Michihiko Iwamoto has been in the textile industry for a long time and has seen large amounts of clothing go to waste. In 2007, wanting to do something about this reality, he started a textile recycling business. Since then, with the vision of ``recirculating everything,'' he has continued to adhere to his beliefs with innovative ideas and action, and has striven to realize his ideals smartly and innovatively. What is the path to the ideal future of a person whom TWGGY.'s Miho Matsuura praises as "a precious person who may change Japan and the world?"

Story by Michihiko Iwamoto

Japan Environmental Design is looking to the future of the earth and creating systems to manufacture sustainable apparel products and recycle various items. With the cooperation of many companies such as collection centers for unwanted clothes, we have grown into a leading company in textile recycling, which we have been doing since the beginning.

The BRING™ brand develops and sells sustainable apparel products such as T-shirts, dress shirts, sweat products, and underwear. We collect clothes and recycle them into raw materials to make yarn, fabric, and clothing again. We thought that if we, who collected the clothes, could directly show the people who participated in the clothing collection the products that have been reborn using the latest technology, we could make it easier to understand the concept of ``circulation.'' In addition, many apparel brands are beginning to use recycled yarn and fabric as BRING Material™.

It must not be easy to let go of clothes that have fond memories, but we accept the precious clothes of many people who sympathize with us, recycle them, make new clothes, and have them wear them again. I feel that building relationships with consumers like this is also important in creating a sustainable society.

Our big dream since our founding was to run the DeLorean on bioethanol, a fuel made from recycled clothing. This is a time machine-type car that runs on garbage that appears in the movie ``Back to the Future.'' With the help of an American film company, this dream came true in 8 after eight years of work. At a joint event with a film distribution company held to commemorate the 2015th anniversary of the movie's release, I was worried that people would turn up at the venue, but it was such a huge success that admission was restricted, and we even succeeded in recreating a scene from the movie. did.

The most important result was that we were able to get a hint for expanding recycling: if we provide excitement, people will take action. Through this project, we were able to collect the amount of clothes that had previously taken us a year in just three months. By changing ``correct'' to ``fun,'' we were able to lower the hurdles for recycling and gain a sense of support from more people, which was a huge accomplishment.

In April of this spring, Japan's first domestically produced biojet fuel was completed. In the project ``Let's Fly with 10 Clothes! JAL Bio Jet Fuel Flight'' sponsored by Japan Airlines, 30 clothes collected by BRING™ were recycled into fuel. This unique initiative in the world, in which a plane is powered by unneeded clothing, was achieved through collaboration with many companies and organizations across industries. Consumer participation is essential for this success, and everything from raw material procurement to manufacturing is accomplished entirely in Japan. I am proud that we were able to achieve this in Japan, which is poor in resources.

This domestically produced biojet fuel is being considered for use in JAL's regular operations. Our role in this project was important: ``recovering clothes and producing a saccharification solution by enzymatically decomposing the cotton fibers contained in those clothes.'' However, the amount was equivalent to 30 pieces, which was significantly more than originally planned. We were able to get off to a good start with the collection of clothes.

At the root of turning recycling into a business is the desire to reduce resource conflicts occurring on the other side of the world. In an era where speed is required for results, the idea of ​​aiming for world peace before business may be the reason why people are so reluctant to give up. I am confident that the business I am undertaking for this purpose is the right one, and I intend to continue moving forward without wavering.

In order to make your dreams come true, it is important to convey to many people your desire to achieve something, even if it is something far-fetched. Your own thoughts will become stronger, and people will gather who agree with you. I was able to meet Miho Matsuura of TWIGGY., even though we work in different industries, because we continued to share the same message of wanting to create a sustainable society.

As a hairstylist and owner, I feel strongly about not only bringing out the beauty in each person, but also having the same attitude toward the environment. She also refers to the earth as "Mother Earth," and TWIGGY respects the beauty of Mother Earth. TWIGGY's efforts include incorporating natural electricity into the salon and using biomass bottles in its products. I feel that your efforts are admirable.

With the opening of the Kitakyushu Hibikinada Factory, a recycled polyester factory, we are now able to begin manufacturing and selling products such as T-shirts that use clothes recovered from BRING™ as one of the raw materials, which was also one of our dreams when we were founded. became. At the same time as selling products directly to end users, the company also collects clothing, recycles it in-house, and sells the clothing made from the materials again. We hope to continue this loop by bartering petroleum-based apparel around the world and replacing it with BRING™ recycled polyester apparel.

We also plan to restart the bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in the future. We believe that once this factory is in operation, we will be able to provide a solution to the plastic waste problem currently facing the world. With apparel products, bottles, and technology, we want to spread our wings not only within Japan but around the world. If one day we can see BRING's bee symbol all over the world, it will mean that a recycling-oriented society has become a reality. At the same time, I believe we are creating a society in which competition for resources is reduced and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced. We will continue to work towards creating a recycling-oriented society without slowing down.

The company name, Japan Environmental Design, literally reflects our desire to design Japan's environmental infrastructure. More than 10 years have passed since our founding, and we are now thinking carefully about what role we can play in manufacturing around the world, and we would like to actively expand overseas. In that sense, I feel it would be great if we could have a presence that goes beyond the company name.