Blind box waste story wins climate awards

SINGAPORE – There is a thrill in not knowing what you are going to get when opening a blind box.

But the unboxing experience hides an ugly truth.

Each blind box you collect could be contributing to trash that exceeds the volume of a typical 12-storey HDB slab block – what was estimated to have been generated from almost $2.6 billion in revenue by blind-box maker Pop Mart in the first half of 2025. 

A Straits Times interactive story that highlights this won gold for Best Climate Impact Story and silver for Best Climate Infographics at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards 2026, held at Conrad Singapore Orchard hotel on Oct 26.

All in, The Straits Times swept up five golds and seven silvers at the awards, which are organised by the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). 

The awards aim to recognise outstanding achievements in journalism, visual storytelling, audience engagement, business innovation and media leadership.

“This year’s winners demonstrate the creativity, dedication and impact of the region’s news media, from reporting that brings important issues to light to initiatives that connect with communities and build sustainable businesses,” said WAN-IFRA.

ST’s interactive story – titled The Thrill Lasts Seconds, The Trash Lasts Forever – features a virtual blind-box simulator where readers attempt to get all seven Labubus in the Have A Seat collection.

It then calculates how much the reader has spent, and its environmental impact.

Charlotte Tan, a digital graphics designer who worked on this story, was glad her team’s efforts were recognised.

She said: “We felt that the thrill consumers get from pulling a mystery item can drown out thoughts of its waste and the money spent, so we wanted to bring attention to that.

“There was a lot of thought put into the research, the interactivity and the visuals, from a big picture to the smallest of details.”

Another ST visual story that bagged two awards looked at how noise affects homes – No Quiet At Home: The Reality Of Living With Singapore’s Traffic Noise.

Over a period of six months, ST recorded more than 100 hours of audio in 25 homes near airports, major roads and MRT lines.

It found that many homes experienced noise levels that, if sustained daily, would exceed both World Health Organization and Singapore’s National Environment Agency safety thresholds, at 53dB and 57dB respectively.

The story also dove into why humans respond to sounds at the same volume differently. The difference lies in a sound’s roughness – how grating or buzzing a sound feels, and its sharpness – how piercing a sound is.

The visual story bagged a gold for Best Health News Story and a silver for Best Health Infographics at the awards.

On the idea behind the story, Shannon Teoh, a digital graphics designer who worked on it, said: “I feel honoured and excited that our team’s creative and technical momentum is getting more recognition in the industry. 

“I hope it can motivate us to continue setting a global benchmark for future projects.”

Under The Red Light: A Tale Of Two Sex Workers was also a standout at the awards, bagging ST a gold for Best General News Infographics.

It tells the story of Linh, a Vietnamese mother escaping abuse, and Dada, a Thai university graduate with an exit plan, who both see sex work in Singapore as a calculated risk – a means to support their families and build a future.

Assistant art editor Chng Choon Hiong, who led the artists on the project, wanted to build a visually compelling narrative that would work across print, social media and online platforms.

He said: “I hope it brings more readers to the story and encourages them to approach the subject with more empathy.”

Straits Times editor Jaime Ho said: “Our audiences are always at the forefront of all we do, but such affirmation from our global counterparts is always welcome, and will always drive us to be even better.

“This year, I am particularly encouraged that so much of our public service journalism has been recognised.

“This is work that impacts our community directly, and we hope touches the lives of Singaporeans in a very direct way.”

In total, 47 awards were given out across 17 categories. Other SPH Media titles also won four awards.

The Straits Times’ honour roll

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SPH Media’s honour roll

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