Responsible Consumption

Kamalpreet Kaur D/O A S, Lee Max, Ooi Wen Yi, Sim Sheng Xue, Zhu Bingjie

Academic Advisor: Dr. Florence Ng

The phenomenon termed “Fast Fashion” refers to the rapid rate at which clothing are produced by fashion companies, resulting in transient clothing trends that change every few months or even weeks. This encourages irresponsible clothing consumption habits which therefore results in severe environmental consequences. Our project investigated the extent of irresponsible clothing consumption habits amongst NUS students and their degree of awareness of sustainable clothing consumption practices. We conducted a survey on NUS students to investigate the degree of awareness on the topic of responsible clothing consumption habits and used the data collected to develop a mobile application that aims to bridge this knowledge gap. Our survey results have shown that NUS students not only practice irresponsible clothing consumption habits such as the impulsive buying and resultant disposal of excess clothing but has low awareness of how to change these unsustainable habits. This is shown quantitatively by the data collected. The mobile application developed therefore serves to take advantage of the tech-savvy and technology reliant nature of NUS students to increase the awareness and convenience of practicing sustainable clothing consumption habits. A focus group was then conducted to test the feasibility of the application by gathering feedback on how to improve user satisfaction and to better understand what would incentivize users to download and use the application. Feedback gathered was used to improve the functionality and appeal of the application.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Clothing, Mobile Application

Goh Yen Ther, Low Xin Hui, Ng Jing Xue, Pong Jia Min Joan, Tan Jun Hao

Academic Advisor: Mr. N Sivasothi

Excessive plastic usage especially by single-use plastics like plastic bags and plastic cups has led to excessive plastic waste around the world (World Economic Forum, 2016) and Singapore’s contribution is more significant today (Channel News Asia, 2018). With the increased incidence of ‘Bring Your Own’ campaigns, we hope to extend this to single use plastic carriers. We identified staff and student consumers of LiHo drinks in NUS as a target audience for the adoption of a BYO cup holder to replace the free plastic carriers issued by LiHo. We found that 58.3% of students (n=48) are not aware of sustainable alternatives to plastic carriers. But some 75% are willing to use reusable cup holders. With a small number of   reusable cup holders, we examined consumer receptivity to the adoption of this alternative.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Plastic carriers, Cup holders

Liu Yutong, Mo Zongran, Quek Min Kiat Nickson, Zhong Zhiming, Goh Yen Ther

Academic Advisor: Mr. N Sivasothi

Plastic waste is a major global problem. In Singapore, only 6% of 815,200 tonnes of plastic waste  was recycled in 2017 (NEA, 2017). Based on ZeroWasteSG’s (2016) estimate, some 30-70% of total plastic waste were single-use disposables, such as takeaway containers.Our project “Saving Waste with CONTAINSIL” aims to reduce material wastage by NUS consumers with single-use utensils with an alternative design. This will integrate fork/spoon into takeaway containers and be perforated ao as to be easily pushed out of container lids. 88% of 86 respondents indicated that they have takeaway meals between 1 to 5 times a week, and most indicated these were for rice dishes, which the design thus targetted. 90% also indicated they do take plastic utensils, reflecting a high demand.  Most (90%) also expressed interest in our idea. based on our calculations on the monthly use of containers within NUS canteens, this design could lead to a reduction of some 245 kg of plastic waste per month.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Plastic, Takeaway containers, Containers, Utensils

Dong Haiping, Tong Jia Heng, Kezia Kew, Liao Meng, Shawn Ho

Academic Advisor: Ms. Wong Kah Wei

Okara is the waste by-product of soybean, derived from the production of soya products such as soymilk and tofu. Okara wastage is a significant issue in Singapore, with almost 10,000 tonnes discarded annually. Therefore, the overall objective of the project is to identify new ways to repurpose okara to reduce its wastage. The initial method was to develop a prototype DIY mushroom growing kit utilising okara. This was done by substituting okara as a component of the growing substrate, taken from a commercial kit developed by Kin Yan Agrotech Pte. Ltd. Various technical issues were encountered in the primary testing stage, and changes made during secondary testing did not effectively solve these issues. Requiring further research, it was concluded that using okara to grow mushrooms might not be an easy, viable option of repurposing okara. The second method was using okara in baked goods. This was done by modifying online recipes of vegan okara chocolate brownies, thereafter holding a focus group session for demonstration and taste test. According to post-session surveys, tasters had generally positive comments about the brownies, and they agreed that the baking process is simple and easy-to-follow. Therefore, it was concluded that using okara for baking is a suitable, viable option of repurposing okara.

