Lumber from forest thinnings used in Osaka Expo uniforms

Asahi Shimbun

2 days ago

Tomoji Yokoishi, president of Irodori Co., poses with a uniform worn by the Osaka Kansai Expo's medical staff, made from the Mokuito wooden thread product, in Kamikatsu, Tokushima Prefecture, on April 10. The Mokuito is also used in the jacket that Yokoishi is posing in. (Hiroyuki Yoshida)
KAMIKATSU, Tokushima Prefecture--More than just making a fashion statement, the uniforms worn by volunteer staff at the Osaka Kansai Expo are spreading a message about sustainable forestry practices.
Thread made from Japanese cedar and Japanese cypress trees that were cut down to thin forests in Tokushima, Nagano, Kumamoto and other prefectures have been used in the uniform fabric.
The manufacturer of the wooden thread product is hoping the world will learn about the company's efforts to revive forests by effectively using mountain resources that have become degraded amid a decline in forestry.
The uniforms are being worn by 400 or so volunteer medical practitioners who are taking turns to attend to emergency cases at the expo venue in Osaka.
Supervised by designer Junko Koshino, each uniform suit comprises three pieces, all beige, of a frock, a pair of pants and a T-shirt. They are lightweight, soft, highly water-absorbent and air-permeable, officials said.
And they are also washable.
The uniform was developed by Ki-no-Ito Consortium, which organizes businesses, a forestry association and other entities based in Osaka, Tokushima, Nagano and Kumamoto prefectures. The consortium is based in Neba, Nagano Prefecture.
The 'Mokuito' is the brand name for the wooden thread product. Both Ki-no-Ito and Mokuito roughly translate as 'thread of wood.'
To make the product, Japanese cedar and Japanese cypress wood is processed into traditional 'washi' paper, which is subsequently shredded and intertwisted with hemp plant for improving the strength.
The structure of the thread material allows it to be decomposed by microorganisms that inhabit the soil.
The uniforms were made from about three tons of Japanese cedar and Japanese cypress lumber collected from forest-thinning sites in five prefectures including Nagano, Tokushima and Kumamoto.
One of the suppliers of the lumber is Irodori Co., a public-private joint venture based in Kamikatsu, Tokushima Prefecture, which has made the cultivation, shipment and sale of plant leaves into a commercially viable business.
Irodori logged about 500 kilograms of Japanese cedar thinnings from a mountain forest close to its office.
Irodori President Tomoji Yokoishi, 66, explained that artificial forests of Japanese cedar trees, planted in Kamikatsu earlier in the postwar period, fell into a state of poor maintenance as the forestry industry declined.
Poorly thinned out, the mountain forests became degraded and lost their water-retaining capacity, which increased the frequency of landslide disasters, Yokoishi said.
Irodori began thinning out the mountain forest close to its office five years ago.
The company's workers have planted about 1,000 peach, cherry and other seedlings where they cut down the forest.
The newly planted trees were seen blossoming this past spring where the forest had been cleared. Ferns and other undergrowth have also emerged on the ground surface, which is now exposed to sunlight.
Irodori also supplied Japanese cedar lumber from thinning for use in indigo-dyed uniform coats that are worn by guide staff at the Tokushima Prefecture zone in the Kansai Pavilion at the expo venue.
The company has set a future goal of boosting demand for the Mokuito so the sales of lumber obtained from forest thinning will cover part of the expenses for planting trees.
The Mokuito is manufactured by Washinonuno Co., a fiber maker based in Hannan, Osaka Prefecture, which is a member of the Ki-no-Ito Consortium.
Washinonuno President Masato Abe, 67, said he is hoping to let the world know that his company is working to help realize a recycling-oriented society by making the Mokuito.
Washinonuno would use only two or three tons of lumber from forest thinning annually as raw materials for making products before it commercialized the Mokuito more than a decade ago.
Amid a rise in public interest in the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, however, the demand for the Mokuito for use in towels, pen cases and other sundry goods, as well as in jackets and other clothing, has since been steadily increasing.
Abe said the company currently processes about 20 tons of tree thinnings every year into raw materials.