Sustainable Manufacturing to Maximize the Yield of Japanese Sheep
With no facilities for processing the wool from sheep shorn in Japan since 1998, most of the wool has gone unused. In 2019, the JAPAN WOOL PROJECT (“JWP”) was launched with the goal of “producing Japan-made wool products in Japanese factories using domestically-produced wool.” This concept resonated with STYLEM, and we joined the project in 2021.
JWP’s initiatives
To use wool as a material, it first has to be scarified to remove dirt and be sorted. After that, the wool needs to be scoured. Most sheep in Japan are used for meat and are shorn once or twice a year. However, there have been no avenues for processing this wool since domestic wool scouring factories ceased to exist in 1998.
Under JWP, a domestic dyeing factory belonging to the project have put time and effort into using their own facilities to facilitate wool scouring.
For the future
As a member of JWP, STYLEM is working to upcycle domestically-produced wool into attractive materials and products that take advantage of its rare and expressive characteristics. We will also invite companies and creators who can provide endorsement to support farms by using domestically-produced wool as a resource and broaden our initiatives to make as many people as possible aware of its appeal.