Keywords: Responsible Consumption, Okara, Soya, Repurpose

Vivian Lim Su Qi, Matheus Aaron, Dickson Lim, Han Yu Fin Jonathan, Charmaine Lee Jia Min

Academic Advisor: Ms. Wong Kah Wei

Inculcating proper waste management habits among Singaporeans is of paramount importance as the landfills will be filled by 2035. Despite continuous efforts to integrate environmental education into the formal education system, many are still unaware of proper waste management methods and do not recycle regularly.

Thus, our project aims to engage children aged 4-6 in activities that will raise their awareness on the importance of proper waste management. As young children require auditory and visual engagement to internalise concepts effectively, we utilised books, skits, and games to teach them the importance of recycling. The children also learnt about upcycling through craft activities where they made toys from recyclables.

To examine the effectiveness of the strategies employed, we assessed the change in children’s awareness by noting their behaviour and responses and surveying the parents and interviewing the teachers before and after the activity. Based on our findings, we recommend similar methods to increase the sense of environmental stewardship among children.

Keywords: Responsible Consumption, Activities, Pre-schoolers

Sim Wee Guan Raiant, Lin Zhen Lillian, Chan Tze Cheng Tricia, Abhyarthana Aroop Pradhan, Lai Wei Xian Clemence

Academic Advisor: Ms. Wong Kah Wei

Experiential learning is the process of learning through reflecting on doing. There is an alarming lack of awareness on environmental issues amongst youths in Singapore today, and education is key to curb the issue and spread awareness on the environmentalism movement.

In our project, we aim to enhance the most enjoyable learning activity used in GEQ1917 to increase students’ learning of sustainability. Current activities were solely used to garner interest in the topic. After surveying RVRC students and their experience using learning activities applied in GEQ1917, our findings showed that 48.5% of respondents enjoy games the most. Thereafter we created a transferable lesson plan with elements of gamification and improved upon the gaps in implementation of the preferred learning activity (Go-Fish Game).  We conducted trials on non-RVRC students selected from a mix of faculties. A focused group discussion was held after the lesson to assess their knowledge on the topic. The results showed a considerable improvement in the achievement of learning outcomes. Thus, we recommend incorporating more of such elements in any educational programs which have the purpose of enhancing student’s learning in sustainability.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Games

Chan Tse Yan, Hing Jen Wei Clement, Megumi Chua Hui Mei, Siah Chi Wei, Leonard Sim Jun Jie

Academic Advisor: Mr. Lim Cheng Puay

Artificial lighting contributes to up to 25% of a household’s electrical consumption while creating excessive light pollution. We aim to half the amount of electricity consumed by LED lights in the rooms in RVRC. We conducted a trial with 20 RVRC students by removing one existing LED tube in their rooms. After a week, we conducted another survey to assess how this change has impacted their productivity and living condition. Most residents did not observe any significant difference in apparent brightness and are content with 1 LED tube. We hope that the results would aid students in making a more informed and positive decision by removing one of their light tubes to save electricity and reduce e-waste.

Keywords: Energy; Responsible consumption; LED lights;

Damian Lim Jun Yee, Davin William, Heng Dingwen Wayne, Ho Zi Feng, Keith Tan De Shun

Academic Advisor: Dr. Chua Siew Chin

Singapore produces an alarming 60,000 tonnes of electronic waste (e-waste) annually, making us the second largest e-waste producer in the Southeast Asia region. The average Singaporean produces 11kg of e-waste annually. Unfortunately, only 6% of the total e-waste produced in Singapore is being properly recycled. According to NEA Survey, 60% of Singaporean consumers said they do not know or are unsure of how to recycle their e-waste. E-waste is normally traded in/re-sold, thrown away passed to delivery men. There are harmful effects of e-waste on both the environment and human health, due to toxic metals found in phones such as lead. With our preliminary survey, we realized that the lack of awareness is a key reason exacerbating the growing problem of e-waste. As such, we set up an e-waste booth in UTown in NUS to raise awareness of this issue. We liaised closely with external organization, namely a recycling company ViroGreen, who provided us with banners and an e-waste recycling bin, and a phone assessor Next Telecom Pte Ltd. At the booth we put up educational posters, banners and the recycling bin for participants to drop off e-waste. The on-site phone assessor provided a price quote to participants who wish to sell their old phones. The life cycles of such phones will be prolonged as these phones are once again circulated and used, showing participants that everyone can play their part in reducing the amount of e-waste generated.  More than 200 people participated at the booth in the two days, and they were made more aware of e-waste.

