Positive Response from MZ Generation and B2B Market
"We Will Strengthen Our Power by Collaborating with Strategic Partners"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chunhan] "We contribute to improving the marine debris problem by upcycling and designing marine waste such as discarded fishing gear or supporting related organizations."
Lim Sohyun, CEO of CutTheTrash, said in an interview with Asia Economy on the 29th, "My mother is from Jeju Island, so I grew up seeing the sea from a young age, naturally forming a love for the ocean. I wanted to prevent, even slightly, the beautiful sea in our memories from becoming a sea of death for the next generation, and to raise awareness about the seriousness of marine environmental issues, which led me to create the CutTheTrash brand."
CutTheTrash is a fashion brand with the slogan "Designing waste for the sea." Lim, 26 years old, created a direct-to-consumer (D2C) online store using the global e-commerce platform Cafe24 in June 2019 while majoring in fashion industry studies. Lim explained, "Discarded fishing gear, which is made from various materials such as nylon and polyester, is difficult to recycle and is usually landfilled or incinerated. However, we remove impurities from the discarded fishing gear and, after cutting and high-temperature washing processes, use it as fashion material. This method is much more eco-friendly because it involves fewer processes than reprocessing discarded fishing gear into raw materials." CutTheTrash designs products to have multiple uses to help customers make environmentally friendly decisions. For example, they make necklace pendants with different designs on each side, provide multiple bag straps, and make the strap lengths adjustable.
CutTheTrash is receiving positive responses from the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) and the B2B (business-to-business) market. Lim said, "90% of individual customers who purchase our products are from the MZ generation, and people who show interest in our products at various events are the same. We also receive many requests from organizations to produce eco-friendly items for events or uniforms."
This year, CutTheTrash aims to form a "collective impact." Lim emphasized, "Marine debris is a very large and chronic problem, so it is difficult for a small company alone to solve it. We want to strengthen our power by allying with strategic partners. We want to establish ourselves as a brand like Stella McCartney, who has focused steadily on sustainable fashion for 20 years and awakens people through various performances."
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