https://www.parispackagingweek.com/en/easyfairs-sustainability/
Visit the Award Winning Paris Packaging Week in Paris January 2024
https://www.solariscommunity.com/
What is packaging could be circular?
Zehao Liu has an inspirational story and this episode shows that in great detail.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredldesign/
Check out our sponsor Orora Packaging Solutions
https://ororapackagingsolutions.com/
Check out our sponsor this month:
https://smartsolve.com/
https://specright.com/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1329820053/ref=as_sl_pc_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=corygat
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-connors/
I'm here to help you make your packaging more sustainable! Reach out today and I'll get back to you asap.
This podcast is an independent production and the podcast production is an original work of the author. All rights of ownership and reproduction are retained—copyright 2022.
https://www.parispackagingweek.com/en/easyfairs-sustainability/
Visit the Award Winning Paris Packaging Week in Paris January 2024
https://www.solariscommunity.com/
What is packaging could be circular?
Zehao Liu has an inspirational story and this episode shows that in great detail.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredldesign/
Check out our sponsor Orora Packaging Solutions
https://ororapackagingsolutions.com/
Check out our sponsor this month:
https://smartsolve.com/
https://specright.com/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1329820053/ref=as_sl_pc_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=corygat
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-connors/
I'm here to help you make your packaging more sustainable! Reach out today and I'll get back to you asap.
This podcast is an independent production and the podcast production is an original work of the author. All rights of ownership and reproduction are retained—copyright 2022.
Welcome to Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors. Today's guest is Mr. Zehao Liu. He's the founder of the Solaris community. How
Zehao Liu:are you today? Very well. How about you? Very
Cory Connors:good. Nice day. Thank you for making time for this. I'm excited to talk to you about this, unique, community that you've built. But first let's talk about your background a little bit. how did you get into this?
Zehao Liu:My background was, I was a designer in automotive industry. I have been in the industry since 2007 or 2008. So it's over 10 years. it was a dream, automotive industry. as all the designers recently was exploring any possible way, to move the industry towards sustainability and circularity. but the fact we also know it's as the most complex. product on this planet. It's a, it's very hard. All the process is quite slow. so that's, what's the point, with a group of my, designer friends, the friend who work in the, manufacturing industry, we start to rethink if we want to make some waves. So Make the change happening. where we shall start from. What is the best? The starting point? So that's the time. We were also a good it's a bit of coincidence. We also get reached out by United Nations back in 2019. They were planning a program to promote it. The, upcycling value of the ocean plastic. And they were looking for a group of designers and artists to do some, artwork or a collection, which I'll utilize this material that was collected in Thailand from the ocean. so that's. where we started from. That's very
Cory Connors:cool.
Zehao Liu:Very exciting. Yes. And
Cory Connors:tell us about the community now. what is the Solaris community? Can you explain to us what it does and who the members are?
Zehao Liu:Sure. So, after the starting point, they say UN program, we start to, Realize. Oh, we're tackling a challenge. That's bigger than we imagined in the beginning. We got a bit sense in the beginning, but yeah, it was even bigger than we thought it will be. so from there we realized instead of keep trying to find a way to upcycle the waste that's been collected in the ocean. A step forward should be trying to prevent the waste to get the, exposed into the environment. So that's the time we start to move our focus not only on the ocean plastic, but, trying to tackle more different waste sources. So from there we the that's official time points that's community being formed. So we need a We see this problem come from a supply chain. It's not finding a material solution only to apply it to the product, but at the same time, each tiers of the supply chain need to be involved from the beginning. So, speaking of your question about our members today. so we, from that thought, we start to, invite, trying to include members, from the background of a design industry, of course, then expand to the material suppliers, recyclers, and, different manufacturers. It was only one comment. In between us is our focus on sustainability and circularity. Cory Connors: That's great. Really well done. And, what an awesome idea to bring together a community like that. Tell us a little bit about, what's come from this, how, maybe a project that was successful or something that really said, wow, it's working, this is exciting. Yeah, there's a lot of example I can give, but if I can pick up the top one in my mind is this Evian in collaboration with Bowman. This project, as it's a showcase as a very typical, pattern of our project. So in the beginning, Evian was a member of a Solaris community. And, as their strategy is besides using. Recycle the material for their, bottle packagings. They were also trying to find a way to tackle the, the production waste and as well as the, post consumer waste, in the, in collaboration with different fashion. Brand