Designing Novel, Valuable, and Marketable Products from Waste Sedge Plant Fiber Residues

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how discarded sedge plant fibers can be converted into new market-oriented products through product design and development. 
 
 Theoretical framework: The product design and development method, researchers work directly with the community as partners to experiment with materials using simple technology and design prototypes. The goods were then evaluated for market viability and SWOT to determine if they met market demands. These techniques target novel, collaborative, value-added, and waste goods.
 
 Design/Methodology/Approach: The mixed-methods case study followed Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR). Market assessments provided quantitative data. The community business served 140 Baby Boomers and Gen Z customers, ages 20–50, and sampled 103 consumers. The data collection instruments included site surveys, interviews, focus groups, experiments, recordkeeping, surveys, and SWOT analysis.
 
 Findings: This study identifies uniquely developed products that are ecologically conscious and reduce global impacts. The value of waste sedge plant fibers from the production of reed mats can be added, redesigned, and developed into marketable products. The two prototypes (the Bannock basket and the berry basket) met market demand in terms of material suitability, uniqueness and attractiveness, competitive price, commercial possibilities, exquisiteness, and utility. The SWOT analysis revealed potential marketing opportunities for the developed products. 
 
 Research, practical and social implications: The study reveals these significant implications. Practically, this study offers alternatives to traditional methods that can be used to overcome the current economic and environmental barriers to reducing waste and getting more value out of it. Conceptually and methodologically, it offers a technique to rebuild the framework of product design and development from waste sedge plant fiber remnants into new, value-added, and market-oriented products. Socially, this study yields the production process knowledge transfer to community levels nationwide. Economically, the developed products implicate viability of community-level OTOP establishments nationally.
 
 Originality/Value: This is the first time that the waste sedge plant fibers from the production of reed mats have been designed and developed into marketable products. This research is part of a paradigm shift in redesigned product design and development that is critical for the economic and environmental sustainability of communities.