As a response to the worsening plastic pandemic, various countries around the world are making efforts to reduce plastic usage through diverse methods such as enacting laws to regulate or ban plastic use and introducing tax systems on plastic manufacturing. However, until now, there has been no suitable product to replace conventional plastics, causing social confusion.
Green Whale Global (CEO Hwang Ji-young, Yoon Tae-kyun) is addressing this issue by researching, developing, and producing biodegradable plastic resins and products, a type of bioplastic, achieving remarkable results.
The basic raw materials of Green Whale Global, corn and cassava, absorb carbon as they grow, establishing a carbon-neutral cycle. In particular, by using cassava starch as the main ingredient in bioplastic resin, the water and land usage required for cultivation are reduced to 59% and 70%, respectively, compared to other crops used for biodegradable plastic raw materials, enabling the mass production of truly eco-friendly bioplastics. Green Whale Global’s biodegradable plastics, with a high cassava composition ratio, reduce the energy consumption and carbon gas emissions during production compared to conventional plastics, making it a manufacturing technology demanded in the essential environmental era.
In the first half of 2020, Green Whale Global made a successful first leap by producing Korea’s first biodegradable disposable products such as recycling bags, straws, and tableware, as well as sturdy biodegradable plastics like cosmetic containers and hangers. Especially with the rise of the eco-friendly bioplastics market, it has attracted significant attention from consumers and companies.
Since last year, starting with an MOU for cosmetic container development with Isis Cosmetics, Green Whale Global has conducted product tests with major fashion and cosmetic companies, leading to product supply achievements. Additionally, it is continuously increasing production to meet the demands of ordering companies and expanding its product range applicable from consumer goods to industrial products.
The technological difference of Green Whale Global comes from innovative results achieved after over a decade of research by research teams composed of professors from Ewha Womans University’s Department of Chemistry and Ho Chi Minh University of Natural Sciences, working at Green Whale Global’s own research institutes in Korea and Vietnam.
PLA, a representative biodegradable plastic material, had issues with marketability due to difficulty in achieving strong physical properties and its high raw material cost. In response, Green Whale Global lowered costs and enhanced the price competitiveness of biodegradable plastics by directly blending cassava starch up to 70% into PLA through its manufacturing technology. Furthermore, by realizing superior durability compared to existing biodegradable plastics, it developed a biodegradable plastic that simultaneously solves the biggest weaknesses of conventional biodegradable plastics. Recognizing this technological capability, Green Whale Global obtained patents in Korea and the United States in 2020 for raw material manufacturing methods and renewable eco-friendly biodegradable plastics.
Green Whale Global’s products have received environmental label certification (EL724) from the Ministry of Environment, as well as patents in the US and Korea for their self-developed raw materials. They have also earned the stringent European TUV “OK Compost” certification, gaining recognition for their technology in domestic and international markets.
With the corporate purpose of creating a green planet and its outstanding technological capabilities, Green Whale Global is taking a step closer to providing solutions to the plastic waste problem.
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