or product brand or independence artists and designers so from there we formed a bit crazy idea back then is since solaris is everything about circularity Instead of just finding or utilizing ocean plastic. We would like to take one step further which means we have to Prevent the waste to get exposed into the ocean again. So we're trying to identify The waste from the supply chain of EDM and how we can plug in the member, the supplier members, in Solaris community to upcycle those waste into different possible raw materials that can be used for moment to produce product. also, we cannot compromise so much on the quality of the material for sure. so that's where the project started. then, not to mention another very valid point that has been asked to myself in different exhibitions. it's, it makes most sense that we, up cycle the waste of the pack, bottle packaging of the bottled water into the next generation of the bottled water. I assume you will have the similar questions. Yeah. it's, the fact is it's much more complex than we thought because we are talking about the supply chain So most of these big companies who has waste issues or challenges They have a global network of supply chain And the waste we used in this project are upcycled in this project. It's from their bottle factory in European Union and, their material supplier is based in Asia and, America. So meaning if they want to, for the, reason of the food contact the safe, if they want to produce, use slides the same ways to produce. the bottles for their water product, they have to transport it back to either Asia and American. And then once they upcycled into this granulate of pallets of as raw material for bottle, they have to transport it back to their factory in Europe. So in calculation, in the calculation of carbon footprints, all the logistic. cost of effect on the environmental, metrics, we need to find the local ways to upcycle them. so that's way, that's basically one of the principle we are following to do as local as possible. We're trying to webbing this, upcycling supply chain. So that project way, in, in collaboration with four men design team. we will find first the yarn factories who can utilize the upcycled granulate, then a, a fabric, or this, loom factory, who can utilize those uh, yarns to make those fabrics that meets the production requirement of Bowman, then, ship it to the, their ateliers in Paris to produce this, this capture collection. So everything, this entire supply chain is based in European Union and, it was the transportation of logistic was, also monitored and the calculates from the beginning. And, yeah, then the way we can all see the outcome if you do some research.
Cory Connors:That's fantastic and I'm very impressed that you're able to arrange things like that when, for example, with avion, what were they able to use the waste material to upcycle or to recreate what did they turn it into a plastic trays or something different, or did they turn it into more bottles for a different product?
Zehao Liu:It's, it's very good point as, my, collaboration with Evian. in the beginning I was a bit, surprised by their production lines, 'cause they, as a B-Corp, they are also quite, sustainable already by, in, in their own, cooperation. so they have only about. 10 percent of the waste that they cannot upcycle or recycle on. They have, as I mentioned already, they have a different collaborations are different product lines. can utilize those waste in different ways. As you said, they have this home drinking device. You can buy. instead of small bottles that has more like, wasted challenging, they, they have this, home device. You can plug in a bigger bottle of the water. and that was, in collaboration with the off white back then, but such product, they have a lot of solutions, but what's where we utilize our, what's. They collaborate with Solaris is the 10 percent that they cannot find a way to upcycle yet. So yeah, from there, I must mention this supply chain. It's something, something new or doesn't exist when we, when Solaris jumped in. so it's more about a, a target driven or a result driven upcycling supply chain. So the, because of this co branding product is with Bowman, then the task we were given is to find a way to upcycle those, the PET flakes from their factory into a fabric product of fabric materials, which is, yeah, not. challenging or it's already developed as from industry perspective. but at the same time, if you have a very specific, waste or a target, that is the true challenge.
Cory Connors:Excellent. And so was that how Off White comes into the picture? Did they, utilize the flakes to make? Clothing or, how does that work?
Zehao Liu:that's project though. I, to be honest, it was not underneath the Solaris before the collaboration. but it's, follows the same logic. So the, the flakes, we collected, from the Evian bottle factory. Those are the industrial waste are like the bleeding material from their, bottle production lines. And those has been. cleans very well to prevent, too much thirds of, alien materials to mix there with the polymer. As the polymer is very, strict material. You cannot mix it too much. So we, the first step is to upcycle those flakes through, a compounding process, which in our project with Bauman, it's done in, Switzerland, that is very close to their factory. but the same method, of, can be applied to the manufacturing of any, home device or home product as the granulate is, also injection molding grade material. So in theory. Yeah, you can use that to produce any product or even bottles as long as it's food compact to save. Then we're back to the topic. How we can make it in the most efficient way. What's the best application. Of the material.
