Press Release
Ztraw Reusable Straw by Thinkthing Studio Ltd. Receives the A' Design Award in Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design
Thinkthing Studio Ltd. of Thinkthing Studio recognized for sustainable products, projects and green design by the international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Ztraw Reusable Straw by Thinkthing Studio Ltd. of Thinkthing Studio, designed for Thinkthing Studio Ltd, has been granted the A' Design Award in the Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design category. The award was conferred within the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The A' Design Award Explained
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
More About Ztraw Reusable Straw
Ztraw is a foldable and pocket-size solution that solves the biggest issues faced by reusable straws; portability and hygiene. Just open it up to clean every corner and fold it back up to carry it with you anywhere. It has antibacterial compound mixed PP and TPE material to make sure your straw is safe along with a washable pouch. It is the first-ever stylish eco-friendly product at an affordable price that fits human ergonomics and blends a sturdy triangular shape into a circular mouth opening.
About Thinkthing Studio Ltd.
Product Designer & Managing Director of ThinkThing Studio Jason Li is a Hong Kong product designer and the Managing Director of ThinkThing Studio. His works have won numerous design awards such as iF, Red Dot, Good Design Japan, Golden Pin, DFA, K Design Award, and the Hong Kong Smart Design Award. His products are distributed and sold all over the world including at outlets such as MoMA Design Store, TOKYU HANDS, T-Mall and more. His brand new product ZTRAW, a foldable reusable straw that is fully recyclable, has crowdfunded over HK$600,000 on online platforms within a month, and is popular among American, European and Southeast Asian backers.
About Thinkthing Studio
THINKTHING was founded in 2011 as a product design and consulting firm by our Managing Director, Jason Li, who brings exceptional ideas into reality. We are transforming as a design brand over the years yet our core values remain the same. We are committe
Award Record
Thinkthing Studio Ltd. of Thinkthing Studio is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.
About the A' Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design Award
The A' Sustainable Product Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good sustainable products by leading designers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to sustainable product designers, green product manufacturers, eco-friendly product brands and industrial designers from all countries. Typical entries include sustainable projects, environment friendly designs, recycled, upcycled and bio-degradable products. The awarded sustainable product designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/sustainable-product
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/111794
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/111794
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!111794
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/288187
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://www.thinkthingstudio.com
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
###
Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Ztraw Reusable Straw
- Function
- Reusable Straw
- Category
- Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Sustainability
- Colors
- Brown, Indian Red, Black and Maroon
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Thinkthing Studio Ltd
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Thinkthing Studio Ltd.
- Country
- Hong Kong (China)
- Brand
- Thinkthing Studio
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2020 - 2021
- Design ID
- #111794
Credits
- Team
- Li Sung Shan Jason,, Wong Mung Sha Monsha,, Lam Nga Wing Justina, and Luk Yu Hei Ashley
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Ztraw is a foldable and pocket-size solution that solves the biggest issues faced by reusable straws; portability and hygiene. Just open it up to clean every corner and fold it back up to carry it with you anywhere with the stylish pouch in ten colours. It has antibacterial compound mixed PP & TPE material to make sure your straw is safe along with a washable pouch, it can prevent the growth of bacteria unlike any straw in the market. It is the first-ever stylish eco-friendly product at an affordable price that fits human ergonomics and blends a sturdy triangular shape into a circular mouth opening.
- Inspiration
- At least 37 countries are planning to restrict the use of single-use straw, which leads to the popularity of reusable straw. However, reports have shown problems with reusable straws from hurting people physically to trapping mold and causing sickness. This results in a market gap where people need straw but they are worried about the quality of the straw they were given. We wanted to change the belief that it is hard to maintain a green lifestyle by making our product simple and user-friendly.
- Research
- We have done research online on existing problems with reusable straw and we have tested out quite a few different designs from the market. The most common problem with existing design is that they are hard to clean and will trap molds on the internal walls. So we looked at existing reusable straw that can be popped open and found out that in order to counteract the possibility of air leakage with an open structure, they are mostly bigger in size with hard material to create a stronger structure or uses soft rubbery materials to conceal the opening but making the straw less sturdy. We also found out that a lot of people think green products lack style.
- Challenge
- Since the shape and folding methods of Ztraw is very hard to achieve without using actual production methods. In order to finetune ZTRAW's design throughout our journey, we have to build a new injection molding mold for each correction, which is a very expensive but accurate development process. Therefore, we have joined Kickstarter, hoping to gain more support to our journey in discovering the most convenient reusable straw in the world. Since Ztraw is a foldable straw that can be unfolded flat, it is very hard to create an airtight structure to have a similar user experience as a normal straw.
- Realization and Technology
- Ztraw is manufactured with injection molding; after the polypropylene component is solidified, it is then placed in another mold to inject thermoplastic elastomers for the soft joint of Ztraw. We have to make sure the placement is precise or it will affect the vacuum suction experience of the product. For the pouch, we have laminated two types of materials together, PU and PEVA to make the internal wall of the pouch waterproof and not affect the appearance of the pouch. However, the PEVA makes it hard to attach the magnet and we have to figure out a way to secure it. So we found a special glue and a vacuum-formed plastic case to secure the magnet.
- Operation and Interaction
- Ztraw comes in a flat pack packaging to minimize the the carbon footprint during transportation and limit unnecessary use of extra materials. To use Ztraw, first you fold up Ztraw according to the vertical line along the body. Then you can fold it up into a triangular shape so that the first and last sections overlap to secure the flat surface into a drinkable straw. To carry it around, simply unfold the straw to wipe with towel/tissue and fold it in half and put Ztraw in the pouch provided.
- Project Duration and Location
- The idea came to us in 2018 January and we have officially launched it on Kickstarter on 2020 March. The production begins in June in our chinese factory and then sent to Hong Kong to be assembled by St. James' Settlement sheltered workshop. The product starts sending out to buyer in 2020 July.
- Specifications
- Product Dimension: 190mm x 37mm x 3.8mm Product Weight: 15g Product Material: Antibacterial Polypropylene & Antibacterial Thermoplastic elastomer Product Package: 80mm x 200mm x 10mm
- Keywords
- Reusable, Straw, Foldable, Fashion, Minimal, Travel, Compact, Sustainable
