Wendy Lam didn’t like current sustainable packaging, so she made her own
PostMag talks to 5 women innovators at the top of their game and pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery: here we meet Wendy Lam, founder of EzyGreenPak
Wendy Lam is a determined 32-year-old, bringing environmental savvy into what has long been the workhorse of China’s economic boom.
Growing up in the 2000s, she witnessed first-hand the environmental impact of traditional manufacturing through her father’s garment factory in the Pearl River Delta, which sparked her interest in eco-friendly materials.
Lam’s light-bulb moment came in 2019, when one of her father’s clients requested polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to package a sustainable clothing line. PVA dissolves in water within minutes without contaminating it. Its only downside is reduced resilience when the material is damp, so, Lam sought the expertise of Professor Cui Yuefei at the South China University of Technology in Guangzhou. The result is a water-soluble, non-woven, fully biodegradable material engineered for durability and performance.
Armed with that, Lam launched EzyGreenPak last year, with a mission to revolutionise sustainable packaging. For traditional garment manufacturers, tracking all carbon emissions is nearly impossible due to siloed production units, resulting in many undefined production emissions. To address this issue, she created an eco-tech platform last November, supported by Panasonic and Nokia, to ensure 100 per cent traceability and transparency.