Zenbird’s first exhibition with MoFF 2022’s 2900-strong crowd

Japanese ICT company and ethical e-commerce “tells market” operator, Freewill Inc., organized the ethical event MoFF2022 at TRUNK HOTEL in Shibuya on September 9. The event saw close to 2900 participants, more than one hundred ethical brands gathered from all over Japan, and professionals from various fields participated in talk sessions.

Zenbird participated as an exhibitor together with Life Hugger, a Japanese online magazine covering sustainable lifestyles, and curated an exhibition there for the first time.

MoFF 2022 @ TRUNK HOTEL, Shibuya

Close to 2,900 participated in the event, including visitors and online participants. Panels and videos were shown at the entrance introducing the concept of tells market and the passion behind organizing the event, thus raising participants’ expectations.

A “Tangible Earth” was also placed near the entrance, letting you experience the earth 100 years ago, the present, and 100 years from now. It is a digital globe that allows you to understand the dynamism of the planet, such as global warming, the generation process of typhoons and tsunamis, and the movement of migratory birds, by rotating the globe with your own hands.

By interacting with it, you can observe how the degree of global warming varies from region to region. I really felt that serious warming had already begun in the vicinity of the North Pole and that there would be a big difference in the progress of global warming between if global warming countermeasures were taken and otherwise.

More than 100 ethical brands gathered at the event. Visitors stopped at each booth and enjoyed shopping ethically.

In addition, professionals from various fields gathered, and eight talk sessions were held throughout the day. The topics included “What will happen to capitalism in the future?” “What is manufacturing for the next 100 years?” and “What can we do with Metaverse and Ethical?” For each session, the crowd overflowed the venue, demonstrating the high degree of interest in these topics.

Zenbird exhibition – curation of five ethical products

Zenbird and Life Hugger collaborated to hold the exhibition, “Conveying the creators’ passions for the next 100 years.” We curated five brands from tells market to serve as a first stepping for anyone interested in ethical consumption.

On the first panel, we asked visitors, “What is ethical consumption?” They scanned the QR codes with their smartphones while thinking about ethical consumption.

[Reference] What is ethical consumption?

Following up after the main panel, we shared the curated products from five brands and the passions of their creators, based on the interviews we conducted before the event.

• • The Arakawa Clean Aid Forum “aid to” (accessories upcycled from ocean plastic)
    The Arakawa Clean Aid Forum, which has been cleaning up the Arakawa River in Tokyo for over two decades, launched this accessory brand using ocean plastics to enlighten others about the current pollution. You will be surprised to find that the colorful grains in the accessories are microplastics. The “Arakawa series” attracted the most attention, using white and black grains mainly derived from resin pellets spilled from paper bags from factories and other sources.

[Reference] “Aid To” marine plastic accessories to spread awareness of Arakawa River pollution
[Website] Aid To
[Online shop] tells market

• • Kakukei seeds (Open Pollinated Seeds)
    The founder and a university student, Sora Kobayashi, wishes to communicate the appeal of seeds and the importance of diversity through the sale of open-pollinated seeds, which are seeds of traditional vegetables. His love of growing vegetables led to his interest in the world of seeds, especially with “Open Pollinated Seeds,” whose traits can endure through generations. Many people stopped their feet at the rare opportunity of handling seeds. Behind their high level of interest was the wonder if they could grow the seeds themselves.

[Reference] On the path to preserve Japan’s open pollinated seeds diversity
[Website] Kakukei seeds
[Online shop] tells market

• Urushi no Hashi Juhachi Zen (Ethical lacquered chopsticks)
  It was launched to offer modern people a chance to enjoy lacquerware in daily casual settings. The brand originated from a chopstick manufacturing company in Wajima, Ishikawa, 70 years ago. The brand uses Wajima’s local trees, Noto cypress, to manufacture chopsticks for circular forestry. Many visitors picked the chopsticks up and were surprised at how light and comfortable they were.

[Reference] Ethical lacquered chopsticks to preserve traditions among modern Japanese
[Website] Urushi no Hashi Juhachi Zen
[Online shop] tells market

• UZ Fabric (Upcycling Kimonos)
  It creates fashionable everyday items such as stoles and bags from second-hand kimonos. The revived fabric gives off a fresh charm that differs from a simple remake of a kimono. UZ Fabric aims to preserve the appeal of kimonos for the next 100 years by reconstructing it into a trendy form in the modern sense. The fashionable bag and stole were not recognizable as kimonos at first glance and fascinated many visitors.

[Reference] UZ Fabric passes on kimono culture to the next generation by upcycling
[Website] UZ Fabric
[Online shop] tells market

• YES (Upcycled chests and reused items)
  It upcycles old furniture, tableware, and sundry goods in vacant houses that can still be used but were designated as garbage for discarding. YES’s goal is zero waste of vacant houses. The red chest (as seen in the photo below) placed on top of the Japanese chest is also an upcycled Japanese chest. Participants discovered that “the house is not the only thing left over, since the existing furniture and miscellaneous goods are also thrown away as garbage.”

[Reference] “YES” breathes new life into vacant houses’ furniture through upcycling and reuse
[Website] YES Inc.
[Online shop] YES Inc.

Editor’s note

MoFF 2022 brought together brands taking action in environmental and social issues and people interested in ethical consumption. There is a momentum that serves as strong potential for the future of ethical consumption.

Participating in MoFF 2022 gave me the courage to see how many people were interested in ethical consumption and wanted to take action. If we could combine everyone’s efforts, society will surely change for the better. Even if the problems are piling up, seeking out what we can do and working together is more fun. It was an event where I felt such a positive energy.

Zenbird will participate and hold more events both offline and online. Don’t miss them!

Related feature articles

• Zenbird will hold the first exhibition in “MoFF 2022” in Shibuya on Sept. 9th
• What is ethical consumption?
• UZ Fabric passes on kimono culture to the next generation by upcycling
• “Aid To” marine plastic accessories to spread awareness of Arakawa River pollution
• Ethical lacquered chopsticks to preserve traditions among modern Japanese
• On the path to preserve Japan’s open pollinated seeds diversity
• “YES” breathes new life into vacant houses’ furniture through upcycling and reuse
• Zenbird’s first exhibition with MoFF 2022’s 2900-strong crowd