Ztraw 可重用飲管 by Thinkthing Studio Ltd. is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award 鐵獎 in 可持續產品設計 Competition Category.

鐵可持續產品· 2021

Ztraw 可重用飲管

by Thinkthing Studio Ltd.

Client: Thinkthing Studio Ltd

A' Design Award 鐵獎 Winner in 可持續產品 Category

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Verified Award Winner

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Colors

The Design

About Ztraw 可重用飲管

Ztraw 是一款可摺疊的便攜式解決方案，解決了可重用飲管所面對的兩大問題：便攜性與衛生。只需打開即可清潔每個角落，摺回後便可隨身攜帶。產品採用混合抗菌複合物的 PP 及 TPE 物料製造,配備可清洗收納袋，確保飲管安全衛生。這是首款價格相宜的時尚環保產品，符合人體工學設計，將堅固的三角形結構完美融入圓形開口之中。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 鐵獎

Ztraw 可重用飲管是 A' Design Award 鐵獎得主，這是授予滿足人們對設計精良的創作所期待的專業與工業要求的優良設計的聲望認可。鐵獎得主展現出其創作者的高超技藝、高度專業化、專家級的理解力和創造能力。預計Ztraw 可重用飲管將成為一件備受推崇、令人欽佩且被珍愛的創作，既實用又創新。這件贏得 A' Design Award 鐵獎的設計整合了行業最佳實踐，並擁有與專業知識和才華相結合的稱職技術特性。Ztraw 可重用飲管因其嚴謹而受到尊重，旨在提供有助於讓世界變得更美好的生活品質改善。

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