Japanese Luxury Giant Takashimaya Debuts Large Scale Fashion Collection Made From Upcycled Materials From Its Own Supply Chains

Takashimaya, one of the largest luxury department store chains in Japan, is embracing sustainable fashion with a new recycling initiative. Working with 15 brands for the campaign, the company is launching recycled fashion pieces across its high-end outlets and online store, and has plans to extend the program with 100 more brands in the future. 

Japanese department chain Takashimaya is diving into the recycled fashion trend with a new collaboration with 15 brands, among them White Mountaineering and Mackintosh Philosophy from Sanyo Shokai. It has rolled out around 40 new pieces, all of them made from recycled polyester, cotton, silk and other materials it has collected from its manufacturers and suppliers. 

Large-scale recycling

According to a report from the Nikkei, the initiative marks one of the first-ever large-scale recycling campaigns between retailers and producers within Japan. One of the items set to hit Takashimaya’s store shelves and online shop include a winter coat, priced in the same high-end range as its usual range, at US$547. 

From now on, Takashimaya plans to continue collecting preloved clothing at its stores, which can then be spun into new recycled yarns for future collaborations. It estimates that the recycling program will extend to cover around 100 brands, which will help lower costs of its recycled fashion pieces.

Japanese recycling startup Jeplan estimates that recycled polyester slashes the CO2 emissions by around 60%, compared to conventional polyester production, which requires fossil fuels. Awareness about the footprint of fashion has pushed more brands to begin tapping recycled polyester, with labels like Adidas pledging to use only 100% recycled polyester by 2024. 

At the moment, just half of the polyester used in Adidas’ supply chain comes from recycled sources. Fashion campaigners slammed brands’ use of synthetic materials in a recent report, which gave an ‘F’ score to almost all 47 top brands it investigated for its efforts to shift away from fracked fabrics.

Sustainable fashion initiatives

It’s not the first time a department store has taken up sustainable fashion to respond to consumer trends, with fellow upscale British chain Selfridges now exploring circular retail models as well. 

Last year, the company said it will be using more environmentally-friendly materials across its supply chain and launch new resale and recycling offerings with brands like Prada, HURR, Harper Collective and Levi’s. The department store has also launched refurbishment services across select outlets. 

Other fashion houses like H&M have debuted in-store recycling campaigns. The Swedish fashion giant launched a “Looop” system in one of its Stockholm outlets recently, which allows customers to see how their unwanted clothing is being transformed new textiles and yarns. 

Lead image courtesy of Takashimaya.