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[Thailand] Circular Design Trend Spreading in Thailand to Support Medical Practices

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Upcycled dialysis bag products and Protective clothing made from plastic bottles

In Thailand, the movement to eliminate plastic is accelerating from 2020, and art events such as "BANGKOK DESIGN WEEK" and "BANGKOK ART BIENNALE", as well as the design award "DEmark AWARD", are featuring "circular design", a concept that incorporates mechanisms for resource recycling into products in advance. In this context, COVID-19 is a product of the "Circular Design" concept. In this context, the case of incorporating circular design into the solution of issues in the medical field suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic is attracting attention.
One of the most famous examples of medical field x circular design is the initiative of ScrapLab, a materials science research center at Kasetsart University's Faculty of Architecture, which started in 2010. ScrapLab collects dialysis bags, which were discarded in large quantities at hospitals, free of charge, and sells bags that reuse the heat and water resistance and graphics of the materials (around 1,000 THB, or about 3,300 yen), as well as pen cases and pouches (around 300 THB, or about 1,000 yen). The cleaning and sewing of the dialysis bags, which are the raw materials, are outsourced to local low-income communities, and the company also engages in circular economy by purchasing the materials.
In addition to ScrapLab, another circular design company that has been attracting attention is LessPlastic, which is working with major department stores and supermarkets to set up plastic waste collection bins. The company collects the collected plastic bottles, converts them into recycled fibers, makes protective clothing that can be washed up to 20 times, and donates them to medical facilities.

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In Thailand, where there is no segregated collection of household waste, a pilot project on waste segregation in cooperation with the public and private sectors has been launched as a countermeasure against waste plastic. plastic waste collection boxes will be installed in department stores from the summer of 2020. In the summer of 2020, plastic waste collection bins will be set up in department stores, and a circular design economy is being promoted in which collected plastic waste is processed into fibers and pellets for upcycling.
The problem of COVID-19 in the medical field is still serious, and the number of new infections in Japan exceeded 10,000 per day in mid-July 2021, and the medical pressure continues. As one of the ways to support the medical field, private companies and citizens' groups are providing protective clothing, and attention is being paid to the development of protective clothing made from plastic bottles and products that upcycle medical waste.

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This article is co-authored by TNC Lifestyle Researcher (http://lifestyle.tenace.co.jp/) and Intage's Global Researcher.

Translated with AI Translator

  • TNCアジアトレンドラボ

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    TNC ASIA Trend Lab

    TNC ASIA Trend Lab is an information organization run by TNC Inc. that researches and shares trends in Asia. It supports corporate marketing activities by finding insights from trends rooted in the lifestyles and habits of local consumers.
    http://tnc-trend.jp/

  • Intage Inc

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    Intage Inc.

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  • Nov 10, 2021
  • 838 Views

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