Gaia Series 14 : Favorite Clothes Forever

In Japan, the apparel industry used to discard more than 500,000 tonnes of clothing every year. However, it is now experiencing a wave of change, with a focus on sustainability and being environmentally friendly. So if you take your old clothing to places like Uniqlo and GU, you can recycle them. Another example is Forever 21, a fast fashion brand that once took the world by storm but later withdrew from Japan. It is now making a comeback, with a new goal of being sustainable and environmentally friendly. 

Uniqlo was one of the earliest apparel companies in Japan to work on being environmentally conscious. In October 2022, it started repair services so that people can wear their clothing longer. At its branch in Setagaya City, Tokyo, there is a section called "Re.Uniqlo Studio" which offers such services. The repair service is under the charge of Ms Aya Hanada. Besides fixing things such as tears or holes, the place also offers embroidery services, boasting 100 illustrations and letters. These give Uniqlo’s clothing a new life. The idea to offer repair services first started in Uniqlo’s stores in Germany, before the stores in New York and the UK adopted it too.

American fashion brand Forever 21 entered the Japanese market in 2009 and was known as the pioneer of fast fashion in the country. Its first few outlets were in Harajuku and Ginza, before more outlets were opened. It was popular due to its low prices. However, in 2019, it withdrew from the Japan market due to bankruptcy. It decided to make a comeback in the US with a new and improved brand image. The prices are now higher, but the quality of its products has also improved. Its US headquarters was visited by Mr Osamu Kimura, the president of Adastria, one of the biggest apparel companies in Japan. He wanted to collaborate with Forever 21 to relaunch it in Japan in a new form. He plans to localise the brand to fit in the Japanese market. Mr Kimura decided to cooperate with Mr Nick Woodhouse, the president of Authentic Brands Group, 

Adastria manages more than 30 brands and its headquarters are in Shibuya, Tokyo. In September 2022, a press conference was held to announce the relaunching of Forever 21 in Japan. The first outlet was scheduled to open in April 2023. The relaunch project was put under the charge of Mr Gentaro Noda. To get ideas for the revamped Forever 21, he attended a famous fabric trade show, Premiere Vision Paris, in France. It attracted more than 1,200 companies from around the world and showcased a plethora of environmentally friendly products. Examples were fabric made of banana tree fibres and cotton thread made from a blend of bamboo.  

Ahead of the relaunch in April, in February, a temporary Forever 21 store opened in Shibuya, Tokyo. The aim was to let customers get a glimpse of its never-before-seen original products and advertise the newly transformed Forever 21. The company also did a presale online to figure out the best sellers.   

As part of Adastri’s plans to relaunch Forever 21 in Japan, project manager Mr Noda and Ms Ayaka Yamamura from the product planning department travelled to Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture. They visited Marui Orimono Co Ltd in Nakanoto Town, one of the best woven fabric manufacturers in Japan with more than 80 years of history. The Noto region has long been known for its production of woven fabric. Marui Orimono has developed an eco-friendly material - recycled polyester made from recycled material. Using this recycled polyester, Marui Orimono developed its own long-lasting fabric called Noto Quality. Ms Yamamura decided to use this super long-lasting fabric for Forever 21 items. For example, the fabric was used to make a one-piece Forever 21 long-lasting dress which is resistant to wrinkles and colour fading. The dress includes wear-tested fabrics which can withstand 50,000 rubs. The relaunched Forever 21 store finally opened in Japan on April 17. It also has original items that Mr Noda and his team created. 

Tips:

1)    Uniqlo offers repair and embroidery services to its customers 
2)     The Noto region is known for the production of woven fabric