GS Retail and Black Yak Sell Upcycled Label-Free Water Bottle Hiking Clothes... "Strengthening ESG"

GS Retail Strengthens ESG Management, Signs MOU with Black Yak for PET Bottle Upcycled Product Planning and Sales
PET Bottles Sold and Collected to be Productized Using Black Yak's Resource Circulation Technology... Both Companies Plan to Sell

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Clothing made from label-free water bottles of convenience stores' private brand (PB) is being sold again at convenience stores.

GS Retail announced on the 22nd that, as part of strengthening ESG (environment, social, governance) management, it has partnered with outdoor company BYN Black Yak to expand the recycling of transparent PET bottles through an eco-friendly business alliance.

On the 19th, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at Black Yak's headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, attended by Kim Jong-su, Executive Director of GS Retail, and Kang Jun-seok, Executive Director of Black Yak. The MOU focuses on collaboration for separate collection of transparent PET bottles, joint development of recycled resource products, and cooperation in sales and marketing of recycled resource products.

GS Retail cited Black Yak as a leading domestic company with excellent resource recycling technology that produces functional clothing and mountaineering gear using transparent PET bottles as raw materials, as the reason for pursuing this partnership.

To this end, GS Retail plans to gradually expand the installation of dedicated collection bins for transparent PET bottles at offline stores such as GS25 and GS Supermarket (GS The Fresh), and send the collected PET bottles to Black Yak in cooperation with local governments. The two companies plan to conduct campaigns to promote this, jointly develop products, and sell products made from PET bottles through each company's online and offline channels to lead the establishment of a high-quality resource recycling system.

In connection with this, GS Retail launched the first PB water bottle with no label in the convenience store industry starting on the 22nd. Beginning with the best-selling "Yours DMZ Clear Spring Water 2L" product, the company plans to gradually expand the application of label-free PB products.

GS Retail aims to create an eco-friendly virtuous consumption cycle where plastics originating from customers' consumption lead to repurchase results, considering not only easy resource recycling but also upcycling (creating products with higher value from recycled materials).

Kim Jong-su, Head of GS Retail's MD Division, said, "This partnership is meaningful in that the eco-friendly good consumption that started at GS Retail stores can be completed as the re-consumption of results that improve quality of life through upcycling," adding, "The introduction of label-free water and the concrete resource circulation consumption model using it will be a desirable example."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.