Artisans experimenting with glass circularity in Suwa

Suwa, in Nagano Prefecture, is a charming destination showcasing the craftsmanship of local artisans. From Mino-yaki pottery and Kiriko cut glass to tin crafts, the region’s traditional aesthetics come alive. Breathtaking scenery of Lake Suwa and surrounding mountains enriches the artisans’ work, reflecting the natural beauty. The region also offers healing hot springs and a unique food culture, utilizing fresh, locally sourced ingredients.

Indeed, Suwa City is visited by international tourists for their renowned craftsmanship. Suwa also hosts the Onbashira Festival at Suwa Shrine, showcasing these artisans’ skills, reinforcing community ties, and ensuring cultural transmission. This blend of craftsmanship and culture offers an unforgettable experience for visitors.

A lesser-known fact about Suwa is its name. The first Japanese letter “Su” bears the meaning “to ask, to compile and discuss.” Over the years, Suwa has evolved into a place where people from all over come in search of new learning and experiences. (This certainly explains the congregation of artisans and artists over the centuries.)

We saw this spirit at UNOUFES 2023 held in May. The goal of the event was to share efforts of circularity in terms of glass. Members of Asahi Glass Company (AGC Inc.) walked us through their history, their current efforts, and the kind of future they’re trying to create. But more than a tour of glass, it’s one of many gatherings where people come together to exchange ideas and put new ones up for experimentation.

Vision for a Circular Economy in Suwa

Koji Nakagawa, Manager of the Co-Creation Promotion Group, Planning Department, Technology Headquarters, AGC, says two keywords come to mind when thinking about creating a sustainable future for Suwa: “Carbon Net Zero” and “Circular Economy.” In other words, we think about energy consumption and circulation of materials.

Nakagawa: “It’s important for us to think about ‘How products should be.’ How can consumers choose not to throw a product away? How can we avoid collecting waste? Don’t forget that waste collection uses a lot of energy,” Nakagawa said.

Often, conversation about sustainability ends at energy usage, or discussion of a circular economy detaches from energy issues. But AGC understands that everything is interlinked, from energy required for the operations of their glass workshop to the responsibilities of makers to circulate material and the needs of the consumer.

Nakagawa: “In order to create [ethical] choices for consumers to use glass, we need the cooperation of different stakeholders, including customers and local governments, which are precious points to close the loop.”

To overcome obstacles in circulating glass, we need to begin learning about the obstacles

While AGC is only starting on their journey to create a circular economy for glass, they understand that the spirit of experimentation will be key.

Suwa Glass Village only restarted its furnace about 12 years ago. It was closed due to profitability issues, but has reopened as a lab for research and development aimed at local production and consumption of glass and glass recycling.

Nakagawa: “With the help of recycling companies, we were given waste glass to experiment with and to see what we can do with them.”

“We’ve managed to reuse all kinds of household glass, including food containers and wine bottles. Unfortunately, there is nothing yet we can do for reinforced glass like building windows.”

“With wine glasses, it turns out labels weren’t an issue. They just burned up as energy. However, bottle manufacturers that included other materials like rubber made it more troublesome. Some materials melted without problems, others required removal of impurities.”

This underscores the importance of manufacturing things so they are easy to recycle. And the story from experimentation becomes more interesting.

Nakagawa: “At some point, we experimented with solar panel glass. Glass from solar panels will be tainted with metal impurities. We decided to melt it just to see what we get. The result is a nice, light greenish toned glass.”

“Of course, we recently tried creating glass from Suwa’s sand, which you can see the result here, an obsidian tone. What will we get when we mixed Suwa sand and solar panels? We get a deep green, which is an interesting color we can use [for future crafts.]”

The workshop’s experiments show a lot of potential for upcycling glass. Through these experiments, the artisans what to show examples to other stakeholders of what circularing glass material can look like as solution adoption.

Of course, our artisans also realize the limits of glass recycling. Technology may be able to overcome these problems, like identifying if a certain glass can be used to recycle. The demerit? These paths may be expensive.

But as Nakagawa pointed out, these are recycling issues we don’t know what to do with if we don’t know what problems they are in the first place. Experimentation is the only way. Yohei Kawai (Manager of the Co-Creation Promotion Group, Planning Department, Technology Headquarters, AGC) also shared the same reflection.

Kawai: “It is important for us to try, especially because we knew little. By trying, we get exposed to problems, and then we can start solving them.”

Prosperity in the business aspect

If we can create new products from waste glass, it doesn’t necessarily lead to sales. Surprisingly, Suwa Glass Village already has that covered. It has a proven track record of sustaining with excellent products.

Naohiro Iwanami, Representative Director and President, gave us a small tour of the Suwa Premium, a little store section located at the entrance of the glass museum. While a few of the items displayed were historical pieces, most of the products shown were the results of collaborations between different companies around Suwa, with many having won awards. We can even think of it as a culmination of the value and skills available within Suwa.

Moreover, Suwa enjoys the advantage of its well-earned reputation of artisanry, among which is of course glass craft. Remember that visitors visit Suwa for the crafts, so they are comfortable with purchases. But the excellence of the products birthed from the cooperation between different companies delights visitors with surprise.

The model works for Suwa Glass Village, through creating a platform for collaboration and product promotion, which in turn creates a sustainable business.

Designing for the heart

But how do we inspire the public, the common man to be interested in? Simply turning waste into a new product might not be enough. Yohei Kawai shares the sentiments that upcycling will not suffice.

Kawai: “It is not enough to recycle glass. If we do so, we would have created just another physical product, likely used and discarded.

“We need to create new value. The products should not only have practical merits, but also emotional value. Emotional value is something that can change mindsets. That’s where designers come in: beyond a circular economy, we need to create emotional products.”

Supported by the Koju Murayama, renowned glass artisan lending his expertise to circulate glass in Suwa, the Material Terroir Project demonstrates how emotional products would look like. The project involved students from Tokyo art students to create glass products using materials from Suwa.

Works included that implemented the sunset view of Suwa City, cups that pique our interest no matter how many times we look at them, and glasses that locals feel chic and practical to use. Not to mention, the glass uses the sands from Suwa itself and other local materials. The glasses not only look great, but appeals emotionally one way or the other.

That said, Nakagawa reminded us that consumers had a part to play. Having the knowledge of what glass is and its origins and limits will better equip them for action.

Nakagawa: “Consumers need knowledge about glass too, because there are so many products and the glass look the same. This means knowing different ways glass is circulated is different. Furthermore, we are only a single workshop. Rather than aiming to scale, circularity is best done locally.”

Birthing a new era of circular economy, birthing a new era of glass artistry

How do artisan skills come about? The artisans experimented. They dedicated time and effort to learn, explore, and innovate.

Murayama: “Who was the first person to think about creating a hollow pipe, then molt the glass by blowing through the pipe? It’s amazing to think about the first craft of glassblowing.”

Murayama’s point is so succinct and relevant for us. Right in the middle of Suwa, we see artisans in the process of birthing new skills and new levels of glass circularity. Witnessing this alone is cause enough for excitement, but it also repositions glass craft in the modern world, which is facing its biggest ecological crisis.