Impact

Normal Phenomena of Life is a lifestyle brand illuminating groundbreaking biotechnology solutions pivotal for a circular bioeconomy. Through our innovation lab NPOL Originals, we fuse biotechnology, design and craft to develop products that catalyse alternative models and inspire a deeper connection to the living world. We curate a selection of emerging biotech-enabled brands already making a positive social and environmental impact.

Our mission—and where we are focused on having the most impact—is founded on three pivotal pillars:

• Biotech-enabled Materials
• Bio-centric Industry
• Biophilic Culture
  

Biotech-enabled Materials: 

Advances in biotechnology are crafting revolutionary materials and processes that break fossil fuel dependence, cut carbon emissions, and safeguard human and environmental health. NPOL partners with biotech companies across sectors, including textiles, beauty, personal care, and construction, translating their innovations into thoughtful design. The underlying biological processes driving these materials demonstrate a wide range of benefits quantified by biotech companies through tools like Life-Cycle Analysis. We share those claims via our products and partner Index.

Bio-centric Industry:

Decarbonising and healing the planet requires us to go beyond choosing low-impact materials and processes. Putting biology at the heart of the goods we make, the supply chains we build, and the economies we choose to scale represents a systems-led approach to achieving this goal. Our NPOL Originals allow us to demonstrate the value of biomaterials through low-impact design products. To the best of our ability, we source all our product inputs from ethical and certified suppliers, develop our supply chain as close to the end user as possible, and make design decisions on product development routed in our aspiration to see a circular bioeconomy enabled by biotechnology. Producing lower volumes, released as drops informed by demand, we have the agility to assess the impacts of each of our NPOL Originals, creating the conditions for open-ended learning and fine-tuning.

Biophilic Culture:

Our commitment to creating low-impact products with biotechnology is contingent on growing a community whose culture is rooted in biophilia. We seek to empower this community with the knowledge and aspiration to lead a cultural revolution towards planet-centred living, aided by the products we develop as well as the stories we tell. Our journal curates diverse narratives about our relationships with the living world, offering glimpses into the visionaries shaping this future. Putting the living world at the forefront of our mission and strategy is key to manifesting a behavioural change towards mindful consumption for the love of nature, a necessary mindset shift to meet our environmental goals. 

Our three pillars form the basis of our product and supply chain development, influencing our collaborations and broader organisational philosophy. This alignment is essential to creating the conditions for a planet-first lifestyle. With an evolving landscape of sustainability, technology and design, we are committed to sharing our journey transparently and eagerly anticipate sharing both data-driven and qualitative insights as we progress.