"Sea" Beyond the Sea

Investigating the secrets of environmental conservation glasses

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Transcripts

What was the motivation behind your company's decision to take environmental conservation action? / How does your company utilize marine waste to achieve marine conservation?

Environmental conservation is our goal; Initially, we started by focusing on the theme of the circular economy. The selection of this theme itself has a long context. I initially studied industrial design, and my early career was in the technology industry in Taiwan. During that time, we observed significant resource wastage in Taiwan's technology industry. As we delved into the issue, we realized that human societies and modern lifestyles worldwide continue similar practices. The opposite of the circular economy is actually the linear economy. In the past, including the production of mobile phones, products like electronic devices have always operated under the model of what is known as a linear economy. Simply put, we extract natural resources from the Earth, such as mines, petrochemicals, and plastics, and then turn them into products like plastic. These materials are then used to manufacture electronic products like mobile phones for consumers. In the past, smartphones had a longer lifespan, but in recent years, people tend to replace them every one or two years. Most people don't consider what happens to these discarded phones. Mostly, they end up as electronic waste, being burned or buried. Only a small percentage, containing valuable metals, gets recycled. Let me share a brief story based on my past work experience. When I first entered university to study design, one of my classmates, once asked, “Hey, why do we need a design department?” I studied in a comprehensive university. Our school includes various departments, including arts, engineering, and medicine. On the contrary, he felt that studying design or being a designer was a rather useless role. He believed that constructing a house only required architects and engineers, and the production of various products had their respective roles in creating what humans needed. Designers, in his opinion, seemed like an unnecessary role. He believed that designers, within the framework of the past economic model, were accomplices in capitalism or the capitalist world while they encouraged consumption by making things aesthetically pleasing and selling them to consumers. At that time, I couldn't provide an answer, as I had just started my design studies. I don't know why, as it happened a long time ago, but I've always remembered this incident. It's something quite worth contemplating. Another anecdote is from when I first entered the electronics industry to work on mobile phones. One day, a department assistant suddenly asked me why: At that time, when mobile phones were just gaining popularity, a brand might simultaneously produce numerous different models, ranging from low-end to high-end, and introduce new models every year. He asked a philosophical question about human progress, pondering why humans always strive for improvement. He felt that everything stemmed from humanity's continuous pursuit of progress. In other words, even if the current iPhone, with its powerful camera and fast internet speed, is considered impressive this year, a new iPhone will be introduced the following year. He asked, “What exactly is the endpoint? Why do we pursue progress?” So, these two issues, the challenges during my college years and those in my professional life, led me to reflect on why I chose to pursue this path. I felt a certain impact on me, especially after working for some time in the electronics industry. I found myself questioning the meaningfulness of continuing to work on mobile phones. Consequently, I resigned from my job and started taking freelance projects. With my partner, beyond taking on client projects for our livelihood, we aimed to undertake our own projects. Initially, we envisioned creating furniture that we personally liked and found cool. However, as we delved into this endeavor, participating in exhibitions and creating numerous pieces, we still felt a sense of emptiness. We began to doubt the purpose of making beautiful furniture when there were already so many talented designers creating aesthetically pleasing pieces. Then, I proposed to my partner that I wanted to delve into the concept of the circular economy. Thus, we began researching what actions we could take for such a project. At that time, both my partner and I were in Seattle. I told him that if we were to pursue this project, I would want to do it in Taiwan. Taiwan has a comprehensive industrial ecosystem, including established recycling mechanisms and a multitude of small enterprises. To make a meaningful impact, I believed we needed to approach this initiative from a local and grounded perspective, which was something I was particularly passionate about. From the Taiwanese perspective, it was evident that environmental issues, particularly marine waste, demanded urgent attention. As we delved into this issue, we came across discarded fishing nets as a substantial problem within marine waste. Surprisingly, this problem had received minimal attention, primarily because fishing nets were not considered consumer waste; rather, they were a byproduct of the fishing industry, categorized as fishing industry waste. As a result, most consumers might not pay much attention to it. For instance, during beach cleanups, items like plastic bottles, straws, and plastic bags from our daily lives tend to attract more attention. However, when we discovered the severity of the issue regarding discarded fishing nets, especially the lack of attention in Taiwan, we decided to focus our efforts on this problem and started researching international and domestic information. Initially, our research leaned heavily on international information since domestic information was relatively scarce. We discovered that abroad, some individuals were actively involved in fishing net recycling, yet there was a noticeable absence of such initiatives in Taiwan. Motivated by this gap, we committed ourselves to tackling the issue of discarded fishing nets and marine pollution, marking it as our next project.