Keywords: E-waste, Responsible Consumption, Handphone

Ching Jiaying Megan, Kong Zhen Hao Stanford, Wang Haocheng, Xu Wenhao, Zhou Zhefang

Academic Advisor: Prof. Adekunle Adeyeye

In 2010, toilet paper accounted for fifteen per cent of the world’s deforestation (Robbins, 2010) and yet, we observed that many people are still unaware of the extent of deforestation and pollution of water bodies that comes with it. In 2018, an average Singaporean used 7.5kg of toilet paper, and this number is set to increase (Statista, 2018). Our project aims to look at the perception and awareness of RVRC residents on sustainable toilet paper. At the same time, increase their knowledge on the environmental issues and alternatives of toilet paper through campaigns and a trial. Using Ridge View Residential College (RVRC) as our case study, our quantitative survey showed that there is indeed a lack of awareness on the environmental problem surrounding toilet paper. Additionally, respondents also scored low on the awareness of alternative toilet paper that are sustainable and currently available in the market. Our group launched awareness campaigns including a trial and informative and experiential posters across RVRC. Our post-campaign survey indicated an increase in awareness and interest in sustainable toilet paper among the target audience. The results of our project can help suppliers of sustainable toilet paper to refine their marketing campaigns towards university students in Singapore.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Paper Wastage, Paper Recycling

Ho Xin Ying Andrea, John Cuthbert Khoo Teng Fong, Jonah Huang Zi Chao, Mccoy Lim Wei, Teo Kai Pun

Academic Advisor: Prof. Adekunle Adeyeye

Paper wastage is a perennial issue in Singapore. 1,144,800 tonnes of paper and cardboard waste were generated in 2017, of which only 50% was recycled (National Environmental Agency [NEA], 2018). Despite Singapore’s efforts, the paper recycling rate has remained around 50% since 2005 (NEA, 2016), indicating a chronic problem with paper recycling. As the flagship university in Southeast Asia and a major consumer of paper, the National University of Singapore (NUS) offers a promising testbed for sustainability solutions addressing the paper wastage problem. Our project explores the circular economy approach in ameliorating paper wastage among students in NUS. Based on our analysis of the data gathered by AY16/17 G03-A, we conclude that there is potential demand for an online peer-to-peer marketplace where students can monetise their used notes and contribute to environmental sustainability at the same time. Capitalising on the popularity of the smartphone application Telegram, a chatbot was developed to serve as a decentralised peer-to-peer marketplace for students to buy and sell academic resources. In addition, a pilot test and an end-user survey were conducted to gauge students’ reception of our project. Through drawing upon the data we obtained, we understood that we must be cognizant of consumer preferences, product differentiation, and the idea that addressing the awareness-behaviour gap is crucial in promoting tangible improvements for campus sustainability. We hope that our project would be useful for further exploration in the implementation of efforts towards achieving campus sustainability.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Paper Wastage, Paper Recycling, Chatbot, Telegram

Liew Li Heng, Nabilah Bte Bahrim, Tay Yu Hong, Yash Mishra, Yew Ji Hao

Academic Advisor: Prof. Adekunle Adeyeye

Packet drinks are often favored due to their long shelf life and ease of storage, but come with attached plastic straws which are separate from the carton. These straws are often accidentally discarded and form a substantial part of marine pollution. Given the environmental threat that plastic straws are known to pose, our project aims to find an engineering solution to this problem by integrating straws into the structure of packet drinks, thus eliminating the need for external straws. To achieve this, we examined current packet drink designs before forming a preliminary prototype for our solution. After finalizing the design through an engineering design approach using various materials, we formed an improved version of the prototype using materials from a deconstructed packet drink to verify that it was feasible when using the actual components of current packets. A survey was then conducted on the general public. The quantitative data we subsequently obtained indicated a few key findings; first, that 74% of respondents used packet drinks more than once a year, second, that over 70% of respondents deemed straws to be necessary when consuming packet drinks and third, that 89% of respondents preferred our design over the existing one if both were available for purchase. Qualitative data was also collected to understand what consumers deemed to be limitations and areas of improvement for our design. Having improved on our solution based on this data, we now intend to approach manufacturers for feedback regarding the feasibility of implementing our design.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption

Benson Li hin Cheung, Huang Anqi, Jashleen Kaur Bhandal, Ron Tay Hao Qian, Tan Yew Mei Nysha

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

With a rapid increase in population and consumerism, an unprecedented volume of plastic waste is entering our landfills and oceans. According to the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF, 2018), Singapore discards 700 million kilograms of plastic each year and less than 10% of it is recycled. Given a forecasted global production volume of 583.3 billion plastic bottles in 2021 (Statista, 2017), besides having an efficient recycling process, Singaporeans need to have a prudent mindset in using plastic.

Consumer habits need to change from the ground up and our project aims to shift opinion on the use of single-use PET bottles by engaging the student community in a work-with-plastics workshop. In preparation, we explored several different methods of constructing furniture out of used plastic bottles such as heating and fusing the bottles together with a hot gun, glue gun, heated grill etc. However, safety concerns like burns and toxic fumes ruled out heat based options. We finally chose a simple adhesive medium for ease of participants.

During the workshop, we educated participants on the 7 grades of recyclable plastic while making stools out of PET bottles. We measured the effectiveness of our workshop by conducting pre and post workshop surveys. Our results indicated that direct engagement in re-purposing used plastic bottles had a significant and meaningful impact on participants’ perception of the problem of plastic waste, and their individual contribtion to the global problem. We will explore a collaboration with OES to conduct such workshops for the NUS community.

Keywords: Waste, Responsible Consumption, Plastics

Ang Wei Heng Kendrick, Sadia Batcha Mohamed Kamaldeen,Teo Wei Zhou, Weong Ee Shuen Natasha

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

Fifty percent of bacterial infections in Singaporean patients have become resistant to frontline antibacterial therapies. This is explained by the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) phenomenon or the evolution of ‘superbugs’. One of the main reasons for this is patients’ failure to complete the prescribed antibiotics. We found that this is due to a multitude of reasons, but we seek to focus on the one we find most urgent and prospective: forgetfulness. To ensure the sustainability of existing antibiotic treatments, we designed and fabricated a modified and personalized pill dispenser called “SmartPill” containing features to minimize incompletion of antibiotics due to forgetfulness.

We focused on a primary target audience of the Singaporean elderly (>65 years of age) as they account for the greatest proportion of antibiotic consumers of all age groups in Singapore. The key features of SmartPill include portability, visual aids, color, and reminders. The SmartPill’s universal 3D-printed design also allows it to be a phone case built for all phone sizes as it is aimed to be on-person throughout a prescribed course of antibiotics. Its features also help it stand out and serve as an active reminder to reduce incomplete antibiotic consumption due to forgetfulness. We conducted qualitative surveys with pharmacists and doctors at NUH and workshops to test our hypothesis that forgetfulness was the main cause of antibiotic misuse. Our pilot examined the elderly’s use and perception of the SmartPill dispenser over a few weeks of use. Our results found our target group to be strongly receptive to the use of our prototype.

Keywords: Responsible Consumption

Chua Hua Ren, Lim Kai Jun Melanie, Low Jia Chen, Ng Hong Quan

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

The trend in using liquid soaps over bar soaps (Willingham, 2016) is harming the Earth increasingly as experts cite facts on how damaging liquid soap is through greater carbon footprint incurred and larger amount of waste generated (HKFP, 2016 & Drahl, 2018). Being a strategic platform for building a sustainable campus, NUS offers great opportunities for students to share their constructive inputs to our project. Our project explored the perception of NUS Residential College students and their awareness of the environmental costs of liquid soaps. We also tested if students could be encouraged to use bar soaps through the design and installation of a soap dispenser prototype, to ultimately encourage the switch to bar soaps use.

