There’s a new way to make everyday products without using fossil fuels

At home, I am surrounded by fossils. They are in my clothes, carpets and soft furnishings, in the wrapping around the food I buy and in the many cleaning products I use every day. Even the contact lenses in my eyes are full of fossils.

I’m not talking about ancient life forms preserved in rocks (although I have plenty of those), but fossilized carbon atoms, laid down millions of years ago and brought to the surface by the oil industry…