PBN Innovative Companies 2023
Biotechnology: Moss Pure
ART HAS MET air filters, and what began as one Smithfield resident’s solution to pollution in Lebanon has become a growing business launched from her parents’ living room three years ago.
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Jamie Mitri has engineered her success with something the rest of us walk on – moss.
“It’s basically the world’s only live air filter,” the Moss Pure founder and CEO said of her invention.
Mitri drew on her academic training and interests – pre-med biology, chemical-engineering, fashion and product design – and professional experience at plastics, bioscience, analytical lab instrument and software manufacturing companies to become the first in the world to contain and self-sustain moss as her patent-pending indoor air filter.
A laboratory testing Moss Pure for air quality found the products filter 30% of carbon dioxide from the air within two minutes while capturing dust, allergens and more.
Trays, frames and bowls are engineered to support and sustain living moss, selected from more than 12,000 species of small nonvascular spore-bearing land plants, without sunlight, water or maintenance. The moss draws nutrients from the air it filters and can live indefinitely, Mitri said.
Moss Pure products double as therapeutic stress relievers, going beyond an aesthetic biophilic design to engage multiple senses to connect people with nature.
“So yes, you can touch it – that’s a big part of our product,” Mitri said. “You can smell it, too. Ours smell like a fresh forest. Customers love that.”
Moss Pure products are made in the U.S. using at least 95% sustainable materials – one frame uses about 700 recycled chopsticks. Mitri fits each frame with her “science” before filling with Mood Moss for a layered living wall-hanging, table decoration and conversation piece. Frames for Mitri’s “Zigzag” and “Mountain” moss air-filter hangings are 100% reclaimed wood.
Mitri has received multiple awards and accolades, including mentions in Forbes and Oprah Daily, for her moss filters. In May, Moss Pure Minis – 3D geometrical glass containers filled with moss, succulents and cacti – made Oprah’s “Graduation Gifts They’ll Actually Use” list at No. 48.
