The "BANANA BLACK | Smoke (Incense Holder)" sold at our shop has won the Social Products Award 2026.
This product was born from a collaboration with Dole Japan, which carbonizes bananas that would otherwise be discarded as off-spec products and recycles them as "banana charcoal."
At UP FOOD PROJECT, we continue our activities to transform what would have been discarded into everyday tools by redesigning unused food-derived resources into new materials.
BANANA BLACK is one of the products that symbolizes this initiative.
The judging panel praised the following:
- The idea of carbonizing off-spec bananas and transforming them into interior objects
- The social impact achieved through collaboration with a major company
- The visualization of the food loss issue through design
▶View BANANA BLACK | Smoke (Incense Holder) product page
◆About the Social Products Award
The Social Products Award is an awards program organized by the Association for the Promotion of Social Products.
It is held annually to recognize and promote products and services that contribute to building a sustainable society.
▶View the award details page of the Association for the Promotion of Social Products