Upcycling of Plastic Bottles

The journey of plastic bottles all too often is a dull one, ending with the bottles floating in the sea, waiting to be broken into microparticles. But the fact is: plastic bottles present many opportunities. Going through large-scale recycling and upcycling, they can be turned into things that are useful in our daily lives. When plastic bottles are transformed, the journey they go through becomes more meaningful.

MINIWIZ from Taiwan is committed to addressing the issues of sustainability, recycling, and eco-consciousness. Through innovation, technology, and design, they upcycle unwanted waste to enhance their value and transform them into innovative environmental products.

1. Sneakers

In recent years, brands such as Nike have been actively exploring sustainable materials and designs. MINIWIZ has worked with Nike on several eco-projects which include the launch of Air VaporMax 2020 Flyknit, one of Nike’s most sustainable shoes to date made with at least 50% recycled content by weight. This allows people to put on sneakers made from plastic bottles and journey through the world together.

2. Daily Necessities

For MINIWIZ, environmental protection is part of daily life; and therefore, they make use of recycled plastic to create practical, everyday items. For example, they can upcycle two plastic water bottles and turn them into a mobile phone pouch using low-carbon processing methods.

3. Construction Materials

AIRSIDE by Nan Fung Group in the Kai Tak area is a new cultural and lifestyle hub with a vision to promote sustainable lifestyles and influence communities to build a resilient city. For AIRSIDE, sustainability is not a mere concept; it involves a series of experiments with eco-design. To explore sustainability through the lens of organic architecture, AIRSIDE has commissioned MINIWIZ to create a special fabric for its interior space. The fabric, which is woven from fibers made of recycled plastic bottles, is an example of how the circular economy can be friendly to the environment. While the project has reduced the number of plastic bottles on earth, it has also materialised the concept of upcycling into something tangible and touchable that in turn encourages the community to reduce the use of single-use products and live a life of WHOLENESS.

From plastic bottles to construction fabrics

Rather than floating in the Pacific Ocean, it might be better to end up as a piece of fabric.