‘I want to see my baby grow up healthy’
6 years. This is the time when the CEO of HRK Trading and Service Co., Ltd., Ms. Thai Nhu Hang, and her associates research and develop biodegradable bags completely by microorganisms.
During the above period, the company’s finances were in trouble when only investing money without making a profit. B2B business customers are not ready to pay for eco-friendly bags that cost more than traditional plastic bags. “Opportunities come too long. Many expenses to raise troops, raise dreams. We thought we were going to give up. But when I become a parent, I just want to watch my children grow up, live and develop in a healthy environment. Each one itself bag ‘green’ contribute to that”, Ms. Hang said.
The Covid-19 epidemic has caused consumers to gradually change their awareness, pay attention to “green” products, and bags for intermediate goods also need environmentally friendly factors. Since then, HRK’s bag orders have gradually increased.
| The bag contains starch ingredients. (Photo: NVCC) |
Currently, the business is a B2B partner of N Kid Group, Biti’s, Takashimaya Shopping Center, MM Mega Market, Wink Hotel Saigon Centre, Movenpick Resort Waverly Phu Quoc… The average supplier to the market is about 40-50. tons/month line biodegradable bags entirely by microorganisms, and at the same time, providing bioplastics for other manufacturing plants.
HRK currently has two lines of bags including: Biodegradable Bag (produced from tapioca, cornstarch or potato combined with PE); Compostable Bag (made from starch, PLA, PBAT). Both lines of bags decompose in landfill conditions in the natural environment under the influence of microorganisms, forming CO2, H2O and humus.
Notably, the decomposition time of Biodegradable Bag is 24-36 months, Compostable Bag is 9-12 months. Meanwhile, ordinary plastic bags will take several hundred years to decompose, while the OXO line of biodegradable plastic bags (99% plastic + 1% OXO) decomposes into billions of microplastics, which do not disappear completely in the environment. environment.
Coffee, oyster shell, lotus to make clothes
Going a step further, Faslink Fashion Company’s Taiwan partner soon started producing sustainable yarns from coffee, mint, oyster shells, lotus…
For example, used coffee grounds are collected by Taiwanese businesses from coffee shops, dried, ground to nano-molecular size, and then mixed with polyester made from recycled plastic ( clear plastic bottles, the body of mineral water bottles such as Lavie, Aquafina,…). Polyester plays the role of connecting coffee essence, the blend forms the master beans, used to spin fibers, weave fabrics.
Faslink’s Head of Product Development, Mr. Vo Thanh Phuoc, said that a basic plain T-shirt needs about 3 cups of coffee grounds (equivalent to 75g) and 5 plastic bottles to make, depending on the weight of the fabric. This company imports yarn from a Taiwanese partner to weave fabric and supply it to domestic B2B customers. The fabric has the ability to eliminate body odor. For example, after 24 hours of wear, the coffee fabric on jeans measured 95 percent deodorization.
Meanwhile, the fabric made from oyster shell has anti-static feature, limiting the fabric to stick to people in winter, reducing dust, suitable for people with sensitive skin in cold season; Lotus fabric has amino acids, the concentration of negative ions in the fiber is measured at about 800, making the wearer feel like breathing air in the park…
Similar to the story of persuading to buy bags of HRK Company, Faslink also took a long time to change the market mindset. “12 years ago, when we switched to sustainable materials, our offer took a whole year to be approved by our partners. Now, each new material needs 1-2 months to convince customers, “said Mr. Phuoc.
According to him, after the Covid-19 epidemic, the buying mood of consumers has changed. Gen Z is an active, information-seeking audience, aiming for green products today. As a result, Faslink can supply raw materials for many B2B customers, fashion brands such as Owen, Yody… T-shirts made from coffee fibers are sold at Owen for VND 500,000-600,000/piece.
However, price is not necessarily the leading factor. Vietnamese customers are most interested in the feeling of hands when touching products. How coarse or hard the fabric is, how silky it is, this accounts for 70% of the decision whether the line will be accepted or not. The remaining 30% belongs to the color and texture elements of sustainable fabrics.
According to Mr. Phuoc, the Taiwanese company believes that all by-products of the industries need to be utilized to the fullest extent to recycle and form fibers. In contrast, many domestic raw materials are being wasted. Faslink wishes to be able to produce its own lines in the near future fiber products from tea groundscreating a closed supply chain from raw materials to fashion products “Made in Vietnam”.