Cory Connors:that's wonderful. And I think this is the secret to a circular economy, finding the use for the waste, finding a way to upcycle or downcycle or recycle this material is going to be a key to a more sustainable and circular world. Are you having a lot of people contact you wanting to join your organization lately?
Zehao Liu:Yes, it's, yeah, I always feel very flattered and at the same time, very exciting. When, independent designers or suppliers or sometimes even the scientists or professor from university, saw project online, they reach out and explain to me of the new technology or the new invention they have developing, from the designer. It's about the new ideas. what they're trying to build or how they can utilize the same circular method to build the product. so yeah, it was, I'll say the, it, the trend or the policy, regulations in European Union also contributes a lot to this trend as we see the, the customer of the behavior we er, we observed in the market. This. Needs or requirements people care more and more about what they are purchasing and they know more and more about Greenwashing or different terms they should be careful about And yeah, that's yes also gave us, Pressure so we have to really stay with our stick with our principles to make sure we're doing the right thing as everyone has a good purpose to join such project. we don't want to, even it's by mistake, we don't want to have any. Negative effect on the project. We're working on. So that's why every project. we also record the data, of like this water waste to control what type of, power resource or electricity each industry, each factory is using, and it's almost like this. old school way of, blockchain technology. So, yeah, it's not a fancy as a, a new IT technology, but because we are all belong to the same community, we trust each other and the way really have a open mind when we're working the same project. So the data, all those such. Sustainable related information, was translated, between, in the inside this supply chain, it's always in the very, the most, open way between each members, which, yeah, I, it's another thing makes me feel very happy when we have this, a unique way of, doing business. Oh, very good.
Cory Connors:And you could include that in, in your clients, scope one, scope two, scope three reporting. Eventually, it sounds like as well.
Zehao Liu:Exactly. It depending on what kind of project, we have different type of, customers or different customers who approach to us has different goals. Some of them, like you mentioned, they are, not so eager to create a product as outcome. But they have a waste that cannot be recycled in the, conventional or the traditional way of the established, recycling system. and yes, it's, sometimes it's about, a fancy exhibitions, educational, or informative show to the public. Sometimes it's very black and white about the facts, how we can find a new method. To upcycle them. And I must say the most of the information or project you can find online about Solaris, it's those ones, of course, getting more exposure. So it looks more exciting, but at the same time, we have our team, our specialists also have a lot of, side work, supporting those, big organizations to, trying to find solutions. in a big volume, for their waste that is, yeah, we, some of them were, we don't even able to mention it or announce them due to the NDA, facts, but yeah, we have different focuses on different targets.
Cory Connors:Well, it sounds like your team is doing, very good things, very big things, with big names, big brands, and having a large impact. Well done. I wanted to talk to you about, Paris Packaging Week. you're involved with that or are you speaking? Are you presenting? what is, what is your plan for that, great event?
Zehao Liu:yes. So it was, remember half a year ago, when the, director of the events Christelle reach out to me on LinkedIn about, of course, she found us on the one of the. Those exhibition project from Solaris, and she was reaching out to, propose me to join the of the, the events, which, yeah, we can, have the opportunity to plug in, more advanced, suppliers or technology at the same time promoting our, this unique. business models are unique solutions for Circularity so yeah, of course I said yes right away and that it was the purpose of Solaris, why Solaris is founded in the beginning. so our plan, for the very next one in January, in Paris, our plan is to have a, a panel speak about, a project, or project focused or, I will invite also some guests to the events talking about this, unique. Solution, we call that, cross industry circularity, meaning, the trash or the problem in one industry could be the treasurer in another one. And, it's always easier when we tackle the, circularity problems, even for the big names or big corporations, it's always make it easier to find a partners. In our case, a partner from a different industry, to find out solutions, outcomes, in not only just about recycling, but also about upcycling and also the recyclable aspect of the product that we build together.
