Kim Yong-moon, President of the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development (center), met face-to-face with representatives of the eco-friendly clothing company Rightroot on the 19th.
[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Kim Yong-moon, president of the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development, visited the eco-friendly clothing company Rightroot to discuss support measures for promoting ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management.
According to the Institute on the 21st, President Kim visited Rightroot’s headquarters on the 19th. Rightroot developed high-performance materials by recycling secondary battery separators discarded in the battery industry and launched its brand. This field visit was conducted to hear about Rightroot’s business progress in practicing ESG management in the eco-friendly sector, the development of clothing materials using waste batteries, and opinions related to ESG management.
Rightroot has grown into a clothing production company through collaboration with emerging designers. Entering the COVID-19 era, it expanded into the battery separator business. Based on the conviction that high-performance materials can be produced from waste secondary battery separator films generated during battery production, the company attempted to transition its business into an eco-friendly enterprise.
In this process, Rightroot was selected for the '2021 Startup Leap Package' SK Innovation collaboration project, hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development. Through commercialization funding support and collaboration such as technical consulting from SK iTechnology, a subsidiary of SK Innovation, they advanced the functional material ‘Resell Plus’ and launched the recycled brand ‘Texnic’ at the end of last year. Currently, discussions are underway with various major domestic companies for material utilization. Additionally, they received the 2022 CES Innovation Award, gaining global recognition. Furthermore, aiming for overseas exports and investment attraction, they are rapidly responding to ESG environments as a startup by filing patents in the U.S. and Europe and acquiring GRS (Global Recycle Standard) certification.
Shin Min-jung, CEO of Rightroot, stated, “The clothing material Resell Plus, made from battery separators, naturally led to environmental management through resource recycling and became the driving force for business expansion by cooperating with major companies in the clothing sector and seeking overseas expansion.” She added, “Through the Startup Leap Package’s large corporation collaboration program, we will lead increased corporate sales and eco-friendly management with the advanced functional material Resell Plus and our brand Texnic.”
President Kim said, “ESG management is now a trend demanded not only of large corporations but also of startups,” and added, “The Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development will support startups to internalize ESG management and translate it into practical management effects by preparing various ESG-related support measures.”
Meanwhile, the ‘Startup Leap Package Large Corporation Collaboration Program’ was established last year to support the growth of startups through collaboration with large corporations. Last year, it started with SK Innovation, Naver Cloud, and CJ Group, and this year KB Financial Group and KT were added. This year, 70 startups will be newly selected and supported for 10 months with joint commercialization with large corporations, large corporation nurturing programs, and commercialization funding.
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