What we print with: a plain-English guide to PLA

It comes from corn, not crude oil

PLA — polylactic acid — is a bioplastic made from fermented plant starch, usually corn. It's the material behind every lamp, clock and vase we make: rigid enough to hold its shape for years, light enough to ship without padding the box, and it biodegrades in industrial composting instead of sitting in a landfill for centuries.

Color that can't chip or peel

We never paint a finished piece. The pigment is mixed into the filament itself before it's ever printed, so the color runs all the way through the material — there's no surface coat to scratch off a corner or fade unevenly in the sun.

Grown in layers, not molded in seconds

Injection-molded plastic is squeezed into a shape in one shot. Ours is built up in hundreds of thin layers over several hours, which is why a VeeGifts piece can carry geometry a mold simply can't — the fine lattice on a lamp shade, the exact relief of a lithophane photograph.

• Keep pieces out of direct summer sun on windowsills and away from heat above 50°C — PLA softens well before it burns, but it will warp.
• A dry or slightly damp cloth is all the cleaning it needs.
• It's food-contact safe in its raw form, though we don't recommend it for anything that goes in a dishwasher.