SK Chemicals and KNK Jointly Develop 'Chemically Recycled Material Toothbrush'

A head-up type toothbrush holder concept design considering consumer convenience and hygiene. Photo by SK Chemical

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] SK Chemicals announced on the 6th that it will jointly develop the first toothbrush in Korea using chemically recycled plastic materials with toothbrush specialist company KNK.

'Chemically recycled plastic' refers to breaking down waste plastic at the molecular level to create plastic materials again. This process can reduce the use of virgin plastic and greenhouse gas emissions. SK Chemicals commercialized chemically recycled plastic materials for the first time in the world last year and is supplying them to the market.

In particular, in June this year, SK Chemicals launched the circular ecosystem platform "Eum," which connects material manufacturers, plastic molding companies, and brand owners online. Together with domestic small and medium-sized manufacturers, they are developing various containers and products using recycled materials. They are discovering markets and applications with potential for green material conversion and proposing SK Chemicals' green materials and design concepts suitable for those applications. As a result, the platform has attracted great interest from the industry, with over 5,000 participants within just three months of its launch.

This collaboration with KNK is the first case of the "Green Design Project" on the Eum platform. They introduced the chemically recycled "ECOTRIA CR" material and proposed a design that enhances the hygiene of the head part with bristles and the convenience of the handle. Both companies aim to resolve the inconveniences of existing eco-friendly toothbrush materials, increase consumer satisfaction with designs considering bathroom environments and usability, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

KNK, a specialized toothbrush manufacturer, was established in 2011 as a subsidiary of BBC, a dental care material specialist company. The jointly developed toothbrush product is scheduled to be launched in January next year. The domestic toothbrush market is approximately 200 billion KRW in size.

Kang Gitae, CEO of KNK, said, "With the help of material recommendations and design concept proposals from the Eum platform, we were able to develop new products very quickly," and added, "We plan to create our own brand applying chemically recycled materials and lead the market."

Jung Jaejun, Head of New Business Development at SK Chemicals, emphasized, "Through the Eum platform, we are focusing on pioneering the value consumption market together with companies that have molding and production expertise," and added, "We will continue to provide various recycled material experiences to multiple stakeholders in the plastic industry to further activate the plastic circular ecosystem."

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