Montsenu, Grape Lab, and Usisan, three social enterprises supported by SK Innovation, were among eco-friendly enterprises participated in the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit held on May 30th and 31st in Seoul, South Korea. Social enterprises from various fields participated in the P4G Summit this year to promote sustainable business and encourage eco-friendly consumption.

ㅣMontsenu: shifting the environmental paradigm change from merely eco-friendly to “eco-must”

Montsenu is a social enterprise that manufactures and sells high-functional fabrics and fashion clothes by upcycling plastic waste thrown away indiscriminately. In 2019, the company won the Grand Prize at the “Environmental Social Enterprise Startup Idea Contest” hosted by SK Innovation and the Korean Ministry of Environment.

▲ Upcycled clothing products presented by the eco-friendly social enterprise Montsenu at “Upcycling Fashion Show” held as a sub-event of 2021 P4G Seoul Summit

In the main promotional video of this year’s P4G Summit, Park Jun-beom, CEO of Montsenu, participated as a representative of “Voice of Youth for overcoming the climate crisis and realizing carbon neutrality” alongside Korean young hanbok designers and Go players to deliver their support for the purposes of the summit. An upcycled fashion show was also held as a sub-event of the summit to introduce products of companies focusing on sustainable growth. Montsenu made a strong impression with 15 upcycled apparel products at this event.

The show received enthusiastic responses from both the guests who watched the show offline and the online audience. Montsenu not only introduced eco-friendly fashion products with trendy designs using upcycled plastic waste, but also brought out the image of a brand that is leading the change in the environmental paradigm.

▲ Upcycled clothing products presented on the runway by Montsenu at the “Upcycled Fashion Show” held as a sub-event of 2021 P4G Seoul Summit

In particular, Montsenu brought to the Summit its eco-friendly uniforms using recycle polyester made from PET bottles. The uniforms were worn by about 90 staff in the event for its eco-friendly relevance and trendy designs.

Also, the products of Montsenu were included in the souvenir packages of the Heads of State who attended the P4G summit. In the special video in commemoration of the P4G Summit prepared by The Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae) of the Republic of Korea, Motsenu’s upcycled neck-ties and scarves were also introduced.

ㅣGrape Lab: Designing a sustainable life

Grape Lab is a “Star Social Enterprise” selected by SK Innovation in 2019. The company has been not only active in Korea but also spreading its wings in global market.

Grape Lab’s introduction and recent activities can be found here

In April of this year, Grape Lab won the Product Design category at the “iF Product Design Award 2021” (International Forum Design Award 2021), an international design competition in Germany, promoting the excellence of sustainable design to the world.

▲ The special edition for 2021 P4G Seoul Summit of Grape Lab’s g.flow laptop stand and g.stand multi-stand, which are made from tree-free recycled paper

To promote 2021 P4G Seoul Summit, Grape Lab signed a business agreement with public institutions, non-governmental organizations, and 22 companies one month before the event starts. Grape Lab also released the limited edition of its flagship products g.flow laptop stand and g.stand multi-stand that have designs customized for the P4G Summit.

▲ (Left) Grape Lab products displayed at Daelim Museum’s “Tong’s Vintage: The Strange Tongui General Store” / (Right) Grape Lab CEO Alice Kim holds a g.flow product

Moreover, Grape Lab’s products were introduced at “Tong’s Vintage: The Strange Tongui General Store” exhibition, which was planned by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs to celebrate the P4G Summit. Visitors can purchase these eco-friendly products made by Grape Lab at the exhibition, which will be open until July 25th at Daelim Museum, Seoul, Korea.

ㅣUsisan: devoting efforts to protect the marine ecosystem

Usisan is an eco-friendly social enterprise that emphasizes the serious problem of marine environmental pollution caused by plastics that are indiscriminately thrown into the sea. By collecting and using these marine waste plastics, Usisan produces upcycled goods that deliver eco-friendly messages.

▲ (Left) Usisan’s cross bags made from waste plastic were selected as souvenirs of the Global Youth Climate Challenges 2021 held in conjunction with the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit / (Right) Usisan’s Whale Constellation Umbrella were distributed at the Special Maritime Session in the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit

At an event linked to this P4G summit, the Global Youth Climate Challenges 2021, participated by global youth interested in climate change and global environmental issues, Usisan’s eco-friendly cross bags were selected as souvenirs for the participants. Usisan also provided Whale Constellation Umbrella, another product made from recycled plastic waste, at the Special Marine Session in the P4G Summit. The products remind people of the excellence of upcycled products and the alarming state of marine pollution, while demonstrating Usisan’s efforts in protecting endangered marine life”.

▲ Usisan’s plush toys that have the shapes of endangered sea animals

Usisan also actively participated in the “Upcycled Fashion Show”. Usisan’s upcycled chairs were used throughout the event. Besides, Usisan’s plushies that took shapes of endangered sea animals and made from plastic wastes were also displayed at the event as a friendly reminder asking for people’s actions to protect the seas.