O: I think that was only possible because of certain subsidies, making it profitable and allowing the business to take off. I think the same thing could be done with clothing, so once the overall trend changes, I'm sure we can create a system that will generate a certain amount of profit.
When I say profit, people often misunderstand me, but if we want to continue doing this, we absolutely have to create a system that gives people satisfaction just from that. After all, would you do it without a salary? That's impossible. In order to pay a salary, you need to make a profit as a result of certain actions. Profit is a necessary condition for the healthy growth of the entire business. To create such a system, as I said earlier, influential companies and, ultimately, the government need to take action, otherwise nothing will move forward.
T: I completely agree. Development costs are necessary.
O: We believe that Japan is finally becoming an environment that supports such movements. As I said at the beginning, there are times when we wonder if things are okay, and times when we feel like something is missing. I believe that human satisfaction comes from an environment where we feel like we're contributing to something. It's not enough to simply eat, breathe, buy clothes, and live; it's important to be able to contribute something. There was a time when the word "mottainai" (waste not, not worth it) was popular, but unfortunately it seems to have fallen out of fashion somewhat. The very idea of "mottainai" is recyclable and reusable.
As Mr. Tezuka mentioned earlier, there's fast fashion. It's a structure of mass production and mass consumption, but they are the ones who should be more serious about recycling and reusing. There are movements in this area, but they are far too small given the scale of the companies involved.
I would like to use opportunities like this to listen to as many people as possible, expand the circle of support, and turn it into a movement.
T: Once major Japanese companies take action and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry follows suit, and the world sees Japan as a movement, various things will only succeed. It needs to be done on a large scale, and the people involved must be professionals. Otherwise, good products won't be produced. We need to make the impossible possible.
Even flat-screen TVs, which are commonplace today, would have seemed unthinkable to people of the past. It was the Japanese who made the impossible a reality, so don't give up and assume it's impossible right from the start. For example, if we collect a variety of fabrics, we could dye them all black and make only black mourning and formal wear out of recycled yarn. It would be great if consumers wore mourning and formal wear made from these materials. I think it's fine to start with a small movement like that.
So far, we've been talking about returning to raw materials, but there are other, more immediate issues. When we make things, we can't always get the raw materials exactly right, so we always end up with leftovers. For example, if we make black, white, and blue, we'll end up with leftover blue fabric and blue thread. Before we know it, these pile up in warehouses. This goes for thread, fabric, and even finished products like T-shirts, as well as B-grade items like missing buttons. The idea behind Inditex in Spain is to salvage these and turn them into something. I think we should incorporate that as a positive aspect.
In Japan, it's a culture where a garment can't be put on the shelves unless it's perfectly matched in white, red, and yellow, right? But it's okay to have just blue for men, women, and children, right? That's what ZARA did. We're making a Japanese version of this. Every company has raw fabrics on hand. We're getting a team of experienced salespeople over 60 to go buy those surplus materials and turn them into products. Wouldn't that be interesting?
O: I've been talking about this for a long time, and I'm half serious about it, about starting a company that doesn't allow anyone under 60 to join (laughs). The conditions would be an investment of 500,000 or 1 million yen, and a flat salary of 150,000 or 200,000 yen. I think it would be interesting if apparel industry professionals started a company like this after they retired. After all, who would seriously think about fashion for people over 60 or 70? It would be ourselves. There are still many issues to be resolved regarding the recycling and reuse businesses we've discussed so far, but I think the idea is viable, especially considering that we can't afford to spend too much money.
From another perspective, the retail sales of the entire Japanese apparel market are said to be 8 to 9 trillion yen. For example, if we were to add 1% to the selling price and use that as funding for clothing recycling, such as for the development costs of recycling machinery, or pool it for clothing recycling, similar to the solar power generation subsidy system that Tezuka mentioned earlier. Through such efforts, the business could become viable, attracting new entrants and revitalizing the industry as a whole.
T: If a department store that carries many international brands were to adopt this selling price system, it would attract global attention. As an advanced department store. It could set a new course for department stores. Let's leave the idea of cool to others and, with your help, seriously consider what we should do about the world of the future.
O: I think it's possible to create a philosophy that slightly rough recycled clothing is cooler than clothes that feel nice to the touch.
T: In that case, Japanese technology would surely be directed towards making the texture softer. That's because Japanese people have the ability to develop that kind of technology. Japanese technological capabilities are incredible.
Back to 1/3.
