Visitors invited to turn bottles into blankets for poor villagers at Sustainability Expo

The campaign will be showcased at the Sustainability Expo 2023 (SX2023), a 10-day event at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok from this Friday to October 8.

The fourth edition of the event is being co-hosted by five Thai conglomerates: Thai Beverage, Frasers Property, PTT Global Chemical, Siam Cement Group, and Thai Union.

Visitors can earn points by checking-in at exhibition booths or donating PET bottles, said ThaiBev on Tuesday. The points can be redeemed for gifts and tickets for a lucky draw.

The company, one of the largest beverage manufacturers in Thailand, said 38 PET bottles are required to make one blanket.

ThaiBev said it has recycled 30.4 million PET bottles to manufacture over 800,000 blankets for those in need over the past four years.

Thai villagers in remote highland areas can suffer hypothermia during the cold season due to a lack of blankets and suitable clothing the company said.

Recycling PET bottles also benefits the environment, said the company, adding that recycling one tonne of plastic bottles saves nearly 160 litres of oil that would be needed to manufacture new bottles.

Making blankets from rPET fibres also reduces energy usage by 60% and carbon dioxide emissions by 32% compared with traditional fibres, it added.

ThaiBev will also host exhibitions at SX2023 on water stewardship, decarbonisation, waste management, and upcycling of plastic bottles.

Aside from exhibitions by over 100 leading companies and 500 sustainable business networks from around the world, Sustainability Expo 2023 will feature seminars from international speakers, a marketplace, a kids zone, and an “Immersive Experience Pavilion”.

The expo is divided into five zones: SEP Inspirational, Better Me, Better Living, Better Community, and Better World.

Admission is free.