BRING begins D2C circular fashion in Japan

JEPLAN Inc., a Tokyo-based Japanese company, is transforming the society from a linear to a circular economy in various fields. It has collaborated with multiple corporations in the past to accelerate the transformation, such as working with Aeon stores in Hokkaido. In 2018, JEPLAN made Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (a professional baseball team) t-shirts made from plastic bottles collected at Aeon stores. It then gave them away as free gifts to the first 5,000 supporters who came to the home game. For those who participated in this recycling project, it must have been a fun experience to actually feel the circulation of goods.

Now, JEPLAN is going further with circular fashion. BRING, a D2C (Direct to Consumer) brand produced by JEPLAN, collects clothing waste and remanufactures them into new clothes. This reduces textile and clothing waste generation, which the company estimates to be up to 100 million tons each year. Although many have become aware of the importance of recycling clothes, most of the unneeded or unsold clothing in Japan are still thrown away. These clothing usually end up incinerated or brought to landfills.

To tackle this waste problem, BRING developed an original chemical decomposition technology to disintegrate polyester fiber used in wasted clothes. Polyester fiber from used clothing is reprocessed to make resin, thread and material that eventually become part of a new outfit. Because its technology breaks down polyester to molecular level, the recycled PET fiber (called BRING Material) is as good as new, thus safe to wear and recyclable over and over again to make new materials. Since polyester is petroleum-based, tons of oil are used to make polyester each year. Recycling polyester fiber literally means cutting down the consumption of natural resources, which is imperative for making a sustainable society.

Besides selling BRING clothing on its web store, BRING provides its products and BRING Material to other apparel brands too. Currently, many apparel brands collect used clothing at their stores for BRING, or manufacture products using their recycled PET fiber. This collaboration will enhance the overall awareness within the fashion industry towards achieving circular economy. Of course, these outfits are not just sustainable and eco-friendly. They are comfortable, useful and stylish which are important elements for customers when choosing products. Their D2C business model will also make it convenient for consumers to support BRING’s vision and participate in circular fashion.

As the world moves towards circular economy, the fashion industry also needs to change its production and consumption pattern to become sustainable. BRING realizes circular economy in the fashion business by making new clothes out of unsold or unneeded ones. And because their recycled fiber is virtually new, it seems like there is no reason not to choose it. If consumer behavior changes, specifically if more of us wish to eliminate waste and desire the continual use of materials, purchasing clothes made from recycled fiber will become a consequent option. In such society, BRING could serve as an infrastructure to realize circular fashion in Japan.