Profi le

The Bead 

Man

story by Mary Aho

O

ne of the fi rst things that comes to mind when you think of Mardi Gras is the thousands of colorful beads thrown and collected 
during the parades. Although, there are several other traditions, including the costumes, king cakes, and Krewes. “throws” don’t 
just have to be beaded necklaces however, they are without a doubt one of the most popular. While honoring these age 
old traditions, Mardi Gras 2019 is looking for ways to be more sustainable and eco friendly. An LSU scientist  is on 

his way to producing biodegradable Mardi Gras beads.

The Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans are believed to date back all the way to the 1830’s. These parades begin offi cially 

on January 6 and run throughout the carnival season. The carnival season ends on Fat Tuesday, the day before the start of 
lent. In 1872, a king of carnival named Rex, was invented by a group of business men. Rex tossed sugar coated almonds to 
the crowd. The Mardi Gras “throws” are very similar to some of the English Renaissance era festival customs. 

Later in the 1800’s, glass beads were used to make inexpensive necklaces to be tossed to the crowds. It is believed that 

the fi rst person to use beads as part of their costume was a man dressed as Santa Claus. The beads were an instant hit 
and New Orleans residents and tourists alike quickly adopted adding the beaded necklaces to their costumes.

Over the years, many other “throws” have been tossed and passed out during parades. Krewes have been 

known to pass out toys, candies, doubloons, and cups. In the late 1970’s coconuts were even handed out to the 
crowds at the Mardi Gras parades. However, people feared the coconuts were a liability and would cause 
injury if thrown into the crowds. The group, Zulu, who started passing out the coconuts, fought back. In 
1988, the governor of Louisiana, Edwin Edwards passed the “coconut bill” stating the coconuts could be 
handed out with the beads during Mardi Gras.

Despite all the other goodies being tossed and handed out during the Mardi Gras parades, bead 

necklaces hail as the most popular to this day. Now Mardi Gras beads can be found in all shapes, colors, 
and sizes. However, the most used colors remain the traditional Mardi Gras colors, purple, green, and 
gold. The Purple represents justice; the green represents faith; and the gold represents power. 

With all these beads being thrown, it has produced quiet a lot of waste. Last year, more than 46 

tons of Mardi Gras beads were picked up and pulled from the city’s drain system. That is 93,000 
pounds. An LSU Biological Sciences professor, Naohiro Kato is creating a way to cut back on 
all that waste. “I believe we can change and do better. We have great resources to make 
our Mardi Gras celebrations more sustainable and to protect our environment 
and health” stated Kato in a news release. Kato is creating biodegradable 
Mardi Gras beads out of microalgae that will disintegrate over time. 
Kato thought about using the microalgae to make the Mardi Gras 
beads because it is one of the ingredients used in bioplastic 
production. 

With all these traditions New Orleans Residents 

and tourist from around the globe continue to 
celebrate and enjoy Mardi Gras festivities 
annually. Whether that be with a piece of king 
cake or riding a fl oat tossing beads. With 
the Biodegradable beads in the making 
we are on our way to a cleaner more 
sustainable Mardi Gras celebration. 
So, grab a mask and join a Krewe 
and enjoy this carnival season.

30 - Profile Biodegradable Beads.indd   1

1/28/19   4:29 PM