～A solution to water pollution in the textile and apparel industry～

TBWA\HAKUHODO and Kyocera Corporation have launched the ‘TRUE BLUE TEXTILE’ project on World Water Day (Friday, March 22nd, 2024) to shed light on the pressing environmental issue of water pollution in the textile and apparel industry.

The textile and apparel industry has been under scrutiny for its undeniable environmental footprint, including the mass disposal of wearable clothing due to overstocking, and the vast amounts of water used in processes such as steaming and washing when dyeing fabrics, resulting in water pollution from wastewater. With these pressing issues requiring an immediate response, Kyocera has developed the new ‘FOREARTH’ water-free concept inkjet textile printer, which reduces water use to virtually zero by combining high-speed, high-quality inkjet technology with ink and equipment technologies developed by Kyocera Document Solutions.

TBWA\HAKUHODO and Kyocera have partnered to produce and launch the TRUE BLUE TEXTILE project as an initiative to prompt consumers and the wider market to think about pressing environmental issues in the textile and apparel industry.
The central concept to this project is ‘Wear to Save Water’, aiming to raise awareness far and wide through fashion and sustainable fabrics. Printed using FOREARTH, these TRUE BLUE TEXTILE are resplendent with patterns based on the varying forms and appearances of water, taking inspiration from the Niyodo river in Kochi, Japan, renowned as having the best water quality in the nation.

As a creative company that is not bound by convention, TBWA\HAKUHODO generates ideas and innovations to help solve societal issues, and will continue to support Kyocera’s further growth through this initiative.
A total of five outfits using TRUE BLUE TEXTILE were produced by ANREALAGE, a company founded by an endorser of this project Kunihiko Morinaga and The Vantan Design Institute, (Morinaga’s alma mater) which has produced numerous globally renowned designers.
※ ‘FOREARTH’ is a registered trademark of Kyocera Corporation in Japan and other countries.

Click here for the concept site

■‘TRUE BLUE TEXTILE’ Concept Movie
Exploring the question, ‘what if we could protect precious water by wearing beautiful clothes?’, this video is designed to help people learn about social issues in the textile and apparel industry and to think about the future of our planet.
Watch here:

■TRUE BLUE TEXTILE
‘TRUE BLUE TEXTILE’ is printed using FOREARTH, featuring designs derived from the surface of the Niyodo River in Kochi Prefecture (which has been voted the best water quality river in Japan eight times in ten years in a nationwide first-class river water quality survey conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism). Wearing these garments allows the wearer to stay fashionable and express their commitment to protect the environment and freshwater sources for future generations.

More details on the ‘TRUE BLUE TEXTILE’ Project
https://www.kyocera.co.jp/truebluetextile/

■Niyodo River, Kochi Prefecture
Running 124 km long through the middle of Kochi Prefecture, the Niyodo River is characterized by its limpid water quality. It has been ranked number one in Japan in the national water quality ranking eight times in ten years, according to the National First-Class River Water Quality Survey by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Its shimmering turquoise blue and emerald green hues give the river its magical coloring, known as ‘Niyodo blue’. The breathtaking scenery of the Niyodo River is a showcase of how river and people coexist harmoniously, and it must be preserved for future generations.

■A Comment from Yoshihiro Kono, Art Director
We carry the responsibility of ensuring societal issues aren’t handed down to future generations, without solution. We also carry the responsibility of sustaining humanity on this planet, and ensuring that the children of our future will have clean sources of water. TRUE BLUE TEXTILE is the crystallization of our will and determination to secure a sustainable future for all of us.
Designs for the fabric were made by capturing the patterns of water in its many expressions from the Niyodo river in Kochi, said to be one of the most pristine and beautiful rivers in Japan. Made into patterns and printed on to the fabric, I believe we have captured those fleeting moments of watery beauty, the play of light and aquatic transparency in these designs. The delicate patterns express the preciousness of water as a resource, and I am convinced that the fabric communicates our message of environmental consciousness loudly and clearly to the world.
These textiles were fashioned into clothing by Mr. Kunihiko Morinaga of ANREALAGE and up and coming designers from the Vantan Design Institute. All the designs explore a theme relating to our central concept of water, and they all embody new possibilities of fashion. Reducing water usage in textile printing to virtually zero while still maintaining vivid colors and beautiful textures, Kyocera’s FOREARTH is a beacon of human/environment co-existence. Starting here, it is possible to wear the most beautiful of clothing, while protecting our planet.
I hope that the TRUE BLUE TEXTILE project will increase awareness and interest about the pressing issues of water pollution, and will serve to change minds and habits.

■The Project Members
Chief Creative Officer, Takahiro Hosoda
Senior Creative Director, Nobuhiro Arai
Senior Copywriter, Mariko Tozawa
Art Director, Yoshihiro Kono
Activation Planner, Hikari Watanabe
PR Planner, Kyosuke Hashimoto
Senior Contents Producer, Taisuke Kudo
Senior Producer, Wataru Ito
Producer, Shun Sasaki
Strategic Planner, Atsushi Kikkawa
Strategic Planner, Rihoko Nikaya
Group Account Director, Atsushi Matsuo
Account Director, Yusuke Yasuda
Account Executive, Keisuke Suzuki

■Kunihiko Morinaga, ANREALAGE
Designer and founder of ANREALAGE. Born 1980 in Kunitachi City, Tokyo. Graduated from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Waseda University in 2003 and also attended the Vantan Design Institute during his university years. He established ANREALAGE upon graduation, and the collective began by making hand-sewn clothes in a patchwork style, gradually adopting state-of-the-art technology to create fashion that had never been seen before. ANREALAGE relish in using light-reflective materials and futuristic designs with a penchant for spherical and cubic shapes. He collaborates with a wide range of specialists, always with a focus on bridging the everyday and the extraordinary. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions at national and international museums.
ANREALAGE：https://www.anrealage.com/

■The Vantan Design Institute
With schools in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, The Vantan Design Institute is a comprehensive creative vocational school run by the Vantan Corporation, whose vision is to “create the world’s closest place of learning to society”, by developing hands-on projects at the professional coalface.
It opened in 1965 to cultivate professionals in the fields of fashion, hair and make-up, design, film, photography and professional skating. Their educational ethos is “the world is to become my fan”, and the institute regularly invites professional creators as instructors and teach their up-and-coming talent through practical field work and collaborations with industry.
The Vantan Design Institute：http://www.vantan.com/