The environmental impact of medical supplies came into sharp focus during the
COVID-19 pandemic — thanks to the alarming rise in use and waste of
disposable personal protective
equipment
(PPE) such as masks,
visors
and single-use isolation gowns.
After PhD chemist Beau
Wangtrakuldee was severely
injured in a lab in 2008 — when a chemical spill burned straight through her
standard-issue lab coat onto her thigh — she realized PPE needed to be better,
and she set out to create a new standard. Launched in 2018, her startup,
AmorSui (derived from Latin, meaning “self-love”) — originally focused on protective lab gear — pivoted during the pandemic in reaction to the rampant waste and shortages of disposable PPE products in hospitals; the company’s new product line features higher-quality, inclusive, washable and recyclable garments that better protect medical personnel.
We spoke with Wangtrakuldee to learn more about AmorSui’s new, zero-waste
product line and her vision for a circular commerce model for medical supplies.
What are AmorSui’s sustainability goals?
Beau Wangtrakuldee: We're deeply concerned about the environmental impact of
disposable PPE — during the peak of COVID-19, hospitals were discarding
thousands of tons of disposable medical waste daily into landfills. The plastic
used in these products can take up to 400 years to decompose; this is not a
legacy I want to leave behind. In the short term, we're tackling this with
initial product launches emphasizing zero-waste solutions.
Cleaning up beauty's ugly impacts
Join us at SB'24 San Diego as Victor Casale — co-founder of Pact Collective and co-founder and CEO of MOB Beauty — shares insights from ongoing collaborations with materials innovators to create fully compostable, refillable, plastic-free, and easier-to-recycle packaging alternatives for beauty and wellness products.
This fall, we are
excited to roll out our take-back program. This initiative is particularly close
to my heart as it ensures that more PPE products are returned to us for
recycling, significantly reducing landfill waste. Our subscription service
offers professional laundering for gowns, enabling healthcare systems and other
large organizations to drastically reduce their PPE waste.
Looking to the future, AmorSui is committed to pioneering a net-zero marketplace
for medical supplies by striving towards a circular
economy in the
medical and science sectors. Our vision is a world where all PPE and medical
supplies are reusable and recyclable. We're also developing a comprehensive,
sustainability-measurement system intended to be adopted industry-wide. This
will help track and improve the environmental impacts associated with medical
supplies. Through these efforts, we aim to inspire change beyond our products —
influencing the entire industry to prioritize sustainability.
It's a challenging journey ahead, but one filled with the potential to
fundamentally transform how we protect our healthcare professionals — from
immediate risks in their work environments and from the broader environmental
challenges we all face.
What materials do you use in your products, and how are they sourced? You say your fabrics are recyclable — does that refer to the blend, or do the fabrics need to be chemically separated to be recycled?
BW: We are committed to using materials that provide the highest level of
protection and adhere to our stringent sustainability standards. We choose
fluid-repellent, anti-odor fabrics that are completely recyclable. We carefully
source these materials from vendors and suppliers who share our commitment to
sustainability, prioritizing local sources within the US to reduce our carbon
footprint. Our fabric blends are designed to be recycled as a whole, which means
they do not require chemical separation — this simplifies the recycling process
and minimizes environmental impact, aligning with our goal to create products
that are as environmentally friendly as they are effective.
How will you measure success? Do you plan to report your impacts?
BW: The sustainability-measurement system we are developing will allow our
enterprise customers access to real-time reports on greenhouse gas emissions and
reduced waste, energy consumption, and water use associated with PPE and medical
supplies. From AmorSui’s standpoint, we plan to quantify the metrics pulled from
our customers and report them annually to the industry on the progress made from
our circular PPE and net-zero medical supply marketplace.
How have you made your products more inclusive and representative of the diversity in medical personnel?
BW: Much of current PPE — even those marketed as unisex — is designed to fit
the average, Caucasian man’s face and body shape, despite women making up 80
percent of the healthcare workforce. We design our products with inclusivity in mind by offering a wide range of sizes to fit various body
types, including women. Our lab coats and isolation gowns come in sizes ranging
from XS to XXL — and women’s lab coats are adjustable — ensuring a
proper fit for everyone. We have also developed a fire-resistant hijab to cater
to Muslim women. By creating high-quality, long-lasting products that reduce the
need for frequent replacements, AmorSui ensures that their PPE is not only
accessible but also cost-effective in the long run.
What is the plan for your take-back program?
BW: For our take-back program, the plan is not just to recycle but to
transform. Used PPE collected through this program will be repurposed into
various products — including car interiors, airplane seats, and materials for
artificial joints and bones. Through these initiatives, we aim to set a new
standard in the industry for sustainability and responsibility.
Image credit: AmorSui
Has AmorSui considered becoming certified by third-party sustainability standards (e.g., OEKO-TEX)?
BW: Absolutely! OEKO-TEX is the gold standard
for textiles that are harmless to human health and we want to highlight our
advantages in textile safety. AmorSui — unlike other traditional
protective-apparel companies — has developed durable, water-repellent and
fire-resistant coating technology that does not deposit toxic
PFAS
or
microplastics;
so, our products will not lead to various health issues — including heart
diseases, cancers, Alzheimer’s, bronchitis and infertility. We are preparing our
team for on-site inspection and evaluation, which is required for OEKO-TEX
certification.
