Breaking Barriers

Impermea Materials
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Breaking Barriers is an original video series by Impermea Materials spotlighting the innovators driving the global shift from toxic to transformative materials. Through in-depth, in-person conversations with industry leaders, policy influencers, and partners, the series explores what it takes to eliminate PFAS, plastics, and outdated systems without compromise. Filmed at the front lines of change, Breaking Barriers captures the people, progress, and proof behind a high-performance, PFAS-free, and plastic-free future.

Episodes

  1. The Business of Regeneration: How Sway Aligns Performance and Planet

    11/18/2025 · VIDEO

    The Business of Regeneration: How Sway Aligns Performance and Planet

    What if the future of packaging comes from underwater forests instead of oil fields? In this episode of Breaking Barriers, Impermea Materials CEO, David Zamarin, sits down with Julia Marsh, Co-Founder and CEO of Sway, to explore how ocean-farmed seaweed is reshaping the possibilities for flexible packaging. Julia shares her journey from designing conventional plastics to realizing she was contributing to the waste crisis she hoped to solve. That realization pushed her to turn a grad school thesis into Sway, an award-winning materials startup. David and Julia discuss how seaweed rose to the top among other bio-based feedstocks such as corn, sugarcane, and tree fibers. They look at how Sway designed its materials to be home compostable, marine safe, and compatible with existing plastic manufacturing lines. They talk through the massive opportunity in polybags and ecommerce packaging and why performance must come first with sustainability built in. Julia provides a pragmatic view of biomaterials. Seaweed is a meaningful solution, not the only solution, within a diverse circular economy. Listeners will hear her advice for brands facing regulatory pressure and evolving consumer expectations. She explains why brands should start by eliminating unnecessary packaging and then choose the right mix of reusable, recyclable, and compostable formats. She also encourages companies to evaluate their true waste streams, embrace nuance, and use packaging as a lever for regeneration instead of simply protection. If you are a packaging engineer, sustainability leader, or brand owner looking to move beyond plastic without sacrificing performance, this conversation offers a clear and grounded roadmap for what better packaging can look like. Listen, share, and subscribe for more candid conversations with leaders who are transforming materials for the better.

    30 min
  2. Inside Breaking Barriers: The People Driving Change

    10/30/2025 · BONUS VIDEO

    Inside Breaking Barriers: The People Driving Change

    Before the breakthroughs come the moments that make them possible. Breaking Barriers is Impermea Materials’ original video series capturing the innovators, policy influencers, and partners leading the global shift from toxic to transformative materials. This behind-the-scenes look celebrates the people, passion, and persistence driving a PFAS-free, plastic-free future.

    1 min
  3. Designing the Future of Sustainable Packaging with Mike Marcinkowski

    10/14/2025 · VIDEO

    Designing the Future of Sustainable Packaging with Mike Marcinkowski

    In this premiere episode of Breaking Barriers, Impermea Materials' Hannah Haugh, sits down with Mike Marcinkowski, Global Director of Packaging and Material Science/Sustainability at INNOVATIV Holdings. Mike has led packaging innovation at Procter & Gamble, Keurig, and GPA Global, driving PFAS-free breakthroughs and compostable systems that work at scale. Together, we explore what it takes to design for sustainability from the start, not as an afterthought, and why true innovation means balancing performance, scalability, and environmental impact. In this conversation: How EU sustainability standards are reshaping packaging in North America, the truth about greenwashing and how to make credible claims, why commercialization is harder than innovation, and what’s next for compostable, paper-based, and water-soluble packaging. Mike also shares how bold changes, such as P&G’s transition to molded pulp, reduced plastic use by 70% while strengthening consumer perception. This episode kicks off Breaking Barriers, Impermea’s original series documenting how meaningful change happens in materials and packaging through real, unfiltered conversations.

    26 min
  • 3 Episodes

About

Breaking Barriers is an original video series by Impermea Materials spotlighting the innovators driving the global shift from toxic to transformative materials. Through in-depth, in-person conversations with industry leaders, policy influencers, and partners, the series explores what it takes to eliminate PFAS, plastics, and outdated systems without compromise. Filmed at the front lines of change, Breaking Barriers captures the people, progress, and proof behind a high-performance, PFAS-free, and plastic-free future.

Information

  • Creator
    Impermea Materials
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Breaking Barriers