About Earthya
A Solution for a Global Crisis
Our Mission: Ending the Silent Crisis
At Earthya, we believe that "eco-friendly" shouldn't just be a marketing label; it should be a health guarantee.
Malaysia is currently facing a silent crisis: we are among the highest consumers of microplastics globally. Research suggests that through contaminated water and food chains, we are effectively ingesting the weight of a credit card every single month. Most "biodegradable" plastics on the market today are part of the problem—they simply shatter into smaller, invisible pieces of plastic that end up in our soil and our bodies.
Earthya was founded to stop this cycle. We are dedicated to providing 100% non-toxic, plastic-free compostable alternatives that protect human health and restore the environment.
Why We Started 🌏
Malaysia has one of the worst microplastic problems in the world. Research shows Malaysians ingest an average of 502.3mg of microplastics a day — the highest rate among 109 countries studied, with more than half of it coming from the fish we eat. It's tied directly to how much single-use plastic runs through daily life here: takeaway food bags, plastic containers, drink bags ("ikat tepi"), straws, the shopping bag handed over at every counter.
Our parent company, Zantat (est. 1981), has spent decades deep in materials science as one of Malaysia's leading calcium carbonate producers — and sitting inside the plastics supply chain gave us a front-row seat to how conventional plastic actually behaves, from production to landfill. Regular plastic can take over a hundred years to break down, and eventually finds its way back into our bodies through the food chain. Worse still, many "eco-friendly" plastics sold as photo-degradable or oxo-degradable don't fix this — they just shatter faster into smaller, invisible fragments, making the microplastic problem worse, not better.
That's what pushed us toward compostable bioplastics as the real fix. Earthya was founded to replace the single-use plastics Malaysians rely on every day with something that actually disappears — no microplastics, no century-long wait, no trace left behind.
The Plastic Crisis in Malaysia
Discover the microplastic threat — and how Earthya fights back.
The Journey to Get It Right 🔬
Getting Earthya right took 2–3 years of R&D. And the hardest part wasn't even the science.
Beyond the technical work of engineering a bag that composts at home yet holds up like regular plastic, we ran into a bigger problem: Malaysia's consumers had almost no way to tell real compostable products apart from "greenwashed" ones. Without strong government-led education on eco-alternatives, the market got flooded with plastics vaguely labelled "degradable" — technically true, but still shedding microplastics after they fall apart. Well-meaning shoppers who wanted to do the right thing kept ending up misled.
So we took education into our own hands — talks, social media explainers, and getting out to exhibitions and community events where people could hold, test, and trial the product for themselves. Nothing builds trust in "this actually composts" faster than watching it happen.
The Earthya Standard ✅
We don't ask for blind trust; we provide proof. Our products are engineered to be:
100% Microplastic-Free
We use bio-compound technology that contains zero toxic heat-stabilizers or traditional polymers.
Certified 180-Day Decomposition
Our materials are SIRIM-certified to fully compost into nutrient-rich soil within 180 days, leaving no trace behind.
Locally Innovated
We are proud to be a Malaysian brand. Our research, development, and production all happen right here in Ipoh.
A Message From Our Team 💬
We know changing a habit is hard — especially when "convenient" and "eco-friendly" feel like they're pulling in opposite directions. But that's exactly what Earthya is here to prove wrong: going green doesn't have to mean sacrifice, it just means substitution.
We're not going to promise you that one bag will save the planet. What we do want is for you to feel reassured every time you reach for one: it won't shed microplastics while you're using it, and it won't sit as a burden on the earth after you throw it away.
Don't underestimate what one person can do. One roll of our S-size bags holds 30 bags — 10 people using a roll each is already 300 bags diverted, 100 people is 3,000. Multiply that out, and it adds up to a lot fewer plastic bags in Malaysia's — and the world's — landfills.
Going green was never about one person doing everything. It's the sum of everyone's small choices. For our home, and for a next generation that deserves cleaner air and clearer oceans — let's look after this one planet we've got. 🌍
The Earthya Gallery
Located in the heart of Ipoh (next to the iconic Sam Ma Chicken Rice), the Earthya Gallery is our commitment to radical transparency. It is more than a store; it is a learning hub.
Here, you can witness the decomposition process firsthand, explore our educational exhibits, and understand the science of sustainability.
We aren't just selling bags; we are building a plastic-free legacy for the next generation. 🌍