We chose RVRC as our test-bed. Qualitative surveys were carried out before and after the installation of our prototype to measure the change in attitudes of residents in using bar soaps. The results indicate that the majority of residents are aware of the adverse environmental impacts of using liquid soaps. The residents also highlighted convenience and hygiene as their main concerns for their continued preference of using liquid soap. Our data also indicated that most respondents were willing to switch to bar soaps if the prototype could address their concerns. We have recommend a more extensive pilot testing of the bar soap dispenser in RVRC, with OHS collaboration, to measure the impact of our idea in nudging residents to using bar soap as a sustainable alternative to liquid soap.

Keywords: Responsible Consumption

Akshai Vengat, Ang Jamais, Bethanie Kwok Su Ling, Neo Rui En Wayne, Rachael Rosanna Powell

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

Bottled water is associated with many environmental issues: carbon footprint over its life-cycle, non-biodegradable at end-of-life, and pollution generated during disposal by incineration. Singapore has easy access to high-quality drinking water, and the problem must be addressed by a reduction in the consumption of bottled water. We surveyed NUS students to measure their bottled water consumption and understand their perception of water coolers and tap water on campus. The results identified mistrust in water quality from coolers/tap water and insufficient signage about cooler locations on campus as key issues.

Our group adopted a three-pronged approach. We addressed the issue of student awareness with informational posters as studies indicate that posters are an effective method for conveying knowledge and gaining audience attention (Rowe & Ilic, 2009). This was followed by an art exhibition at the RVRC Dining Hall, using single-use water bottles collected from RVRC bins to measure and creatively raise awareness of plastic bottle consumption rates within the residential college. Our final step was the design and launch of a prototype web application of water cooler locations within NUS campus, launched in conjunction with PUB World Water Day. It incorporates navigational features to direct students to cooler locations on campus. Our data indicates that students are willing to change their habits once the awareness gap about water quality is addressed. Student use of our mobile application was also very favourable and we are in contact with NUS Maps for an integration of this app for campus-wide use.

Keywords: Water, Waste, Responsible Consumption, Plastics

Ang Jing Han, Clarice Nicole Lee Si Hui, Lim Ding Neng, Roxanne Moh Jia Yu, Tay Jun Yang

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

The plastic pollution problem is an issue that affects marine biodiversity around the world. It also has devastating impacts on land ecosystems and makes its way into the food that we consume. One of the ways to increase youth’s environmental awareness is by educating them on the severity of this problem and methods to reduce plastic waste. This research project aims to measure the efficiency of environmental education workshops for students, and test their ability to retain taught information when it is shared in an interactive workshop format.

We tailored an environmental education workshop regarding single-use plastic packaging, targeted at the Primary 3 students in Singapore. Pre- and post-workshop surveys were used to determine student attitudes and learning. The data collected from the surveys was be analysed using SPSS Anova t-tests at a significance level of 0.05. Based on our findings, we recommend that more extensive testing should be done to corroborate our results and determine if such workshops and teaching methods can be adopted by MOE for enhancing student knowledge about sustainability issues in Singapore and to positively influence student behaviour to be more sustainable.

Keywords: Responsible Consumption, Waste, Education

Koh Min, Li Jiaxin, Stephanie Toh Kay Wai, Sukrit Jaiswal, Wilkin Giam Jing Han

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

The textile industry is one of the top three contributors to carbon emissions in the world, with Fast Fashion being one of the major factors. The trend for sustainable fashion solutions such as rental fashion has slowly been on the rise (Hooker, 2018). However, a previous GEQ project identified that the root cause for the failure of such sharing models was ‘the disparity between awareness and actions’ attributed to a lack of financial incentive (GEQ G11, 2016). Our project aims to measure the level of awareness among university students about the impact of fast fashion and investigate their receptivity towards rental fashion as a potential solution, when coupled with an inbuilt financial incentive.

We conducted a survey among NUS students (excluding RVRC), to assess their awareness of the environmental impact of fashion, and found that most respondants significantly underestimate the environmental impacts of fast fashion. We then volunteered at the EcoBank Bazaar national event to conduct a focus group analysis and identified key factors that impact receptivity towards sustainable fashion solutions such as clothes swapping and rental. Lastly, we interviewed leading sustainable fashion companies in Singapore such as The Fashion Pulpit and ClosetShare, who shared insights on the business challenges in the nascent rental fashion industry. Using the key indicators of our research, we piloted a formal clothes rental solution at RVRC. Our pilot test findings are concurrent with our research – that in addition to sustainability awareness, financial incentive is a key determinant of success for such fashion solutions.

