Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon Widens Stride for Environmental Management by Recycling Samdasoo Bottles to Make Bags

SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon, who has been emphasizing eco-friendly management, kick-started a resource circulation project.

Hyosung TNC (KRX:298020) embarked on the ‘Restoration to be Reborn,’ an eco-friendly project to increase the recycling of PET bottles. On the 13th, it signed a business agreement with the Ministry of Environment, Jeju Special Self-governing Province, Jeju Province Development Co., and Pleats Mama.

The ‘Restoration to be Reborn’ project is aimed at establishing a resource circulation system in Jeju. As the first stage of the project, an operation to recycle waste PET bottles across Jeju Island has been started.

This eco-friendly project is led by Chairman Cho Hyun-joon. Chairman Cho has been placing an emphasis on the establishment of a sustainable management system for communication with customers and social value creation. He focuses particularly on expanding eco-friendly businesses including that for the recyclable and low-carbon materials.

Jeju Province Development Co., which produces and distributes bottled water, Samdasoo, collects discarded Samdasoo PET bottles in Jeju Island for recycling. And HYOSUNG TNC makes regen®jeju, a recycled fiber, using polyester chips created by recycling the PET bottles. regen® is an eco-friendly recycled polyester fiber brand developed by HYOSUNG in 2008 as the first in Korea. Last year, HYOSUNG TNC created eco-friendly bags using regen® with Pleats Mama, an eco-friendly fashion startup. With a practical design, these bags created a sensation among school moms in Seoul Gangnam area.

Pleats Mama bags are made in the eco-friendly knitting method. This technique does not generate waste or leftover pieces of fabric because it does not involve the process to cut out and sew up pieces of fabric.

Pleats Mama is scheduled to launch new bags made with the recycled regen®jeju fiber. Through this project, Pleats Mama created new designs only for regen®jeju. Expectations are growing in the market for the new product. The new bag will be unveiled at the Environment Day ceremony on June 5.

Hyosung (KRX:004800) anticipates that this project will not only produce an effect to substitute the recyclable plastic import, but also increase the use of recyclable items, such as PET bottles, across the country.