Each year people are consuming more and more sushi. And it’s clear that’s not going to change. But according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, plastic waste will outnumber fish by the year 2050. So, clearly something has to change. And that’s exactly what Yavez Anthonio is trying to do. For his graduation project, the advertising student created Umi Hashi: chopsticks made entirely out of plastic collected from the ocean.
“With this project I hope to reduce ocean plastic and make sushi lovers all over the world aware of the threat of microplastic,” says Anthonio, a sushi lover himself. Indeed, by visualizing the problem and putting it, literally, in the hands of consumers, it forces each and every one of use to be more cognizant of the dire problems facing the seas.
But the project isn’t just for the classroom. Anthonio has launched a kickstarter campaignto turn his prototype into larger numbers of Umi Hashi. And he’s partnered with Better Future Factory to create a scalable, environmentally friendly process to create the chopsticks. But the project goes a step forward to acknowledge another serious problem facing our seas: overfishing. Only restaurants that serve sustainable fish will use the chopsticks “so if you hold these chopsticks, you’ll know you’re eating sushi responsibly,” says Anthonio.
It’s great that such an ugly problem like sea plastic can be turned into such a unique, beautiful product. Our only suggestion would be to taper the tips a bit so they’re more pointy!
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