Background

Change people’s perception of use of disposable plastic umbrella bags. More than 200 million pieces of disposable plastic umbrella bags are wasted every year. The reason so many plastic umbrella bags are used every year in Korea is because people do not realize how their mindless behavior directly impacts the environment. In an effort to reduce plastic waste, NEPA wanted to change people’s perception on the over-use of plastic umbrella bags and raise awareness on how using reusable ones instead can help the envi-ronment.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

As an outdoor brand, NEPA is well known for its wide range of waterproof products that are made with high qual-ity waterproof fabrics. The idea was to create a reusable umbrella bag by upcycling leftover fabric scraps that were thrown away during production. NEPA designed Rain Tree to make people feel as if they were “growing” a tree as they used and returned the leaf-print umbrella bags to the “tree”. NEPA wanted to create an intuitive expe-rience of what using less plastic products meant for the environment, and in the end change their perception on the use of disposable plastic umbrella bags.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

Inspired by NEPA’s own waterproof outdoor clothing line, NEPA made reusable waterproof umbrella bags out of leftover fabrics and printed green leave patterns on them. Instead of disposable plastic bags, leaf-print reusable umbrella bags were provided on stands at building entrances on a rainy day, and a specially designed tree-shaped bag hanger stood for the reusable bags to be hung to dry after use. With each use of the “leaf”, the “tree” became fuller as people hung the used bags to dry on the tree - each person’s small contribution to a fuller tree meant a difference for the environment.

List the results (20% of vote)

The Rain Tree campaign started in NEPA’s retail stores, but soon became a nationwide success with museums, cafes, book stores and other public institutions also taking part in the campaign. People were more than happy to use the reusable bags over the plastic ones since there was nothing different on their part yet it still made a huge difference to the environment. After the Rain Tree experience, people preferred recycled bags over the existing disposable plastic ones and some even asked if they could take it home with them. The campaign had positive impact on strengthening NEPA’s brand image as an eco-friendly brand, while effort-lessly showing off NEPA’s high-quality waterproof products. The campaign gained 1,080,860 accumulated video views, 230 PR news and 1,226,297 social buzz. Search volume for NEPA grew by 30% even in the off season and sales of NEPA’s waterproof products also increased by 15%.