[Courtesy of FILA]
Recycled materials are widely used by South Korean apparel makers. K-pop band BTS gained public attention in September 2021 while delivering an inspirational speech at the 76th United Nations General Assembly for wearing "RE;CODE," a suit made with recycled fabric. The suit was produced by Kolon FnC, a fashion and lifestyle wing of South Korea's fabric maker Kolon Group.
FILA said in a statement on September 29 that its new model called "Earth Touch" will use various environmentally-friendly materials such as recycled cork and biodegradable waterproof paper. Some models used up to 85 percent recycled materials for synthetic leather that covers the upper part. Packaging materials such as shoe boxes and product tags used 100 percent recycled paper.
Kakao Commerce, the e-commerce wing of South Korea's web service company Kakao, announced in June 2021 that the company would replace vinyl and plastics used in the packaging and delivery of character goods with eco-friendly paper by July. Bottled water companies are also releasing label-free polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for easy recycling so that consumers do not have to remove labels made of a thin sheet of plastic.
reporter
Kim Joo-heon
jhkim123@ajunews.com
