Candy Converters - Conscious Confetti | IDA

Name of the submitted project or idea (in English or both English and your language)

Conscious Confetti
URL of a video introducing the work（under 5 minutes）

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/v9c82tpiujbwvir95620e/Candy-Converters-AWRD-2024.mp4?rlkey=797fa23bqgabwfil1474hjrfg&st=aw2ok7x0&dl=0
Detailed explanation of the submitted project or idea (in English or both English and your language)

Candy Converters' mission is to fight plastic waste created during festivals, parties, and events. We offer the best alternative to plastic confetti: Conscious Confetti. This unique confetti is made from residual waste paper (potato starch) and is harmless to humans, animals, and the environment. We aim to do business as responsibly as possible. This is reflected in the raw material, the product, the waste stream, the packaging being used, and the collaborating partners. We aim to produce 60,000 kilos of Conscious Confetti in one year to prevent 60,000 kilos of plastic confetti from entering the world. No waste, wél feest! (No waste, do party!)
How does your work address the 3 P’s (for Planet, for People, for Profit) for Sustainability?

The user assumes that (newspaper) paper confetti is the correct alternative to plastic confetti. But this confetti:
takes six months to break down in soil or water, clogges sewers, is colored with ink of which it is not yet known how harmful it is to the environment, is often treated with harmful fire retardants and often has a glossy plastic coating made from leftover plastic from luxury covers.
The sustainable alternatives such as leaf or flower confetti or confetti made from corn starch are very labor intensive and therefor expensive.
The sustainable alternatives to rice paper are made from virgin materials and travel a long way across the ocean to reach the Dutch market.
Conscious Confetti is one of a kind. It breaks down quickly and does not clog the sewers, it is coloured with natural dyes and EU-approved food additives, is fireproof and untreated, has no plastic coating, is not labor intensive in large-scale production, is made from residual flows from the food industry, comes from the Netherlands and is therefore produced, processed and packaged locally.
A win win situation for the Planet, the People ánd the Profit without making any concessions to sustainability.
Keywords

#Circularity #Material # Biodegradable
If you have a website for your submitted project or idea, please provide the URL

https://www.candyconverters.com/
If you have a social media account for your submitted project or idea, please provide the URL

https://www.instagram.com/candyconverters/?hl=nl
Special Prize Question 1: "Empowering nature to create a new loop”: How does your work strengthen or support nature’s ability to capture and convert waste into valuable resources? How does your work advance industry practices by introducing nature-positive alternatives?

Candy Converters intercepts waste with value and throws it away again but with a new purpose. Without harming the environment and maintaining the human need to celebrate life. Conscious Confetti prevents microplastics from entering the ecosystem. Candy Converters is one-of-a-kind. No business in the event industry has come up with this idea before.
Special Prize Question 2: “Regenerating ecosystems”: In what inspiring ways does your work contribute to the restoration and stabilization of natural ecosystems?

Nobody knows the amount of confetti being used in the Netherlands (or worldwide) and the amount of microplastics involved. What we dó know is that residual confetti in the Netherlands can amount to 60,000 kg and therefore, 60,000 kilos of microplastics can be prevented. The more the merrier. The less microplastics end up in the environment the bigger the chance the ecosystem stabilizes.
Special Prize Question 3: “Education and storytelling”: How does your work make complex bioeconomy concepts accessible and engaging?

Everyone celebrates sometimes and confetti is a very recognizable phenomenon. Moreover, many people know wafer paper from their youth, from nougat and coconut macrons. In a cheerful, and light-hearted way, Candy Converters can use this confetti to explain what the value of waste could be and what impact the composition of the waste can have on the environment. Children (the future!) in particular are enormously attracted by the end product and by the process leading up to it. A simple science experiment is born by showing the confetti dissolving in water and soil.