Aiming for true circular fashion, taking into account 'cradle to grave' from the manufacturing process to the supply process.
(Head office: Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture; Representative Director: Shunsuke Managi; hereinafter "the Company"), which is involved in the world's first*1 product ESG assessment analysis, and hap Co. (Head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Motoi Suzuki; hereinafter "hap"), developers and providers of the 11th Technology Management Innovation Award Prime Minister's Prize technology COVEROSS®, will start collaboration on the development of apparel products that are truly human rights and environmentally friendly by making the burden on apparel products, which have a particularly high burden on human rights and the environment, visible.
1 The first evaluation of products and services from the three perspectives of human rights, environment and economy was conducted by the Urban Research Centre of Kyushu University. The only ESG assessment that applies the results of that research is aiESG.
Sustainability in the apparel industry.
In recent years, there has been a lot of overproduction in the manufacture of apparel products due to oversupply, along with falling prices. For example, data show that each person purchases 18 pieces of clothing per year and discards 12 of them, which is 1.5 times more than they throw away. Additionally, there are 25 pieces of clothing per person that are not worn even once a year. Another point that cannot be overlooked is the human rights violations in the manufacturing process and the high burden on the environment. With regard to human rights, problems include the Rana Plaza collapse accident, which showed poor working conditions, and the cultivation of cotton in violation of human rights. With regard to environmental impact, the amount of water required for production (approximately 2300 litres per garment, equivalent to about 11 bathtubs) and CO2 emissions (approximately 25.5 kg per garment, equivalent to 255 500 mL plastic bottles) are cited (*2).
Therefore, apparel products are currently being mass-produced in excess, despite the fact that the manufacturing process imposes significant burdens on human rights and the environment. This is a serious problem for sustainability in the apparel industry.
*2https://www.env.go.jp/policy/sustainable_fashion/
Developing truly sustainable apparel products.
By combining their technologies, hap and the company are now in a position to develop truly sustainable apparel products, from the manufacturing process through to use.
hap's COVEROSS® technology is an innovation that will change the status quo of oversupply. We aim to use this COVEROSS® technology to develop technologies and services to link all types of clothing to circular fashion. Meanwhile, we offer aiESG, a service that visualises ESG burdens in the manufacturing process. This makes it possible to simulate what, from which countries and by how much can be sourced to reduce ESG impacts.
These strengths will be utilised to the fullest to develop apparel products that take human rights and the environment into consideration, from the manufacturing process through to the use process and even secondary distribution.
For this cooperation, a PR event will be held on Tuesday 16 May at 11am, open to interested companies and media (details and registration here (https://aiesg.co.jp/news/0516_hap_pr/ ).
About hap's COVEROSS® technology
COVEROSS®WIZZARD applies photocatalysis, etc. and can provide more than 10 multifunctional properties (self-cleaning, antibacterial, antiviral, deodorant, UV-cut, thermal barrier, cool feeling, water absorption and diffusion (reduction of stickiness), anti-transparency, sweat reduction, anti-static, anti-furball etc.) in one process to one piece of fabric simultaneously. The fabric can be made from a single piece of fabric at the same time. At the same time, it maintains high wash resistance while maintaining breathability and texture, regardless of whether the fabric is made from synthetic or natural fibres. It also enables the 'function agent removal' required for textile recycling of garments after use.
Therefore, the aim is to develop technologies and services that will enable every piece of clothing to be used longer and with more care, leading to circular fashion.
About aiESG
We are the first company in the world to offer an ESG assessment service that traces the entire supply chain back to the product service unit. For example, below is an example of a typical T-shirt analysis. It shows how many per cent less human rights and environmental impact a cotton T-shirt (blue) has when compared to a synthetic fibre T-shirt (orange). It provides information such as 13.21 TP3T less in energy use, but 9.41 TP3T more working hours under the risk of communicable diseases (*3).
With aiESG, such simulations are possible for about 3200 ESG items for all raw materials worldwide. Risk hotspots by sourcing country can also be visualised. For example, in the previous example, the high risk of epidemics can be seen to originate from India, the country from which cotton is sourced.
3 Dengue fever, malaria, HIV and tuberculosis.
Comments from Mr Motoi Suzuki, Representative Director, hap Co.
The apparel industry has the second highest environmental impact in the world after the oil industry, and its supply chain is global and extremely complex. In order to reduce the environmental impact of not only primary products but also secondary products, it is necessary to change from the design of apparel products. We would like to achieve true circular fashion from Japan through aiESG analysis, assessment and services.
Comments from Shunsuke Managi, Representative Director, aiESG Inc.
aiESG is the first service in the world that enables quantitative and scientific ESG assessments at the product level, through the supply chain, and is strong in supply chain optimisation. We are delighted to be working together with hap, a leading company in the circular fashion industry. By combining our strengths, we will strive towards truly sustainable fashion from cradle to grave.
About HAP Corporation
HAP Corporation is challenging the "development of human- and earth-friendly clothing and services" with the power of "science and chemistry". Our registered trademark 'COVEROSS®' is being developed around keywords such as 'comfort', 'wellness' and 'prevention' through joint research between industry, government and academia in Europe and Japan, and will evolve into next-generation personalised life wear through the use of wearable devices, AI and blockchain.
About aiESG Inc.
We are a start-up company from Kyushu University that aims to realise a sustainable society through product- and service-level ESG analysis. We provide aiESG, an ESG assessment platform that traces back the entire supply chain, based on the results of many years of international and academic ESG research, including UN report representatives.
Click here to visit our corporate website (https://aiesg.co.jp/)
Company profile
Name of company: aiESG Inc.
Head office: 2F NMF Hakata Ekimae Building, 1-15-20 Hakata Ekimae, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka
President : Shunsuke Managi
Business : Product/service level ESG analysis business.
HP : https://aiesg.co.jp/
Establishment : July 2022.
[For further information on this matter, please contact.
Addressed to public relations, aiESG Inc.
Email address: pr@aiesg.co.jp