The archive · Product Ideas · Product decision · 2022–2024
Scallop shells become fishermen's helmets — Shellmet wins Spikes Innovation Grand Prix
TBWA\Hakuhodo and Koushi Chemical turn Hokkaido's wasted scallop shells into a recycled helmet that protects fishermen — and sweeps Asia's innovation awards.
Koushi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. · TBWA\Hakuhodo
What it had to solve
Sarufutsu, Hokkaido — repeatedly Japan's top scallop producer — generates roughly 40,000 tonnes of discarded shells a year, which pile up in smelly heaps and strain local disposal sites. Koushi Chemical Industry partnered with TBWA\Hakuhodo to find a use for the waste instead of treating it as garbage.
How it works
Sarufutsu, a fishing village in Hokkaido, has been crowned Japan's top scallop producer many times — which means it also produces about 40,000 tonnes of scallop shells a year that nobody wants. The shells pile up around the village, straining the environment and local disposal sites.
TBWA\Hakuhodo and Koushi Chemical Industry noticed that the main ingredient of scallop shells is calcium carbonate, and asked a simpler question: what if the shells that protected scallops could be reborn as something that protects people? The result is Shellmet (Hotamet in Japan): a helmet made from 'Shellstic', a material of crushed, sterilized scallop shells mixed with recycled plastic.
The helmet mimics the ribbed structure of a scallop shell, which makes it about 33% stronger than a plain moulding while production emits about 36% less CO2 than using virgin plastic. It weighs 400 grams, costs about ¥4,800, and was launched in March 2023 in five colors, aimed first at the village's roughly 270 fishermen.
Shellmet became a case-study staple: Spikes Asia 2024 gave it the Innovation Grand Prix, ADFEST 2024 the Grande Innova Lotus for sustainable innovation, D&AD a White Pencil, and it won three Cannes Lions in 2023 plus MAD STARS' Grand Prix of the Year.
Why it lands
- The material, the product and the user come from one place: Sarufutsu's fishermen created the shell waste and are the first people protected by the helmets.
- It uses biomimicry as engineering, not decoration — the shell's rib structure is the reason the helmet is stronger.
- Every helmet sold removes waste from the local environment, so the product and the cause are the same thing.
- It starts from a measurable local problem (40,000 tonnes a year) instead of a marketing message, which is why juries in Japan, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, London and New York all recognized it.
What it did
A 400g helmet aimed first at Sarufutsu's ~270 fishermen, then at cycling, disaster and worksite use. It swept awards: Spikes Asia 2024 Innovation Grand Prix, ADFEST 2024 Grande Innova Lotus, D&AD White Pencil, three Cannes Lions 2023, and MAD STARS 2023 Grand Prix of the Year.
What you can take
Start from the community's own waste: the raw material, the product and the user all come from one local problem, so every helmet sold cleans the same ocean that feeds the scallop industry.
Since then
Shellmet launched in March 2023 at about ¥4,800 and was promoted as protective gear for fisheries, earthquakes, bicycle commuting and worksites. It accumulated a rare sweep of recognition — Spikes Asia 2024 Innovation Grand Prix, ADFEST 2024 Grande Innova Lotus, D&AD White Pencil, iF Design Gold 2024, three Cannes Lions and MAD STARS Grand Prix of the Year — and became a reference point for 'upcycling as product strategy' in Japanese advertising, showing agencies that a real material innovation can outperform a campaign.
Sources
- Shellmet (TBWA\Hakuhodo) — Online Integrated Report 2023
- Meet Shellmet, a sturdy and lightweight helmet made of discarded scallop shells
- Protective helmets made from scallop shells
- Spikes Asia announces 2024 winners including the Special Awards and Young Spikes Competition winners
- Hakuhodo Group wins big at ADFEST 2024, including Grande
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