Zero-waste fashion drive by Shimamura scales to 900 Stores till 27 July

Japanese apparel retailer Shimamura Co., Ltd. announced it will expand its clothing collection campaign to 900 of its stores across Japan from 7th July to 27th July. The list of stores conductin the collection can be found here.

The company continues commitment to what it calls the “continuation and evolution of zero product waste,” a key environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issue for the group. Having already achieved a policy of not incinerating or disposing of any surplus stock, Shimamura is now extending its zero-waste ambition to include clothing that customers have purchased and no longer need.

Customers can bring used clothing from any brand to participating stores. The programme excludes items such as underwear, socks, shoes, accessories, and leather goods. The company requests that all items be washed before being returned.

The collected garments are managed through partner company Kaitac Family’s “MUDAZERO” project, which facilitates their recycling into yarn, fabric, and new clothing. This fibre-to-fibre approach represents a significant step towards a circular fashion system. A portion of the collected items is also being used in a trial for direct reuse.

A pilot version of the scheme, which began in 2024 in a limited number of stores, has already successfully collected approximately 73 tonnes of used clothing.