Partnering with Black in Marine Science to Transform Sargassum

We believe that some of the innovation emerges when communities, culture, and ecology come together. That's why we're excited to announce a new partnership with Black in Marine Science (BIMS) to explore how sargassum seaweed can be transformed into sustainable products and materials.

This collaboration brings together two fields that are interrelated—marine conservation and textile processing—to address interconnected environmental and economic challenges while creating new opportunities for community-centered production.

Rethinking Sargassum as a Resource

Across the Caribbean, large amounts of sargassum seaweed wash onto coastlines each year. These blooms can create significant challenges for coastal ecosystems, tourism, and local economies. While sargassum is often treated as waste, Black in Marine Science saw the potential for something different. Through its Belize-based initiative, Bloom to Business, BIMS is working with local residents to collect and process sargassum while building pathways for workforce development, environmental stewardship, and community engagement. Participants are trained as community scientists, helping to monitor and manage environmental conditions of the sea while contributing to local solutions. The initiative reflects a powerful idea: communities most affected by environmental challenges should be central to creating the solutions.

Connecting Land and Sea

Once the sargassum is collected and processed, bftn joins the process. Together, we are exploring how this abundant natural material might be integrated into fiber and textile production, and for other plant-based products.For bftn, this work sits at the intersection of environmental justice, circularity, and regenerative design. The textile industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental pollution. Microplastics from synthetic textiles pollute our oceans, contribute to climate change, disrupt marine life, and harm coral reefs. Bringing together our expertise with BIMS allows us to create more sustainable practices both on land and in the sea. By exploring alternative materials derived from natural and abundant resources, we have an opportunity to rethink how textiles are made while strengthening relationships between land-based and marine ecosystems.

This partnership builds upon the work BIMS has already begun through Bloom to Business. The initiative has explored a variety of products made from sargassum, including fertilizer, artwork, and beach restoration materials. Artwork created through the program has already been installed in local Belize hotels, demonstrating how materials often viewed as waste can be transformed into valuable community assets. Together, bftn and BIMS are expanding those possibilities by investigating how sargassum can contribute to more sustainable fiber and textile systems.

A Shared Vision for Community-Led Solutions

This partnership gives us the opportunity to build models that center community participation, environmental stewardship, economic opportunity, and marine conservation simultaneously. Our work has always been rooted in supporting Black farmers, fiber producers, dyers, designers, artisans, and manufacturers who are creating regenerative futures through textiles. This collaboration extends that vision by connecting our network with marine scientists and coastal communities who are addressing environmental challenges in real time.

As climate change continues to reshape both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, solutions cannot exist in silos. The future of regenerative fiber systems depends on collaboration across disciplines, industries, and geographies.

This partnership with Black in Marine Science is an exciting example of what becomes possible when we approach environmental challenges not as isolated problems, but as opportunities to build stronger, more resilient systems that benefit both people and the planet. We look forward to sharing more as the collaboration evolves.

To kick off our partnership, BIMS and bftn will host a Film Screening Showcase next week! We hope you will join us on Thursday, June 4 from 7pm-10pm ET at Vika Gallery located at 1700 Connecticut Ave, NW Washington, DC 20009. We will show bftn’s short documentary, Woven From Nature in addition to BIMS new short film, Bloom to Business followed by a q+a. There will also be complimentary food and beverages. 

Please follow the link provided here to RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-in-marine-science-x-black-fiber-textile-network-film-showcase-tickets-1989320734869?aff=oddtdtcreator