Kapok Knot brings sustainable fashion to the world with kapok

Good news for anyone looking to get a waterproof jacket! Sustainable fashion brand Kapok Knot opens its ecommerce site in English today. With strong concepts of ethical fashion and fair trade in its processes, Kapok Knot is a Japanese specialty fashion brand that uses the kapok fiber to make their jackets. The English access will allow its speakers another choice for sustainable clothing.

Kapok Knot was founded in 2019, with a vision to use sustainable kapok fiber to provide customers a sustainable choice in fashion. Kisho Fukai, the founder of Kapok Knot and whose family members have always been involved in the fashion industry, wanted to tackle the wasteful nature derived from fashion. He understood that the production of clothing needed to be sustainable, based on an abuse-free environment for workers, while bringing back quality clothing for customers’ happiness. Kapok fiber offered the solution.

Made from kapok, Made to love the environment

For those unfamiliar with the material “kapok”, it is a natural fiber from the fruits of the kapok trees, usually found in tropical regions. While difficult to use, Kapok Knot worked with a reputable company to develop them into special cloth sheets.

Kapok fiber is 13% the weight of cotton, but excels in providing warmth by absorbing moisture. On the other hand, it releases that moisture in hot environments, allowing cooling. But versatility is not the only advantage kapok offers, because it has quite an impact on the environment too. Each kapok tree can create 30 coats per year. This replaces an equivalent of 900 waterfowls whose feathers would be needed to make the coats. Kapok Knot achieved a CO2 reduction of 260kg last year too.

Farm to Fashion – people matter too

Kapok Knot also respects fair trade, proudly promoting their Farm to Fashion model. It is a model they use to oversee the whole process, from the start of procuring ingredients to the end where customers get the finished product.

Therefore, instead of going through the traditional middle parties, Kapok Knot creates its own supply chain. That allows Kapok Knot to focus on caring for the people involved in making the product, rather than the traditional structure that sacrifices human welfare for consumption speed.

In the video, you will see the Kapok Farm and Kapok Factory located in the Republic of Indonesia, where the fruits are first harvested around September. The fiber is then transported to their factory in China where it is turned into sheets. Finally, the sheets are sent to their Garment Factory in Aomori, Japan. Here, the final products are made by hand, one by one with care.

Kapok Knot’s latest crowdfunding project is already a success

Their crowdfunding for the next series has far outperformed its original target, reaching 10.1 million yen against the target of 1 million yen at the point of writing. You can see how innovation, quality and social responsibility manifests themselves in their Air Light Jacket. Of course, Kapok Knot continues to adhere to their Farm to Fashion model. So, if you are looking for a waterproof jacket that makes, be sure to check out Kapok Knot’s Air Light Jacket.

If you are in Japan and would like to see Kapok Knot’s products up close, they are available for viewing at b8ta Tokyo (Shinjuku Marui) and b8ta Tokyo (Yurakucho) until the end of October.

Fashion that wishes you long-lasting happiness and a sustainable future

The knot in the Kapok Knot’s logo has a meaningful background to it. It refers to the knot that we often see on the Japanese envelopes given to others for congratulatory occasions. The knot represents well wishes to the recipient for a long-lasting happiness. It also represents an endless continuation of a sustainable world, which Kapok Knot hopes everyone involved will become a part of.

Founder Fukai shares, “If you are going sustainable, and would consider wearing Kapok Knot, it would make me more than happy. Let’s head together towards a sustainable world without needing to hold ourselves back.”

You can follow Kapok Knot on their Facebook and Instagram accounts.