Executive SUmmary

Stoneground Paint Company’s Bioplastic Manufacturing, Research and Development Initiative addresses the art industry’s reliance on plastic products in its manufacturing, storing, and packaging of paint. Since plastic was readily available to consumers, artists have taken to it, even to the point of using it as a primary ingredient in paint.

At Stoneground Paint Company, our goal has always been to reconnect artists with the raw materials that their paints are made from. This initiative wholly supports our mission statement not only through highlighting the importance of using materials that come from the earth – like the fibres used to make bioplastic – but also because this switch places further emphasis on the necessity of consumer-facing sustainability practices to encourage a message that environmentalism is everyone’s job.

Our initiative seeks to introduce a bioplastic half pan alternative to the market, thus diversifying the overall market offerings for watercolour painters. By use of 3D printers, Stoneground can produce bioplastic half pans using filaments relatively inexpensively beyond the higher buy-in costs of equipment acquisition. In doing this, we are not only increasing our competitive advantage as the only major watercolour brand to offer bioplastic products.

To complete this initiative, we are looking for $200,000 to cover equipment, wages, and marketing needs over the course of 18 months. This amount will certainly be enough to begin our work in bioplastics and set a new industry standard amongst watercolour brands and painters.