Toyoshima & Co., Ltd. (President: Hanshichi Toyoshima, Nagoya City Naka-ku), which promotes proposals for comfortable lifestyles, has developed a project brand "FOOD TEXTILE (Food Textile)" that reuses discarded ingredients as dyes. I was in charge of the production of dough dyed with the color of cacao husks (cacao bean skins) from the chocolate production process. Products made from this fabric will be sold as shoes "GEL-1130" and "GEL-1130 PS" that can be worn by parents and children from sports manufacturer ASICS at ASICS Harajuku Flagship, ASICS Osaka Shinsaibashi, and ASICS online store from Thursday, October 10.
"FOOD TEXTILE" IS TOYOSHIMAIt is a sustainable project brand consisting of three companies: a food-related company that provides raw materials for color, and a collaboration company that develops products with its fabrics. We purchase non-standard ingredients, scraps of cut vegetables, and coffee respite, which have been discarded in the past, from food-related companies and farms, extract the ingredients contained in the ingredients, and use them as dyes to dye fabrics and threads to create new items.
ASICS is developing products for a sustainable future for the planet, and in April 2023, ASICS developed shoes made of fabrics dyed with colors extracted from rooibos, persimmons, matcha, and lettuce born from the FOOD TEXTILE Project.
This product is planned by ASICS and Lotte based on the concept of "happiness of eating, happiness of wearing". FOOD TEXTILE dyes cacao husks, which are discarded parts from the chocolate manufacturing process, and dyes the fabric with the dyes, and this fabric is used as part of the upper material. The design is based on the motif of "Ghana Chocolate," which represents Lotte's chocolate business, which celebrated its 60th anniversary on February 1 of this year, and the upper (instep) is made of artificial leather*1 dyed with a dye mixed with cacao husk and cacao husk*2. The color is based on a warm bright brown that is typical of milk chocolate, and red and gold, which are Lotte's image colors, are incorporated as accents. In addition, the edges of the dough are frayed to create a three-dimensional effect, and the clear print process is applied to express the unique luster of chocolate. The insole is printed with the graphic "Ghana Chocolate". The soles of the shoes are made of rubber with cacao husk*3. The wrapping paper is inspired by the silver wrapping paper of "Ghana Chocolate" and contains the ASICS and Lotte logos. It is a fun special specification that links the excitement of eating chocolate and taking shoes out of the shoe box.
*1 Textile materials account for approximately 49% of the upper, and the total amount of cacao husks used for dyes is approximately 3.0 kg.
*2 Artificial leather accounts for about 51% of the upper, and it contains about 1.3% of cacao husk.
*3 The soles of shoes contain about 5% cacao husk per pair. In addition, cacao husks are not added to the soles of children's shoes.
In the future, "FOOD TEXTILE" will continue to collaborate with everyone to propose the value of reborn things that are simply discarded and to enjoy the lifestyle scenes of clothing, food, and housing in a fashionable way.
■ Product information
Release date: Thursday, October 10
Sales locations: ASICS Harajuku Flagship, ASICS Osaka Shinsaibashi, ASICS Online Store
Product Name: GEL-1130
Item no.: 1203A649
Color: Brown × Chocolate Brown
Size: 22.5cm~29.0cm (0.5cm increments), 30.0cm, 31.0cm
Material: Upper/Natural Fiber, Artificial Leather
Outer sole/rubber sole
Price: ¥ 15,400 (tax included)
Product Name: GEL-1130PS
Item no.: 1204A167
Color: Brown × Chocolate Brown
Size: 17.0cm, 17.5cm, 18.5cm, 19.5cm, 20.0cm, 21.0cm, 22.0cm
Material: Upper/Natural Fiber, Artificial Leather
Outer sole/rubber sole
Price: ¥11,000 (tax included)
ASICS https://corp.asics.com/jp
ASICS derives from the Latin phrase "Anima Sana in Corpore Sano" (a sound mind in a sound body) and has been passed down as a founding philosophy to this day. Founded in 1949 by Kihachiro Onizuka, ASICS is now a leading designer, developer and manufacturer of running shoes, as well as a wide range of competition shoes, sportswear, and accessories.