Keywords: Responsible Consumption, Waste, Fashion

Ashley Tan Xin Yi (Deng Xinyi), Lucian Wee Yang Xian, Cheow Yu Shan Cherilyn, Heng Jie Kai Joven, Kim Nahyun

Academic Advisor: Dr. Florence Ng

Receipt wastage in dining halls across NUS is a wastage of resources and is not in line with NUS stated goal of sustainability. Furthermore, the presence of BPA in receipts could pose health risks to students through dermal exposure (Konieczna, Rutkowska, & Rachoń, 2015; Arbor, 2018). Therefore, our project aims to reduce receipt usage. We first explored student awareness of the potential health risks and environmental impacts arising from the use of thermal paper receipts in dining halls. With residential college members as our survey group, we conducted a quantitative survey to investigate the level of student awareness. Our results showed that student awareness of the health and environmental impacts was high. Students were also open to the replacement of the current receipt system with a more environmentally friendly alternative. With these results in mind, our group proposed that the current receipt dispenser be replaced with a token dispenser. These tokens will replace the receipts as meal credits. They will be made of plastic and will be reused across semesters, ensuring their environmental impact is minimal (Cooper, 2012). The token dispenser will be programmed using an Arduino mini computer and will be fabricated using a 3D printer. We then conducted a trial testing the performance of our machine. With the feedback from the trial, we were able to further improve our design, increasing its feasibility. Thus, we recommend that NUS could consider replacing the current receipt system with the coin dispenser.

Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, Receipt waste

Alvin Phua Wei Da, Arushi Gupta, Lim Yiming, Lim Zheng Xiang, Patwardhan Arica Jitendra

Academic Advisor: Dr. Chua Siew Chin

Plastic waste in Singapore has been increasing in recent years, with disposable plastics being one of the main types of plastic waste (NEA 2019).2 One of the sources that accumulates plastic waste is the use of disposable cutlery when consuming delivered food. Despite their possession of reusable cutlery, most consumers lack the consciousness to decline disposable cutlery when ordering food. As such, our group aims to investigate how we may get NUS students to use reusable cutlery instead, adopting a three-pronged approach to do so. We collaborated with Al Amaans, one of the most popular supper stores among NUS students, and requested for them to verify if students on the line require disposable cutlery when receiving orders. The other two approaches include the development of  infographics which comprise social norm messages, and creating an additional step on supper order forms for students who opt to use disposable cutlery. Based on data gathered over the past three weeks, there has been a small but increasing proportion of students who reject disposable cutlery. These results offer an optimistic sign that the use of these prompts, reminders and messages may aid in encouraging such behavioural changes amongst NUS students.

Keywords: Responsible Consumption, Disposable Cutlery, Takeaway, Behavioural Change, Plastic Waste

Bill Chee, Bong Jia Hui, Emily Ellisha Ng Qi Li, Low Sheng Wei Ernest, Yeap Yong Ern Joel

Academic Advisor: Dr. Chua Siew Chin

Children’s toys are a large contributor to the plastic waste problem in Singapore. They are mostly made out of unrecyclable plastic, and consumed at a high rate. This is amplified by the fact that the toy market in Singapore is growing. Our project seeks to abate the environmental impact of toys by encouraging parents to make their own upcycled toys for their infants using household waste instead of purchasing commercial off-the-shelf toys. To achieve this, we created a guidebook and a DIY kit to help parents. We then test the receptiveness of parents to this idea through interviews, which are analysed with qualitative coding. We also measure the interest of infants in the toys that are created from waste materials using non-participant observation. Our results indicate that infants are generally indifferent to the upcycled toys in comparison to commercial toys. Parents also have a positive response to the DIY kit and guidebook, and suggested that they are willing to give upcycling a shot. This evinces that upcycled toys are a suitable substitute for commercial toys, and parents are ready to make their own upcycled toys. From our project, we hope to ultimately motivate parents to upcycle their household waste to toys by demonstrating to them the ease and benefits of doing so.

Keywords: Responsible Consumption, Upcycling, Toys, Infants, Parents, Motivation