Why did your company choose to utilize fishing nets as your recycled raw materials?

We started with marine waste, specifically focusing on discarded fishing nets known as ghost nets. The term “ghost nets” is used because these nets are intentionally or unintentionally discarded into the sea, often haunting the ocean. The name reflects the nature of these nets—they are not fixed in one place but rather float freely in the sea, continuously disturbing or capturing marine life. Originally designed for fishing, these nets, when uncontrolled and abandoned, pose a continuous threat, as they sink into the ocean and can adversely impact underwater ecosystems, including coral reefs. Therefore, we chose to address this issue. Then, we pondered, how could we address the issue of floating fishing nets? Initially, our ideas were rather naive. We wondered if we could collect these discarded fishing nets from marine waste and repurpose them to create products. In the early stages, we struggled to find anyone in Taiwan undertaking this initiative. At that point, I suggested to my partner that if no one else was addressing this issue, why not take the initiative ourselves? So, during that time, we actively sought guidance and information on how to go about implementing our initiative. This involved inquiries about the necessity of cleaning the fishing nets, the equipment needed for collection and processing. Through our research, we discovered that there were indeed factories in Taiwan equipped for such processes; however, the equipment was quite expensive, possibly costing several million dollars. We soon gave up upon this idea later though due to the following reasons. First, our capital cannot afford to establish such equipment. Second, the situation is not as easy as simply producing after the purchase of one machinery; you need a plot of land and factory to fulfill such goals in Taiwan. Similar to a patented business, recycling waste in Taiwan is not something that everyone could do even if they want to. Additionally, since we believe that with only us two personnels in the design company, we should find another pathway by contracting with other factories instead of figuring it out on our own. Fortunately, during that time in 2018, I traveled frequently between Taiwan and Seattle, to which I participated in some Taiwanese foundations related to economic circulation or some meetings that discussed the circular economy. This allowed us to meet the factory contractors that would later help us recycle these fishnets. In regards to acquiring these fishnets, as I previously mentioned, our original idea was pretty naive. Given that a lot of Taiwanese organizations like Re-Think have regular beach cleanup activities and have collected a lot of fishnet wastes, we originally wondered whether we could utilize these fishnet wastes as our raw material source. We then realized that this idea was infeasible after we inquired some remaining fishnet business owners that recycles fishnets. According to them, they have also previously done similar beach cleanup to gather fishnets, but could not effectively circulate them for several reasons. First, these fishnets originated from beach cleanups and second is the uncertainty of the material. Since fishnets are not produced with a single material source, with some using PE, PP, nylon, PVE, and other plastic materials, the uncertainty regarding the material source was immense. Additionally, the quality of these fishnets are also questionable as a result of its nature as marine wastes, for instance, some dirt or other waste might linger or become stuck in these fishnets prior to its final location on the shores. This requires a tremendous amount of time, labor, and even water sources to process a single sheet of fishnet waste. Therefore, to them, the processing cost in the beginning is extremely high, and the source or the amount of fishnets was also relatively unstable; you might retrieve some raw materials today after the beach cleanup, but what about tomorrow. For them, due to the impracticalities of a stable and sustainable renewable source, it could not enter the production chain. Thus, based on their past experiences, their fishnet sources are usually from the unwanted or inoperable fishnets from the fishermen in order to ensure a more viable and sustainable material source. Then we later felt that this was actually a more feasible and sustainable solution. During that time, we believe that it is feasible because we could add value to these wastes. In which, this includes the fact that if production processes or communication with the media or the general public could render this method and material more valuable, more business owners would be willing to enter the market by using such raw materials or conduct fishnet recycling, reducing the chances of fishnets becoming marine waste. This is due to the fact that originally these fishermen might believe that the processing of these fishnets wastes, such as through incineration or the purchase of waste processing machines, were very costly, leading to their decision to simply leave these fishnets in the ocean. Hence, once we make these marine wastes valuable or establish this supply chain, these fishermen would perceive that these fishnet wastes, regardless of whether they were produced or discovered by them, were actually profitable. Such a scenario would result in a greater viability and sustainability, becoming the so-called circular economy. So, we later began to transition our goal towards adding value to these marine wastes. Once it becomes valuable and profitable, the entire business and circulation would be established.

