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JEPLAN, INC.(Representative Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer: Masakio Takao; hereinafter "JEPLAN") has entered into a business partnership with Arigatou Service Co., Ltd. (Representative Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer: Masayuki Imoto; hereinafter "Arigato Service"), a used clothing distributor in Japan and abroad, regarding the recycling of used clothing. As a first initiative, clothing collected in Japan through BRING's platform will be sold at used clothing stores in Cambodia operated by a group company of Arigato Service, which will open in August 2024, thereby strengthening the supply chain.
BRING partners with various apparel brands and companies to collect unwanted clothing from consumers at stores and other locations. Of the collected clothes, those that can be worn are reused, and those that cannot be worn are recycled into raw materials for clothing again using proprietary technologies, and various other recycling technologies are used to recycle them back to the market and consumers as raw materials for clothing and products. In Japan, 34% of clothing is recycled after consumers give it away, of which 15% is recycled and 19% is reused. This 19% reuse rate includes clothing exported overseas.*1
Through this partnership, clothing, bags, and other miscellaneous goods collected by BRING will be sold directly to overseas stores operated by Thank You Services, thereby strengthening the supply chain in the reuse sector. Until now, it has been difficult to determine where reused clothing is ultimately consumed, but through the collaboration between the two companies, it will be possible to track the primary sales destination when the clothing is distributed for reuse. This will enable a higher level of transparency in reuse. In the future, stores in Cambodia and Thailand operated by Arigato Service plan to gradually sell clothing and other items collected by BRING.
BRING, together with its trusted partners, is committed to the recycling of clothing resources and is working to enhance traceability so that consumers can access information about the raw materials and production process of clothing throughout the process from collection, recycling, production of recycled materials, sales, and consumption.
The JEPLAN Group will continue to work together with domestic and international partners to realize its mission of BRINGing everyone into circular economy, and the entire group will strive to drive the circular economy forward.
*1 Ministry of the Environment SUSTAINABLE FASHION: https://www.env.go.jp/policy/sustainable_fashion/
■ Summary of Business Alliance
- signatories: Arigatou Service Co., Ltd. and JEPLAN, INC.
- signing date: September 26, 2024
- Purpose: Visualization of the supply chain from collection, sorting, and reuse of used clothing and sundries to primary sales of collected products
■ BRING™ (https://bring.org/)
| BRING collaborates with consumers, companies, and local governments to collect unwanted clothing and used PET bottles, which are then regenerated into raw materials and new products through reuse and various recycling technologies, creating a circular flow that reaches the market and consumers. By developing diverse businesses centered around this cycle, BRING implements a circular economy in society. Furthermore, by using proprietary technology to produce recyclable materials from unwanted clothing (polyester) and used PET bottles, BRING contributes to the realization of a sustainable circular society. |
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■ Arigatou Service Co., Ltd. (https://www.arigatou-s.com/)
In the Reuse Business, the company operates a total of 97 stores (as of March 1, 2024) in Ehime and Yamaguchi prefectures, as well as in Kyushu and Okinawa, as a franchisee of HARD OFF CORPORATION Co., Ltd. and BOOKOFF CORPORATION LIMITED The company operates a total of 97 stores in Ehime and Yamaguchi prefectures as well as in Kyushu and Okinawa. Overseas, subsidiary Mottainai World has opened four stores in Cambodia and three stores in Thailand, and has five centers in Japan to supply products to these stores. We are committed to providing usable products to the people who want to use them. We are expanding our eco-friendly and people-friendly business to the world.
【The original press release is in Japanese】