Promotion of Green Design Sustainability
Basic Concept
The apparel industry is associated with large-scale negative impacts on society and the environment, including greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and mass disposal of product. We need to shift to products that can be used safely for long from products with short life cycles and high environmental impacts.
The Group aims to enhance environmental sustainability and provide products that consumers can use safely for long, and is actively developing products made from recyclable raw materials with low environmental impact.
Key Environmental Issues
We have proactively developed products using renewable materials with minimal environmental impact, aiming to increase environmental sustainability and provide consumers with products that are safe and useful over the long term. Our medium-term management plan made in 2021 includes promotion of green design as a priority issue.
The ratio of products that use materials with reduced environmental impact is incorporated into the key target items of each business division, and their progress is checked each month at the Administrative Office of the EMS Committee chaired by our President and Representative Director.
Expanding Products that Use Materials with Reduced Environmental Impact
The medium- to long-term targets were clarified under the Medium-term Management Plan formulated in 2021, and the use of materials with reduced environmental impact is increasing across the Company. The ratio of products using materials with low environmental impact in 2023 was 65.3%. We will continue to proactively develop products using materials with reduced environmental impact, including plant-based materials such as Brewed Protein™, a structural protein material, as well as recycled and upcycled materials.
Joint Development of Environmentally Friendly Next-Generation New Materials
Many sports apparel manufacturers including us have used many fibers such as polyester and nylon made from petroleum and their negative impact on natural environment is concerned. In our shift to materials with low environmental impact, we have started collaboration with Spiber Inc, a bio venture in Yamagata since 2015, and developed materials with low environmental impact. Brewed Protein™ fiber uses plant-derived biomass for its raw materials. It is produced through a fermentation process of microbes and can largely reduce the environmental impact compared to existing materials. For example, unlike cashmere fiber—a luxurious animal hair often criticized for its environmental risks—it offers a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and requires less land and water. Further, Brewed Protein™ fiber itself is biodegradable and it will help to solve issues of petroleum-derived microplastic emission depending on how the end product is designed. These materials are expected as the next-generation materials that can offer alternative solutions to a wide range of conventional animal-based, plant-based, and synthetic materials for various purposes. It has been difficult to ensure a stable supply and limited quantities of T-shirts were sold. However, following the establishment of a mass-production system, we released in September 2023 products using the Brewed Protein™ fiber simultaneously in various countries with the concept of “REGENERATIVE CIRCLE.” Pop-up stores were held in Tokyo and London, and received a great response. Many responses were also received from buyers across Japan and we reconfirmed the growing interests in the future of sustainable fashion. The challenge is we have to set a higher price than our existing products as we are yet ready to expand production. We will further promote this initiative in belief that allowing many customers as possible to use the products made from this material will help solve the environmental issue.
GREEN IS GOOD
GREEN IS GOOD is the environmental impact reduction program that we have been running since 2008 with the aim of realizing a sustainable society by considering the environment together with consumers. Under this banner, we are working on green design to promote product development and manufacturing that incorporate ideas for reducing environmental impact.
For more information on GREEN IS GOOD, please visit the page below.
Promoting Conversion to Recycled Materials
The majority of sports apparel uses polyester, nylon and other materials derived and manufactured from petroleum. We will proactively shift to recycled materials not dependent on depleting fossil fuel sources through initiatives to use recycled polyester and nylon obtained from used garments, fiber products and PET bottles, and to reuse for new products the recycled down feathers after washing and reviving them. Used clothes for recycling are also collected at our stores to facilitate circulation of limited resources.
Utilization of Auxiliary Materials to Reduce Environmental Impact
We will improve the usage rate of recycled raw materials and plant-based materials with reduced environmental impact in primary materials for products, and promote utilization of materials that have little impact on the environment for product accessories. such as zippers. Also, we will further reduce environmental impacts of auxiliary materials by reducing containers, packaging and labels, and selecting recyclable materials.
Future Issues
We will continue to develop products that use materials with reduced environmental impact, and further lessen the environmental impact including the manufacturing procedures. We will strive to build understanding of our Group environmental initiatives among all of our stakeholders. A challenge will be encouraging consumers to select our products not only for function and appearance but also environmental friendliness.