How did your company obtain the fishing nets? / In comparison to the traditional materials, what are the unique functions of your company’s fishing nets? 

Looking back, the primary material used for fishing nets is nylon. Nylon's characteristics make it highly suitable for crafting fishing nets. In regards to the characteristics of nylon, it has two primary advantages. First of all, it is extremely light, since the fishnets used in pelagic fisheries typically have a larger surface area; if its material is not light enough, it would appear as very bulky. Second of all, although its material is relatively soft in texture, it is very tenacious, which is also why it is used to produce fishnets. For instance, most of the fishnets we see are unifilar, like fishing lines. This raises a question of how such a thin fishing line could capture an enormous fish, which we interpret as a result of nylon’s tenacity. In general, these are the current two characteristics we envision, which is that it is very light and tenacious.

Why did your company choose to produce glasses?

Actually, the method of adopting nylon in glass production is not unprecedented. In other words, it is an existing material in the market. The only difference is that the traditional nylon is utilized and the nylon is within the fish nets. Moreover, there are different types of nylon. Given that the code for nylon is PA, the material could be categorized into PA6, PA66, PA12, and there are also foreign firms developing a different material with nylon. In spite of that, using these materials is relatively similar, specifically in regards to the fact that they could both be produced in very thin forms while retaining tenacity. Therefore, if you look at a lot of current eyeglasses store chains, such as franchised brands of Owndays or Jins, then you will find that there is a section specialized in lightweight eyeglasses. They primarily used near-nylon materials, or the transformation of nylon to produce these glasses. Thus, we thought that such material presents a certain degree of opportunity, and even suitability in eyeglasses production. As aforementioned, in the beginning, the nylon material in fishnets is comparatively too soft to those used in eyewear production. Ergo, we have to investigate and research with the material supplier, in order to alter the fishnet materials to resemble that of the nylon material used in eyeglasses. Another reason is that we have that this product is a daily necessity in demand for Taiwanese people. This explains why we don't usually give our products like other cultural industries in the gifting market do with their basic commodities. From another perspective, what we actually want is to produce something that a Taiwanese individual would need and be willing to buy, instead of judging it simply based on appearance like other gifts. Hence, from these two perspectives, we just think that since the skill required for eyeglasses production is relatively less intensive, it is also a pretty decent item for us to test. In which, its scale is generally smaller, and we could immediately assemble different styles to test in areas, such as materials, brand, and market.

How does your company turn fishing nets into circular glasses

Actually, the production process does not rely on high-end technologies. We cooperate with fishnet production companies, which they aided in the process of fishnet recycling. There are two primary recycling methods in Taiwan, including physical and chemical processes. Under which, we adopted the physical recycling method, which is to melt it with high temperature for liquefaction and mold them into shapes like cuttlefish noodles. Since nylon's melting is around 220 to 240 degrees, the high temperature requires a lengthy water channel to initiate cooling until it solidifies. After then, we cut them into granular pieces to obtain the primary structure of nylon. Then, we adhere to the demand in the market. For instance, to produce pairs of glasses with more durable and tenacious qualities, we change to physical property of the product. After finishing these granules, we take them into to the eyeglasses production factory, where we use a molding process called injection molding. This involves using a mold. Injection molding is the process of melting the plastic granules into a liquid state and then injecting them into a mold, which opens and closes just like making waffles, with the plastic serving as the batter. This is done under high temperature and pressure. There will be a hole through which the molten plastic or nylon is injected into the mold. After a brief cooling period, the mold is opened. For instance, this white dot is the aforementioned feed inlet, so its mold basically looks like this. Then it would appear to be like such an object upon injection. During the past two years of making our first prototypes, since we were not able to fully grasp the characteristics of such material, the surface of our products were generally imperfect. In those two years, we had to spray a transparent layer of matte coating in the end to smoothen its surface texture. Comparatively, in these two years, when we were finally able to master the characteristics of this material, our second product model reflects its actual form after injection. In other words, no further processing was done to alter it. This is actually a very grand strategy for manufacturers. In the past, minimal defects in products like electronics are acceptable as coatings could cover these blemishes. However, if you want the product color to resemble what it originally was intended to be, such as using green material to produce green products, it means that the production procedure should not contain any flaw or imperfections. Otherwise, the flaw would appear very obvious, which is what we have improved throughout the past two years in terms of production.

