On rainy days, most of us use umbrellas-- but how much of you have ever thought of how they are disposed?
In case of South Korea, around 50 million umbrellas are consumed every year, and 40 million are thrown out as garbage.
We easily buy them, and easily throw them out.
Contradictory to our behaviors, it takes about 100 years for plastic umbrellas to be decomposed when buried,
and harmful components are emitted when incinerated.
It is obvious that umbrella waste has a significant impact on environmental pollution.
Okay, so what is the right way to throw out umbrellas to save the planet?
Umbrellas are made up of multiple materials such as vinyl, plastic, metal, etc,
so the best way is to break it down by materials and recycle them.
Our team tried it out by ourselves, and it wasn't easy though.
We used scissors, saw, pliers to disassemble an umbrella and it took about 30 to 40 minutes.
The structure was quite complex, so it was kind of tricky to do.
However, since the disassembled materials were recyclable, it seemed meaningful and necessary.
We thought many people should know about the problem and practice the right way of throwing out umbrellas.
So, this is what we decided to do--
UMBRELLA, UNBRELLA!
'UMBRELLA, UNBRELLA!' is a project to let people know about the problem of umbrella waste,
and by recycling them, they can turn into a valuable and long- lasting object.
We disassembled the umbrella parts and up-cycled them into living objects.
We intended them to be reminiscent of their original appearance as transparent, pure looking umbrella.
01
CANE
CANE is a side table made by upcycling the handle of an umbrella.
The handle maintains its function as a handle even when its body has changed.
All parts can be disassembled, and fully recycled.
02
Vinyl
Vinyl is a lighting made by upcycling the plastic vinyl of an umbrella.
The natural, wrinkled texture of the shade was made by crimping the vinyl with an iron.
The shade can be tilted, so that it shows different mood.
All parts can be disassembled, and fully recycled.
03
Rib
Rib is a shelf made by upcycling the ribs of an umbrella.
The triangular structure of the linear ribs supports the strong weight.
All parts can be disassembled, and fully recycled.
Campaign Brocher
Our campaign brocher contains contents about the problems of umbrella waste,
and the step-by-step guidance of how to throw away umbrellas.
Also, you can find information about the project.
Dimensions
Sketch & Mock-up
Making Process
UMBRELLA, UNBRELLA
design by
Yerin Jang
Chaehyeon Han
Seun Jang
