Maurice SkinnerJapan is seeing an uptick in the number of products manufactured utilizing old or thrown away material. The range of material used to create high quality products aims to not only decrease the amount of waste. It also creates something of high quality that its creators and consumers can be proud of either owning or making.
Larger cities such as Tokyo and Osaka are looking an increase in stores and companies selling upcycled products. So now is the perfect time to explore the upcycled products that Japan has to offer.
Oogiri Insatsu
Oogiri Insatsu is operated by the experimental and creative group “CMYK”, which is organized by the All Japan of Printing Industry Associations. The Oogiri Insatsu collective uses waste products in order to realize some of the funniest and most interesting print works. The works are not created randomly; on the contrary, the ideas for their work come from Twitter, with many users posting ideas and challenging the creators.
For example, one person explained how they liked the smell of ink and requested that the collective made an aromatic. Oogiri Insatsu went straight to work and created a beautiful and stylish product. The aromatic, which was created by the printing company Nakabi, has since been a hit. The materials used to make the product were ink (of course) and discarded papers.
All of the products are made using different types of paper, which would otherwise be discarded if not for such an adventurous group. The products range from a dictionary in which you can hide your school lunch to avoid embarrassment while eating, a paper sliding door with stars, and a flipbook machine made out of various metals. We can even acknowledge this as a form of “funcycling”.
Muskaan
Upcycling has never looked so good, and it honestly will be hard to beat Muskaan’s fashion sense. The creator of Muskaan, Miyuki Ishizaka, has long been a proponent of sustainable living and fashion. After studying sustainable fashion at the University of the Arts London, she launched the Muskaan brand and currently sits as the art director for the company.
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All of the company’s clothing is made out of old or discarded kimonos, and then turned into something of higher quality. Muskaan’s main aim is to incorporate the Japanese style for which the kimono is known for into the contemporary style of fashion. The company has also created clothing made with silk and is also biodegradable.
Muskaan not only places importance on the quality of their product, but also commits itself to using materials in a manner that does not create waste. There is a wide variety of fashionable wears to choose from including dresses, skirts and even pillows. Muskaan has done a great job at balancing traditional values, style, and sustainability for a better environment.
gleam
Many upcycle stores are doing a fascinating job at creating products that are portable or wearable. However, although gleam is considered an upcycle company, they are creating furniture that may help turn your home into a cozy space. The company also offers custom-made furniture, which can be arranged by contacting them. gleam’s furniture and office products are made with the best quality from various types of materials.
The company also provides another service, offering its expertise in handling space design in offices, cafes and similar types of stores. gleam’s concept centers around using old materials that are no longer used. Many of those materials come from various islands in the Indian Ocean. For example, some of the company’s material is from old boats that are no longer in operation. These old boats, which were left in the Indian Ocean, are being used to make quality furniture for others to enjoy.
Other items that are currently used in gleam’s furniture include big metal drums. These materials are then transformed into usable material that is not only chic, but also geared toward sustainability. Order made materials include items like windows, tables, chairs, cammodes and waste baskets. Gleam goes above and beyond to give its users the choice in design and comfort.
SEAL
SEAL brand is taking handcrafting to another level. The company is using old truck tires in order to make some beautiful and elegant bags and shoes.
At first glance, it might be easy to mistake their products made from leather material, but this could not be further from the truth. SEAL collects discarded tire tubes in order to provide to its consumers with a long-lasting product. SEAL claims to be the first company that is utilizing tire “waste” as the main material for its bags, shoes and other items. Furthermore, all of the products are handmade by an expert artisan with years of experience.
Each product manufactured by SEAL has its own unique style due to the fact that the material is made from discarded truck tires. The bags that are produced come in various styles. These bags are perfect for the normal-day Japanese businessman, and there are even bags that are styled for any casual setting.
When looking through SEAL’s website, all of their products list the type of material used in manufacturing. For example for Gleam’s shoes, its easy to see that you will be wearing a shoe that has been upcycled from a tire that probably spent many months on the road, traveling from one city to the next. SEAL performs thorough inspections in order to make sure all materials used are durable and last many years. It’s no wonder their upcycled products are still getting a lot of traction from one life into the next.