Why did your company choose to transform into a circular economy-focused design company in Taiwan?

The first point is that, after we were involved in the circular economic for a period of time, we concluded several methods and essentials for circular economy designs. One of them is localization, which should incorporate the entire chain of manufacturing, sales, and recycling. In this circular system, it is optimal to minimize the scale of production; if any offshoring or exporting activities occur, regardless of whether material or product, its most direct externality is the transportation carbon footprint. Thus, when we normally attempt to restrict the magnitude of economic activities from a circular economic perspective, it actually presents minimal effect on the environment. Now of course we cannot limit the production scale to its bare minimum, so Taiwan presents a viable scope for our production. From a more realistic perspective to address the underlying reason behind our choice, Taiwan is not a large location but possesses a complete production line. Although there is a lot of traditional sectors outsourcing to countries like China, Southeast Asia, and others, Taiwan's research, development and manufacturing capabilities are still present. For example, a lot of eyewear factories we cooperate with have also established factories in China. Nevertheless, most of the high-end products are still produced in Taiwan, rationalizing our model of circular economy in Taiwan. Another point is, when we observe the consumer market in Taiwan, the general public actually has a high environmental awareness. For example, nearly everyone likes to use reusable cups and utensils and has one or two in their possession. This proves that Taiwanese consumers do have some degree of environmental awareness, and the sole lack is the information and product choices for them. Aside from reusable utensils, cups, and straw, every daily necessity could be transformed from linear economy to circular economy, the only issue is either the lack of know-how or the lack of awareness regarding product circulation feasibilities. One example is when you decided to purchase eyeglasses, you would not recognize the potential that eyeglasses could and should also be circulated. Another is that even if one recognizes such, he or she would also be uncertain of which product to purchase to reduce the product's impact or the consumer's impact upon the environment. Hence, given the Taiwanese market and environmental awareness, they lack someone who can promote Taiwan's circular economy industry. Our idea is that we hope that we could bridge the gap between Taiwanese circular economy with the consumers. One of the advantages of being a design company, is that this is something that we are good at; we serve the role similar to that of a translator, where we connect circular economy sectors with consumers, which is what we hope to achieve. Secondly, then through the perspective of the consumer, these Taiwanese business owners should also transition towards the circular economy. This is due to the 2023 American and European sanction of carbon tariffs, so if Taiwanese manufacturers want to continue to produce, whether as an independent brand or OEM, a necessary transition is needed in order to export to the United States or Europe. Carbon tariffs basically is when the original cost of pen production is 100 dollars, but the price for pollution right is 20 dollars. When it enters the European market, without any offset of carbon tax, it means that its market entry will be levied with a 20 percent carbon tax. Relative to this pen, its cost will increase from 100 dollars to 120 dollars. This means that first, the cost will increase; second, the competitiveness will be reduced. This is because that under the condition that the pen product is homogenous, if Europe views that the production cost in China or Vietnam is around 105 dollars, which is cheaper than 120 dollars in Taiwan, its order will be placed upon more inexpensive places. This concept is to internalize the environmental to actual costs, because when considering the cost of linear economy, the environmental externalities are not accounted for. For instance, if I extract oil to produce plastic or mine to produce metal, the material cost could be directly translated into its total cost originally, exempting the environmental factors of incineration and recycling from production cost. Thus, the current global economic mode simply adds on the environmental cost that should have been accounted for. This is why we envision that a lot of Taiwanese companies would need to transition towards circular economy, which our product appears as a demonstration for business owners to know how to operate from the brand to actual manufacturing perspectives. It also shows that this transition is plausible. As a design company, when counseling these business owners in the future, we will also be capable of knowing what the difficulties that would be expected. In which, we could help them construct some portion of chain as we do not expect business owners to complete the entirety immediately. However, we could at least address the supply chain issues from the material and or the recycling side.