Cory Connors:This is really cool. I'm excited to hear your panel, at Paris Packaging Week. It's, it's an amazing event. Christelle and the team over there, Josh and Karen, all do, incredible work and, constantly win, best show of the year in, in their category, which is very good for them. Very exciting. Are you, looking forward to visiting Paris as part of this journey?
Zehao Liu:yes. If, again, of course we need to be very cautious about the carbon footprint that we create to make the global transportation or this, taking different the way of transportation, but, if the efforts. As to, we need to evaluate what is outcome or what is the result or what is the benefit we can create if it's about, we can, the purpose of the, it's not only to showcase what we have done, but also, to deliver the message to the packaging industry and the visualize what by. Holding our hand together. I'll, create such a new method of circularity. How much difference we can contribution we can made into the circular manufacturing or circularity industry, then Yeah, I think it's, it was a flight ticket, my, my personal time to, to visit the show and talk to more people in the industry whose interest to participate. Yeah, well said.
Cory Connors:And that's a great point that we need to, identify, is this trip valuable in? Am I going to learn something that will make me more sustainable? Am I going to teach something that will make other people more sustainable? are we going to add more people to your community that will, have a large impact on lowering their carbon footprints? this is a really good point for these events. That, we don't just go to, to go and have a fun time. it's more about, how can we add value, to this
Zehao Liu:community? Exactly. I will say there is, of course we live in, Luckily, we live in a good timing about sustainability, awareness is going up, the each country's government is, gradually coming up with regulations to help or to push towards more and more sustainable industries. then from a more like individual perspective, if I may share, I see. A lot of, I'll say aspect or calculation was quite, vague. Also, it's hard, of course, to calculate the whole or the entire impact for one activity, when one project, but if we think. Deeper. my personally, I'm a person always like to sink more and deeper into a certain object or certain targets. But if we take an example, like, of course, we taking international travel that will create carbon footprints from the airplane, but their plan is still a public way of Transportation, meaning I'm not taking a private jet, people sharing that with me, even if I'm not on the airplane, it will still fly. Well, of course, I will increase the fuel consumption of the plane by adding my personal weight to that plane. But at the same time, if we calculate. Keep that in mind, what I mentioned in mind versus if I have to talk to five different Supplier members of Solaris community and meeting them in the events. And, we have to, of course, not just waving our hands and, sitting in the virtual meeting, it's about something physical, the technology. The result is something physical. Then we have to share a physical object or see things in person. Then of course, if we don't do it in person, we have to, shipping packages. Exchange packages globally that will, of course, creates the carbon footprint. So, to me, when I think about this. Subject of traveling to invent. It's not only about what is the purpose. What people you can meet. Of course, it's important for in person relationship build up that will make also the later process of the project more efficient. But if we're purely looking from the scientific perspective. Is that really more efficient or not? Or what is the most efficient way? I don't have an answer. It's just an open question. It's very hard to calculate or count in every single big or small aspect. And, in, even just such a simple topic, if we talk about the project, they're going to be even more aspects.
Cory Connors:Well said, lots to think about, lots to calculate. I'm excited to meet you in person in Paris in January. Looking forward to that, sir. what's the best way for people to get in touch with you?
Zehao Liu:yeah, it's, then back to that, it's, always easier as we're living in the digital world. so yeah, you can find me if you have, personal message to me or you have question to me, it's always easiest way to reach out to me on LinkedIn, if you have a more. Professional or project related question, then I would recommend you to go to, the official website of Solaris community. com, which you can leave messages or sometimes during business hours, there will be, a team member of us, staying online. For the online chats. so otherwise you can always, send a message and they will always get a first available specialist from our team to answer you, probably much more in a much more professional way than myself to me, it's more about. connecting and, introducing new members and, whoever has a belief in sustainability or circularity. I would love to talk with you as a person. but yeah, if it's more about a, business topic, then it's always better or more efficient to reach out to the specialist.
Cory Connors:Well, thank you, sir. This has been really fun and great to meet you and enjoyed this conversation.
Zehao Liu:Thank you. Likewise. Thank you for your time.