Q.1 What was the initial motivation for designing products made from recyclable materials?
In 2019, we contacted a wood manufacturer that cooperated with our company. They provided us with bamboo fiber materials and showed us an eco-friendly straw made from agricultural waste. Our company thought these products had much potential, so we started conducting research and extending ideas. As an international trading company working on designing clothing accessories and props, we thought of incorporating agricultural materials into manufacturing these products. Clients have requested products made from eco-friendly materials, which matched our original goal of rejuvenating agricultural waste perfectly. Eventually, we started expanding on the aspect of the environment, which led to the company we have now.
Q.2 Does the company plan to cooperate with organizations to achieve environmental goals collectively?
Laiwa Company has been eager to cooperate with exhibitions and businesses in recent years. In the past, Laiwa Company has worked with NOKE₁ and AABT₂, who held exhibitions in Neihu. We also participated in the marketing of sustainably-produced items in Huashan. In Tainan, these sustainable markets are widely known and popular. We try to attend as many of these activities as possible, jointly promoting sustainable development and environmental protection.
NOKE₁ - (忠泰樂生活) Acronym for "North of Keelung River." The pronunciation also sounds like "knock," symbolizing "knocking on the door to open up new aspects of life." An infrastructure that blends art with nature and includes outdoor features of nature.
AABT₂ - (明日製作所) Acronym for "Atelier A Better Tomorrow." An organization that promotes sustainable development through art and innovative planning.
Q.3 Did Laiwa Company encounter any major events or turning points during its entrepreneurial process?
During the pandemic, the company encountered a major turning point. The only way to maintain a place in the market is by increasing competitiveness. We thought about taking the advice of previous customers and fulfilling their requirements. For instance, our company designed a display rack since it also falls into the category of homewares or fashion props. The earliest design we created was made from styrofoam Laiwa collected from oceans. Because of COVID, we needed something that the customers could accept and make them want to continue doing business with the company. That's when we started investigating agricultural waste. Later, our rice husk hangers successfully gained the trust of customers, so we continued to develop them to this day.
Q.4 How does Laiwa Company obtain and recycle waste materials?
We mostly cooperate with material dealers to make all sorts of products. These material dealers get their agricultural waste from the local farmers and markets, then they get sent to the factories that make our products.
Q.5 What are the core values of Laiwa Company? How have the principles guided its development?
Laiwa Company has a core value of "Moving towards traceless-ness, moving towards zero." This saying establishes our goal of achieving net zero in the production of our goods and minimizing the waste we generate in the process. We hope to continuously conduct the flow of sustainable materials into the creation of our merchandise, and eventually extend the life of this waste, it's like giving them a second life.
Q.6 How do hangers made from rice husk differ from eco-friendly products from recycled materials such as coffee grounds?
First of all, the material is obviously different. Another difference is that the hangers made from coffee grounds are harder to process compared to the ones made from rice husks. Coffee grounds contain oil, and they also react with water, so the preserving process might make them moldy. Because of the same reason, it is also harder for the factories to remove the water in the process. The complicated process makes the prices of the two types of hangers differ as well. However, we still like the colors and originality of the products.
Q.7 Did COVID-19 disturb Laiwa Company's operations? If so, how did it adapt to the problem/change?
In the pandemic years, many countries were largely impacted by lockdown and the shutdown of trading. Some organizations we used to work with also saw a decline in their business, making our company vulnerable. However, the company brainstormed different methods to promote our merchandise. We came across the idea of sustainably producing goods for customers and promoting our company on social media even more. Even though companies across the world are also experiencing a decline, they are still providing services to the people, so we need to do the same to maintain competitiveness. Because our company started from online media, we wanted to promote our values further and come in contact with even more customers. Though this change did negatively impact the company a lot, it taught us a valuable lesson on how we can adapt and solve problems.
Q.8 How does Laiwa Company enhance its recognition among other businesses in the sustainability market?
Other than participating in local markets and exhibitions, we also sell our products through social media. On places like Instagram and Facebook, these items and commercials can be easily seen and interact with customers more easily. These customers are also very helpful. They constantly provide feedback and give us their experience with our products.
Q.9 What inspired Laiwa Company to focus on the production of furniture?
The production of homewares/furniture was influenced by the awareness we wanted to raise. Through homewares, we hope to connect the environment with customers' daily lives. Like hangers and sunglasses, they are widely used everywhere, making them an easily understandable item. International companies, like Laiwa Company, usually sell their items to distributors, agents, or mid-market dealers. These people help spread our awareness to further places and countries.
Q.10 What are Laiwa Company’s long-term objectives and vision for the future?
What we are doing now is researching and developing new products made of reused materials. Our company has a research and development team. For the reused agricultural waste, we also develop and use clothing and fabric fibers to recycle them and then use them to make building materials panels. The plastic particles formed by the composite particles may also be used to make clothes hangers or other products that require plastic pigments. We hope that those materials can be used in cultural and creative products, where they may also be made into pens, flower pots, and daily necessities.
Q.11 Does Laiwa Company plan to leverage AI in the development of new products?
I believe that AI is a fairly new topic nowadays, so since we have not yet applied AI development in our products, we are trying to generate images and copywriting with AI technology. This makes our content more convincing and also provides us with more ideas for what we want to design.
Q.12 Has the company engaged in or participated in any environmental awareness activities?
For example, as mentioned above, if there are markets or exhibitions in our company that promote or sell environmentally friendly materials or environmentally friendly products. We will try our best and participate in those activities within our capabilities. Then, we will as well organize activities like beach cleaning. We hope that through beach cleaning, on one hand, we clean the environment step by step; and on the other hand, let everyone know how to promote this concept and recognize what the world is suffering now.
Q.13 May the company share its aspirations for sustainable development?
We want to say that everyone would agree that environmental protection is something that the public or individuals are willing to do. However, what we hope for is that our expectations will be implemented. This means that everyone isn't just speaking about it, but also knowing it's making the world a better place and also taking action. The problem is, that we don't know what we can do to make people work for our environment. That's why we, ourselves, sell eco-friendly products while educating people that we achieve the effects of carbon reduction and waste reduction. Maybe, during this process, people learn to reduce the burden caused on our Earth as much as possible. We hope that what we do is sustainable, and we truly hope that everyone can do easy actions such as recycling bottles, cans, and plastics.
Q.14 Why did the company implement special offers for imperfect products?
I would like to share that there are obvious differences between our recycled materials and new products. In terms of quality, they have some randomness and instability. For example, we once had customers buying clothes hangers from us. The clothes hangers bought at different times have different color shades. Sometimes, they may be yellowish, and sometimes they are whiter. This means that the color of organic products or waste is different. In different situations, the conditions are different, reflecting the natural differences under different conditions. The products we sell are not like factories, where they have standard line specifications. Our products, in people's perception, new, standard, and unscarred products may be different. We hope that this strategy of selling slightly flawed items earns acceptance from our customers since these natural materials are carried out just like this.