Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL) is organizing the RECO Young Designer Competition 2017, the biggest design competitions for recycling in Thailand. This year’s edition has officially begun, and what makes this year’s competition so special is that previous winners from 2011-2016 will compete with one other to find the Champ of Champs under the ECOFIT theme.
Mr. Richard Jones, Vice President of Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, the world’s leading petrochemical producers and a leading global manufacturer of wool yarns, talked about the RECO Young Designer Competition 2017, mentioning that this year’s competition is the sixth edition. The competition originated from Indorama’s vision as a world-class chemicals company making great products for society. With regards to the company’s long embrace of sustainability, IVL undertook important measures including building recycling facilities throughout the region to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reuse our waste, and recycle used PET bottles for the production of polyester fibers and filaments. The recycled products from this site serve the end markets of packaging, fabrics, filling, and non-woven textiles and industrial products.
By increasing public awareness of recycling and reuse, the designers have to use these recycled materials in their creative work. Creative ideas can add value to the products, while recycling the materials can reduce the amount of waste, and solve environmental issues.
In 2015, the amount of plastic waste in Thailand was 2.7 million tons, or 7,000 tons a day. About 50% of such waste is disposed of incorrectly (source: Pollution Control Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, 2015). This leads to other issues such as contamination in the soil, water and air, and the greenhouse effect. Everyone has to take part in solving these problems by using materials carefully, separating waste to enable recycling, and supporting the use of recycled materials to make usable products.
“Recycling is a part of our mission to be socially and environmentally responsible. In 2016, the company recycled 337,000 tons of PET bottles, generating USD 6.845 billion. Used PET bottles are turned into plastic beads and polyester, which are later supplied to packaging and apparel factories,” said Mr Jones.
The RECO Young Designer Competition 2017 is building on the company’s social and environmental mission through a new generation. The top three winners of the RECO Young Designer Competitions from 2011-2016 will be brought together to produce creative and innovative works using recycled materials, to find the Champ of Champs. There are two categories in the competition: Fashion Design and Product Design. The designers will use Ecorama polyester to design products under the ECOFIT Theme. The competition’s core objective is that the designers use PET and polyester as their main materials to create products using their creativity and imagination.
This year’s competition is honored by well-known design experts who will be the judges and speakers, including Mr. Apiwat Yotprapan, Mr. Adisak Rojsiripan, Ms. Jarupatch Archawasamitr,
Associate Professor Dr. Singh Intrachooto, Mr. Chaiyong Rattana-angkura, and Associate Professor Dr. Supavee Sirinkraporn, along with judges from Elle Thailand. The participating designers will also join a special product design and development workshop with design gurus, and observe recycling innovations at IVL recycling facilities in Thailand. The three finalists will also have a chance to showcase their designs at ELLE Fashion Week 2017.
“Many talented designers have been accepted to join this competition. We hope to see creativity, uniqueness and practicality in their designs so that we can inspire the public and raise awareness of recycling and reuse, in order to save our environment while adding an edge to the design and fashion industries,” said Mr. Jones.
For the latest updates from the RECO Young Designer Competition 2017, please visit: www.facebook.com/recoyoungdesigner or www.indoramaventures.com/RECO
