Kia is using recycled plastics from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to develop the world’s first car accessory, a boot liner. The Korean car maker says this is a major milestone in its long-term partnership with The Ocean Cleanup. Since 2022, Kia’s has supported the non-profit organization. It is dedicated to developing and scaling technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic.
The accessory is designed for EV3 and available to order following the model’s market introduction.
Charles Ryu, Executive Vice President of Kia, commented: “As the first genuine Kia accessory made using reclaimed ocean plastic, we are proud to see tangible progress made toward creating a circular resource system for ocean plastic. We will leverage the lessons learned during the recycling and product development process to continue to manufacture useful and beneficial products for our customers using ocean plastic retrieved and provided by The Ocean Cleanup.”
The trunk liner’s ‘geometric wave’ top surface pattern is reminiscent of waves and the flow of trash into a collecting area. Made with 40 per cent recycled ocean plastic, the high-quality trunk liner is as durable and functional as a conventional trunk liner.
Kia and The Ocean Cleanup have worked to find innovative ways to transform plastic waste into durable, practical products. The first phase involves sorting, recycling, and processing the plastic to meet Kia’s strict quality standards.
Boyan Slat, Founder & CEO, The Ocean Cleanup commented “We are so grateful to have a visionary and passionate partner in Kia, who shares our vision of ensuring that the plastic we extract from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is given a new life in sustainable items.
“Our mission is made possible by partners such as Kia and we look forward to this launch being the first of many ways we turn ocean plastic from trash to treasure.”
Kia is using recycled fishnets for flooring and recycled plastic bottles for seat fabrics in EV9. The EV6 uses cloth and matting produced from recycled plastics.
Kia has also pledged to increase the use of sustainable materials in its future products. It plans to increase use of recycled plastics in its vehicles to more than 20 per cent by 2030.
Now all we need is a Kia EV3 in which to put the trunk liner!
This will close in 8 seconds
