the company introduced a fully circular system—BioCycling— that enables the customers to return the end-of-life BioCir Slides which will then be subjected to full biodegradation at a local industrial compost facility.

Balena, founded in 2020, is a material science company that manufactures its proprietary material—BioCir—100% compostable plastic made of a unique biodegradable combination of naturally occurring constituents bound by high molecular weight polymers and modifiers. The company claims this material consists of up to 60% bio-based content while being highly scalable and flexible.