OUR SPECIALTY:

BloomerHang is a biodegradable paper hanger made in Singapore from recycled cardboard, held together by water-based glue and carry advertisements printed in soy ink. The glossy advertisements are given their shine by oil varnish instead of a thin film of plastic or UV varnish usually used in magazines and boxes. BloomerHangs are produced in Singapore to ensure quality and to cut back on the carbon emission incurred from freight transport.

Users can reuse the hangers as long as they wish before putting them in the recycling bins with the assurance that the hangers can be 100 per cent recycled.

THE INNOVATION:

Advertisers looking for a platform to advertise their products pay for most of the cost of the hangers. For example, Terra Plana, an international environment conscious brand with two branches, has about 5,000 BloomerHangs, with its ads and a discount coupon attached, distributed here in Singapore.

For now, they are distributed at four laundromats and 16 hotels such as Green ‘n’ Clean Laundry, Dry Clean Express and the Gallery Hotel. But to discourage abuse that comes with free hangers, Bloomerang charge the distributing outlets a stipend sum of five cents, a marked discount from plastic hangers selling at eight to 13 cents per piece.

It is a win-win situation for both buyers and advertisers as well as users and the environment. Buyers get the hangers at a lower price, while advertisers, especially those with a green focus, get their green message reenforced in their advertising and users can dispose them guiltlessly.

Besides its environmental focus, Bloomerang is now in the talks of employing ex-offenders to produce its hangers, which are made in a manufacturing plant in Woodlands. BloomerHang are manually glued by hand.

Mr Thian said: “Rather than paying a factory to do it, I rather the guys get the money.”

BRIEF BACKGROUND:

In June 2008, Thian Zhiwen, 27, founded Bloomerang, with his junior college classmate, Wong Joon Ian, 28, who joined him in August. They wanted an eco-friendly way of advertising and found a creative way in BloomerHang. A sound business concept with a low start-up capital of $10,000, Bloomerang made use no funding or grants.

BloomerHang is highlighted as an innovative marketing example in a business textbook published by McGraw-Hall Education (Asia). The company behind it was also featured on Channel U’s Money Week programme for their eco-friendly business concept. Design wise, BloomerHang has emerged as finalists for the 2009 President’s Design Award for its creativity as a home made product in Singapore.