A Randoseru Pro Explains Why They Started 'Randoseru LABO' – from Latest Technologies to 'Rankatsu' Activities

In Japan, the randoseru backpack (deriving from the Dutch 'ransel') is a symbol of elementary school students. Nowadays, as evidenced by the term 'Rankatsu' (an abbreviation of randoseru katsudo, literally 'randoseru activities'), the competition among randoseru sellers has become fierce. At the same time, with the trend towards gender-neutrality, the color variations of randoseru have also diversified, and various changes are taking place.

In addition, despite the progress in tabletization of textbooks, the weight of the randoseru itself, filled with teaching materials and other belongings, has become an issue. Concerns over randoseru being heavy and why it hasn't become lighter are increasingly heard, indicating a heightened demand for information about randoseru selection and the backpack itself.

In response to this, the Japan Bag Association Randoseru Industry Association has started the 'Randoseru LABO' (ランドセルくらぶ研究室), which provides a wide range of easy-to-understand explanations on everything from randoseru trends to trivia. They are disseminating this information on YouTube, TikTok, note, and other social media platforms.