Ztraw 재사용 빨대 by Thinkthing Studio Ltd. is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award 철상 in 지속 가능한 제품, 프로젝트 및 그린 디자인 Competition Category.

철지속 가능한 제품· 2021

Ztraw 재사용 빨대

by Thinkthing Studio Ltd.

Client: Thinkthing Studio Ltd

A' Design Award 철상 Winner in 지속 가능한 제품 Category

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Colors

The Design

About Ztraw 재사용 빨대

Ztraw는 재사용 빨대가 직면한 가장 큰 문제인 휴대성과 위생을 해결하는 접이식 포켓 사이즈 솔루션입니다. 펼쳐서 구석구석 깨끗이 세척하고 다시 접어 어디든 휴대할 수 있습니다. 항균 화합물이 혼합된 PP 및 TPE 소재로 제작되어 세척 가능한 파우치와 함께 빨대의 안전성을 보장합니다. 인체공학적 설계에 맞춰 견고한 삼각형 형태를 원형 입구와 조화롭게 결합한, 합리적인 가격의 최초 스타일리시한 친환경 제품입니다.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 철상

Ztraw 재사용 빨대, 이 작품은 A' Design Award 철상 수상작으로, 잘 디자인된 창작물에 기대되는 전문적·산업적 요건을 충족하는 좋은 디자인에 수여되는 권위 있는 인정입니다. 철상 수상작은 창작자의 뛰어난 기술, 높은 전문성, 전문가다운 이해, 창의적 역량을 보여 줍니다. Ztraw 재사용 빨대, 이 작품은 높이 평가받고 감탄과 사랑을 받는 창작물로서 실용적이고 혁신적일 것으로 기대됩니다. 이 철상 수상 디자인은 업계 모범 사례를 통합하며 노하우와 재능으로 연결된 유능한 기술적 특성을 갖추고 있습니다. Ztraw 재사용 빨대, 이 작품은 철저함으로 존중받으며 삶의 질을 개선하여 세상을 더 나은 곳으로 만들도록 디자인되었습니다.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

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.
Dimensions & Packaging: 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
Tags: Reusable, Straw, Foldable, Fashion, Minimal, Travel, Compact, Sustainable
Production 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. Making sure the case has enough surface area and looks good on the pouch.
Design 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. We have tested so many prototypes with less than 1mm difference to achieve that and it requires high precision during production to minimize any percentage error.
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. In the age where aesthetics is everything, green products do not stand out like other products at first sight. Therefore, we found a market gap for Ztraw where there are no sturdy but compact straw that can be opened up for easy cleaning. It's hard for people to take the first step and begin a sustainable lifestyle because it looks hard to approach and it lacks user experience. So we have created Ztraw with these in mind.
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.
Project Duration: 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.
Operation Flow: 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.
Patents: GB1903150.9,GB1914067.2
Team Members: Li Sung Shan Jason,
Wong Mung Sha Monsha,
Lam Nga Wing Justina,
Luk Yu Hei Ashley