Campus-Community Collaboration丨Discarded Fishing Nets Reborn as "Boxes": WKU and Lovedoor Design the Future Together.

On December 15, the final presentation for the "Design and Development of Eyewear Cases from Recycled Fishing Net Felt" project, a collaboration between the College of Architecture and Design at Wenzhou-Kean University and the Lovedoor Group, was successfully held on the university’s campus. Nine sets of eyewear case works, which combine environmental value with creative design, were showcased, highlighting remarkable innovative achievements.This semester, facilitated by the Office of Research （University-Community Engagement）, the College of Architecture and Design at Wenzhou-Kean University joined hands with Wenzhou Lovedoor Group Co., Ltd. (Lovedoor), a well-known local eyewear case packaging enterprise, to carry out a productive university-industry collaboration. The partnership focused on the "Design and Development of Eyewear Cases from Recycled Fishing Net Felt" project.

At the presentation, student Zhang Yiyang introduced their group’s work: “Using recycled felt from discarded fishing nets as our core material, we integrated a recyclable filling structure and incorporated vivid, adorable marine creature motifs to design an eco-conscious eyeglass case with interactive fun centered around ocean culture.” Lovedoor Company’s Design Director commented: “This piece is exceptionally creative, not only transforming discarded fishing nets into functional materials but also ingeniously integrating an ocean theme. The adorable design is visually captivating, with a cohesive and compelling overall concept.”

Final Presentation Session

Creativity Leads: New Life for Discarded Fishing Nets

Facilitated by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs(Government and Community Outreach & Non-Degree Education), this collaboration began in September. Under the guidance of Professors Maurizio Vrenna and Jiang Yuanbo, senior students from the Industrial Design and Graphic Design programs engaged in a semester-long intensive partnership with WenzhouLovedoor Group. The project aimed to deeply integrate environmental sustainability with innovative design, jointly exploring new frontiers in eyeglass case design using discarded fishing nets as raw material. In the initial phase, students conducted in-depth user research through group collaboration, investigating how to innovatively combine sustainable recycled felt material from fishing nets with everyday eyeglass cases. During the mid-term presentation, industry experts provided detailed professional guidance on the design proposals, helping students better grasp market trends and user expectations. This laid a solid foundation for subsequent project refinement and implementation.

Field Trip

Future Outlook: Deep Integration of Industry-Academia-Research Collaboration

This partnership not only infuses youthful vitality and innovative thinking into the company’s sustainable product development but also provides faculty and students with a valuable practical platform. It fully demonstrates the immense potential of university-enterprise collaboration in advancing the circular economy and industrial upgrading, achieving deep integration of industry-academia-research efforts. Currently, our university’s design faculty team is working with Wenzhou Lovedoor Group to further plan the project's refinement and feasibility study for mass production, continuously empowering the green transformation and value enhancement of local eyewear manufacturers.

Corporate management and professional team tracking guidance

Appendix: List of Participating Students (Sorted by Pinyin)

Chen Enrui, Chen Wangyu, Fang Biyuan, Guo Yucheng, He Ziyu, Jin Dian, Ke Jialing, Lin Ke, Lin Shenghan, Ma Qingyang, Shen Yehuan, Song Hewanyue, Wang Zixuan, Wu Jiawei, Xue Jinyue, Yan Siming, Yang Bichun, Yang Jiaxin, Zhang Ning, Zhang Yiyang, Zhao Yibo, Zheng Yijing, Cai Yiting, Chen Miaodi, Cheng Yuan, Xu Shuangli, Lu Yan, Luo Lin, Lü Bingwei, Ren Luxuan, Ren Ning, Tang Lan, Xia Zhenghao, Xu Haoqing, Xu Jiahong, Xu Jie, Zhang Xuchunchen, Zheng Dongsheng, Zhu Jiaying, Chen Jiaqi, Chen Tiange, Fang Keyi, Fu Jiaqi, Ji Chenyi, Jiang Xiaojie, Shi Anna, Shi Tianle, Su Xinyan, Wu Yu, Xing Yinan, Xu Junjie, Yao Shenzhuo, Zhang Jinghan, Zhou Jiayi.