How does your company promote marine conservation through Hibāng recycled glasses?

Yes, in the past, as I have just mentioned, there are two primary objectives for our project, including the experimentation of a circular economy in the process of product and brand development. There are two primary communication channels, namely B2B and B2C, in order to discuss the issue of ghost nets in wastes and the inclusion of the circular economy. This allows consumers and the broader audience to know about the existence of this very problem and how we are going to address it. Basically, throughout the last two years, our initial communication method was primarily through crowdfunding platforms. It is actually pretty similar to the method of traditional brand marketing, where we also shoot videos and photos. The content entails fish net wastes and ghost nets, where we utilize such along with copies to communicate such issues. Additionally, we are also engaging in long-term partnerships with a-sink. As aforementioned briefly, a-sink has been continuously engaging in the area of environmental conservation, including marine environment, and an NGO. In which, in our previous two instances of crowdfunding, we did donate approximately two percent of the funds to them to continue their promotion in regards to Taiwanese environment conservation and education. We don't really make bold claims actually, in regards to what we have accomplished in marine conservation.

What has been your company’s biggest challenge in producing circular glasses? How was it resolved?

This could be divided into two matters, first is material, and second is the design of glasses. Given the fact that my partner and I both originated from a designer background in the technological sector, to us, glasses are actually a relatively basic product when compared to designing or producing a mobile phone. However, although it appears simple, the most difficult part is that when we design an iphone or an ordinary phone, it could be used for everyone; there is no substantial differentiation between your phone and my phone, except the phone case. However, in the case of glasses, the style of your glasses and his or her glasses, irrespective of the size, would differentiate in terms of its patterns and appearances. In which, the differences originate from two causes: the first one is psychological, which includes my personal preference on the style, pattern and colors; the second, which is also the most difficult to overcome, is that every individual's face appears different, including the size, shape, and form are all different. In the beginning, we kind of used the traditional method. Given that we also do not really understand the design mechanisms behind glasses, so we basically just mass-produced them. We personally bought a 3D printer, and designed multiple different glasses, imitating other instances of size and form and then adding our own ideas of what we perceive as a pair of good-looking glasses. We then invited a lot of people to try on to assess whether the glasses are comfortable, its appearance, and whether they like it. We then discovered that the design process is actually pretty difficult, including as aforementioned, whether the ellipses are perfect circles or slightly oval; its expression is starkly different on the different faces. Furthermore, when I was designing the blueprint in two-dimensional forms, and compared it with my three-dimensional product, I wondered if my blueprint was already very detailed, but my glasses appeared very rough. It is the ratio that we spent a period of time exploring, and also the size , which is relatively difficult, since everyone's ears, eyes, and inter-pupillary distance come in different heights and sizes. Thus, after learning these limitations, we understood that it was very difficult for us to even design three editions to satiate everyone. Actually, if you could satisfy half of the consumers, it is already very impressive. Hence, in the future, if we continue on this initiative, we should actually develop with a focus on diversification. However, we are still currently contemplating what we actually want to do. In other words, we have not established our own brand perception as a glasses brand yet; we actually hope to develop through different aspects in life.

Did the government provide assistance to your company? If so, what kind of assistance?

Yes, they did. Basically, there are two types of assistance. One is funding. We have only applied once, which was after we completed our first generation, and we applied for the Golden Pin Design Award in Taiwan. Those trophies behind us are from that competition. Later, we found out they have ongoing subsidies for design. One of them is assistance for circular design. So, when we were designing the second generation of glasses, we received a subsidy of around 890,000 NTD through the government’s assistance for circular design. This provided us with more funds to design the next generation of glasses. Other forms of assistance include participation in exhibitions. This includes subsidies for domestic cultural and creative fairs in Taiwan, specifically for the booths in the fair. These subsidies do not provide you actual money, but rather encourage you to participate and provide a discounted entry price if you fulfill certain qualifications. Additionally, the trip last year to Japan’s exhibition was partially funded by semi-official organizations of Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. As for this year’s trip to Paris for the MO exhibition, it is also subsidized by the government. So these are a few subsidy mechanisms the government provides for companies like ours.

Is your company planning to engage in interdisciplinary collaborations to integrate the concepts of circular economy across more brands?

We're very passionate about it. To be honest, when people ask us about the number of fishing nets we can recycle for making eyeglasses, we often highlight the scale by showing them the number of fishing nets at the factory or from industry partners. Comparatively, the volume of fishing nets we use for our eyeglasses is quite small. So, when you consider the impact of eyeglasses on fishing net recycling from a quantitative perspective, it's not substantial. That's why we are more inclined towards the model of circular design. There are two approaches we're considering. One is to collaborate with other brands or companies, whether using our brand or co-branding to launch products in different lifestyle areas. The other approach involves guiding industry partners, and helping them with circular design from their brand's perspective. These are the two models we hope to sustain. In contrast to continually launching new products under our own brand, we believe collaborating with others has a potentially greater impact

What are the goals for your company's future development?

I hope our company can have more people. Currently, we are the same company, only my partner and I. The pace and actions are slow-going. For example, we will develop new products annually. We can sell the products the following year, but we need to find more ways to communicate with consumers. This is a challenge to pursue all the things we want to do. Our energy is limited, and this process cycle needs to be shorter. Moreover, we hope that every year we will produce more frequently, whether it is developing new products or pushing our products to domestic and international markets. Currently, our human resources progress could be faster. Therefore, we would like more financial resources for collaborations and projects, which can expand our team. We are focusing on these goals for the next two or three years.

In the future, does your company plan to apply your existing technology to other products?

Indeed, besides the development of our own company, another aspect is our desire to explore more materials we can use. The materials include metal, glass, and other various types of plastics. There are two main points we focus on. First, discover more materials and utilize a broader range of making different products. Second is using the same materials utilizing various aspects of life. For instance, last year, we were working on a project in which a company approached us for corporate procurement. We continue the project this year. Their company mixed their own company's materials with ours and conducted tests. The results were feasible. As I mentioned, we had a corporation with that company last year. We had purchased a batch of glasses that combined their company materials with ours. Therefore, the company we cooperate with is exploring the potential of different materials for different products. Thus, we are researching and developing new products to meet the customer's fulfillment demands.

To achieve the goal of a circular economy, how does your company carry out secondary recycling of circular glasses?

We have always felt that a good product is not determined by whether it’s made of secondary or recycled materials. The material we currently use, if it can be continuously recycled, the fact that it is plastic or recycled material is not very important. This is because it means that the material will not become waste. Therefore, it can be recovered from fishing nets, or it can be a new material. To be honest, when the circular economy of this product is established, it is not the case. So, in essence, using fishing nets to recycle this material is more about promoting environmental conservation and education rather than essentially serving as a circular product. It's a broader perspective on the issue. This gives a general understanding of the furniture industry as well. For glasses, the threshold for this market is very high after our research. For example, we also participated in the Milan Furniture Fair, and there were actually many white people. Brands and distributors, when they look at one of your furniture. He will treat you as a brand. But if you go for a year, then you only come up with a chair or two projects. He may be quite interesting, and then he will tell you that we need to keep in touch. He is looking to see if you can survive in the industry for three to five years because he doesn't want to use the brand they operate, and he will not want to say that I bought a beautiful chair this year. And then, if you suddenly give up next month or next year, all the resources invested in the early stages would essentially go to waste. So, in the context of the furniture market, if you intend to establish your own brand, you need to make a long-term investment. For us, I think, are currently difficult to afford. If our goal is to venture into furniture, our approach might involve collaborating with other brands or established players in the furniture industry, rather than developing everything on our own. While we can undertake independent development, we might not pursue it as our brand. Alternatively, once we've established a foundation, we can explore collaborations, such as cross-brands or joint ventures. Currently, we're keen on exploring outdoor furniture, like items designed for outdoor activities or camping, as we've discovered that the material we use is well-suited for such purposes. Regarding the environment, this one has very good hardness, that is, it is not afraid of dirt or water, it is light, and it is tough. However, we are still thinking about how to apply this feature to outdoor products, supplies, and even furniture. For example, we know some outdoor KOLs because of these glasses, and they have come to follow them before. We discussed, we should develop some camping supplies together. Then from their perspective, they often have to go camping, for example, by riding a bicycle, but they have to cook and have picnics in the wild, so they want to think about whether they can make a mobile kitchen using such materials or other materials, and then it can be very light, and then more Function like this. There are still some ideas similar to this.