13 December 2021, VANCOUVER, BC / SINGAPORE — ChopValue, the world’s first circular economy franchise, made its official production debut in Asia today with the successful grand opening of ChopValue Singapore. Located in Loyang, Singapore, the Microfactory was further revealed to operate as a flagship that will support the strategic regional expansion of multiple future locations in development.

 
ChopValue SG

ChopValue Singapore began its chopstick recycling program during their pre-opening training earlier this summer, leading the change by sustainably urban harvesting Singapore’s first identified natural resource: raw bamboo in the form of chopsticks. The team has been humbled by the support from restaurant owners to government organizations that see the social impact they can create by giving the neglected material a second life. With close to 100 recycling partners participating in their collection network to date, ChopValue Singapore is prepared to meet its goal of 115 closed loop partners by the end of 2021.

Collaborations with like-minded partners have also been instrumental in building their circular economy community. SembWaste of Sembcorp Energy, one of the three national public waste and recyclable collectors appointed by the National Environment Agency, plays a critical role in supporting ChopValue Singapore as strategic partners for logistics and collection. Through the team’s diligence, the first strategic partnerships in furniture retail and OEM have already materialized during the pre-opening phase. A wide variety of ChopValue Singapore's products, such as height-adjustable desks and wall decor, will be made available through partners including Omnidesk and Commune.

 
ChopValue Vancouver HQ and ChopValue SG

The team’s resilience and determination were most recently highlighted when newly announced COVID travel restrictions at the beginning of December prevented in-person technician training, led by Vancouver corporate members Nathan Morin and Felix Böck, who were already en route to Singapore. “Setting up and calibrating entire production lines virtually was definitely not something I thought we would pull off a week later,” said Morin. “This experience was a testament to technology and how it made me rethink our carbon footprint of traveling, and critically evaluate what point of our training requires in-person resources to set us up for success.”

 
ChopValue Vancouver HQ and ChopValue SG

Motivated to serve their local community and to prevent postponing grand opening day, the team devised a plan to set up ChopValue Singapore’s Microfactory fully virtual. With the support of multiple camera angles at each step from chopstick to end product, a creative solution to stay on schedule was prepared. “We are working with incredible partners who are bringing ChopValue Singapore to life,” shared Böck. “Their positivity and willingness to be guided through the process of setting up their own Microfactory with our support from afar was the definition of successful collaboration. We celebrated each noise, movement, and new skill we were able to transfer virtually.” After days spent on video calls facilitated across opposite time zones, ChopValue Singapore pressed their very first ChopValue engineered tile, made of 289 recycled chopsticks one day before their intended grand opening day, making them ready to begin fulfilling orders for their valued community this following week.

 
ChopValue SG

Leading into next year, ChopValue Singapore has already formulated the strategy to fuel the expansion of its positive impact. The team plans to hire more than 30 employees for the flagship location alone, tripling the current workforce. They will also continue to grow their network of collection partners, and search for purpose-driven partners as well as local designers to amplify their mission of redefining the term waste to resource, including the discussion of a partnership with Takashimaya Department Store in mid-2022.

For opportunities to become a strategic expansion partner and play a key role in advancing Singapore’s national zero waste plan, connect with the team at singapore@chopvalue.com or on Instagram and Facebook.

About ChopValue

The World Economic Forum forecasts the circular economy to be a $4.5 trillion industry by 2030. ChopValue is the world’s first circular economy franchise, designing and manufacturing products using an innovative, high-performance material engineered entirely from recycled chopsticks. Since its founding in 2016, ChopValue’s “urban harvesting” approach has saved over 47 million chopsticks from the landfill, turning them into beautiful and sustainable products for the home and office. Their compelling vision to redefine the term "waste" to "resource" has garnered the attention of top-tier media outlets such as Business Insider, BBC, The Guardian, and Forbes. To learn more about their resource-efficient impact for a carbon neutral future, please visit www.chopvalue.com.

Our Commitment to the Circular Economy

With ChopValue’s global network of corporate and franchise Microfactories, the company sources, manufactures, distributes, and employs within local communities. They are expanding with like-minded and purpose-driven partners to redefine waste to resource, one chopstick at a time. ChopValue is actively seeking single and multi-unit franchise development partners who want to lead the change in their community within the US states of CA, FL, HI, NY and TX. The international expansion opportunities for their first-of-its-kind circular concept include Australia, EU, MENA region, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the SEA region. Learn more on how you can make a positive environmental impact in your city by visiting www.chopvalue.com/pages/franchising.