Beyond materials, how does AmorSui work to minimize the environmental impact of its manufacturing processes and its overall carbon footprint?
BW: At AmorSui, we're dedicated to minimizing our environmental impact
across every aspect of our operations. We use zero-waste production methods, waterless dyeing and solvent-free processes that eliminate the release
of toxic chemicals. Additionally, we've developed a proprietary, eco-friendly,
fluid-repellent formula free of harmful PFAS. We emphasize local sourcing to
reduce our carbon footprint, decrease transportation emissions, and invest in
renewable energy and energy-efficient production methods.
The impact of our approach is significant: For instance, just 100 of our
reusable isolation gowns can replace 10,000 disposable ones, preventing 3,750
pounds of waste and offering considerable cost savings. AmorSui aims to sustain
the industry through these efforts, proving that high-quality medical supplies
can be produced with profound environmental respect.
How do you ensure fair labor practices and ethical working conditions in your supply chain? Are your suppliers and partners required to adhere to specific environmental and social standards?
BW: Finding supply partners who share your values and ethical manufacturing
practices is significant — they are an extension of the brand. In evaluating
potential supply partners, we request documentation around ethical standards and
an interview with one of the business owners. From our experience, we found that
a company’s ethical cultures often reflect those of its leadership. If the
business owner values doing right by environmental and social standards, the
company practices would also reflect those principles. When we can, we also set
up annual visits and review the documentation with our suppliers annually to
ensure that ethical standards are implemented accurately.
What opportunities do you see for AmorSui to partner or collaborate with any other organizations to enhance its impact?
BW: Because PPE is used to protect 1 in 4 people in the global workforce
across different sectors, there are tremendous opportunities for AmorSui to
partner with various types of organizations. Most importantly, we seek to
partner with frontline-professional working groups to advocate for better
product-safety practices to protect them in daily work. While we're already
collaborating with large healthcare organizations to adopt sustainable PPE
practices and reduce carbon emissions effectively, we welcome additional
partners who want to learn more about our circular PPE solution.
In other areas we have yet to explore, we see significant opportunities in
partnering with environmental NGOs and sustainability initiatives to champion
circular-economy principles across the medical sector. We're also eager to join
forces with research institutions to pioneer innovative, sustainable materials
and manufacturing processes. Additionally, working alongside governmental and
regulatory bodies to promote policies supporting sustainable PPE and medical
supplies is crucial for potential collaboration. Through these partnerships,
AmorSui aims to enhance our sustainability efforts and drive meaningful change
across the industry — demonstrating that it is possible to simultaneously
protect our healthcare workers and our planet.
What’s next for AmorSui?
BW: Contrary to other PPE suppliers and brands that sell directly to
enterprises, AmorSui plans to create a groundswell of awareness among all PPE
users as the brand grows — to eventually drive the implementation of
better-quality, size-inclusive and sustainable options for the organizations
they work for. We believe it’s essential to involve the wearers of PPE in our
brand journey and create a direct feedback channel, so that we can continue to
prioritize the needs of the PPE users above all else. Especially with the
workforce shift towards younger generations, we plan to engage our potential
customers digitally — including social media and online — and in person at
community events, and more. Our hope for this launch is for the wearers of PPE
to join AmorSui’s mission to protect people and the planet, share our brand with
others in your network, and advocate for AmorSui's better PPE to your employers.
From the enterprise perspective, AmorSui is the only net-zero PPE option that
will reduce carbon emissions by up to 50 percent while providing 22 percent cost
savings and better employee protection. The US healthcare system is such a large
producer of waste that if it were its own country, it would rank 11th worldwide
in greenhouse gas pollution. Shockingly, 90 percent of healthcare’s total
greenhouse gas emissions come from purchasing, transporting, and distributing
products like PPE — contributing to 14,000 tons of waste daily, and over 90
percent of this waste is not recycled.
With initiatives like the Health Sector Climate
Pledge
calling for policy changes, adaptation within healthcare is imminent. AmorSui
aims to be the premier brand to facilitate this transition. We are building a
brand and company that will change how everyone buys medical supplies by
creating circular commerce of the world's most essential and frequently used
consumables — PPE is just one category of medical supplies we focus on right now
as a jumping-off point. We are building out tech stacks for circular commerce,
including a life-cycle analysis accounting tool and marketplace and a
full-service network of cleaning and recycling vendors for PPE and medical
supplies. Our fewer, better PPE is a critical milestone toward achieving the
net-zero commerce for medical supplies we envision. We’re excited for what is to
come.
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Corporate Sustainability Specialist & Consultant
As a corporate sustainability professional, Fatima Fasih is optimistic about a future where businesses are transparent about their impact and motivated to do more good for profit, people and our planet. A graduate of the esteemed MSs Sustainability Management program of the University of Toronto and a GRI-certified professional, Fatima has experience working with several businesses worldwide and guiding them on their sustainability journey. She started her sustainability career working in off-grid Pakistan and assessing the impact of solar technology on rural communities; recently, she founded her own sustainability consulting business, Enviro6. When she's not working, Fatima enjoys painting, traveling, and exploring the Philippines with her husband and 3-year-old.
Published Jun 12, 2024 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST