The specialized trading company planning and selling corporate uniforms and related items, Uniform-Net Co., Ltd.
In addition to selling uniforms, the company is also involved in a project to collect and upcycle old uniforms called "ReBaton SUSTAINABLE PROJECT (hereinafter referred to as ReBaton). This time, we spoke with President Arakawa about the project.
PROFILE
Hiroshi Arakawa
UNIFORM-NET CO., LTD.
President
Born in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture. After graduating from university, he trained at a uniform manufacturer in Tokyo, and joined Unisex Kanto Co., Ltd. (now Uniform-Net Co., Ltd.) in 2002.
He is the second-generation president who addresses corporate branding through uniforms.
Awards include the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry's "Courageous Management Award" 17th Encouragement Prize and Fukushima Minpo's "Fukushima Industrial Award" 7th & 8th Silver Prize.
Uniform Materials that Are Easy to Recycle
Uniform-Net Co., Ltd. was founded in 1975 by former president Tomonari Arakawa in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, as a company specializing in the sale of uniforms. Since then, it has expanded to all of Fukushima Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, and Tochigi Prefecture, entering Tokyo in 2004 and Gunma Prefecture in 2005. Currently, the company operates at ten locations.From the beginning, the company has specialized in work clothes and other "uniforms," and started an upcycling project in April 2023.
"I used to think that recycling and upcycling initiatives in companies were something that large corporations did at great cost for image enhancement.
"However, as the world works towards creating a sustainable society, it's becoming indisputable that even small and medium-sized enterprises cannot ignore this.
"Still, I think many small and medium-sized enterprises do not know where to start when it comes to sustainability and SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).
"Therefore, we launched ReBaton as a project that allows companies to simultaneously change (model change) their uniforms for image enhancement and employee motivation and recycle used uniforms. ReBaton is a recycling system that small and medium-sized enterprises can participate in, regardless of company size or number of employees."
In ReBaton, material recycling through less-energy recycling is adopted. Collected used uniforms from companies are sorted by material, buttons and zippers that cannot be reused are removed, and only the fabric is shredded.
Blended materials are put through a special defibering machine to return them to a cotton-like state, and are reused as yarn or felt. Polyester materials are separated, decomposed, dried, melted, and pelletized, becoming raw materials for plastic molded products.
We asked about the reason for focusing on "creating work gloves from uniforms" within the recycling system.
"Our company's clients mostly consist of companies that wear 'work uniforms,' and the majority of the materials used are 'cotton blends.'
"Our company's clients mostly consist of companies that wear 'work uniforms,' and the majority of the materials used are 'cotton blends.'
"We thought that the best way to reuse work uniforms made of various materials and blends was to break down the fabric into fibers and then make products using those threads again.
"Additionally, previously it was unclear 'what happens to work uniforms collected from employees' and 'what they are recycled into,' so by manufacturing, selling, and distributing work gloves (military gloves) that are familiar to those wearing work uniforms, we hoped to bring the company's efforts in creating a sustainable society and working on SDGs closer to home."
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