Panasonic and ECOALF to Take Up Challenge of Sustainable Fashion

Under Panasonic GREEN IMPACT (PGI), the group’s long-term environmental vision, Panasonic is committed to supporting the well-being of people and society and a sustainable global environment. Fundamental to Panasonic’s approach is the concept of “ACTs”—the accumulation of individual efforts that collectively lead to meaningful change. Employees are encouraged to proactively seek opportunities to make a positive impact. Today, we look at how an opportunity to reduce waste led to collaboration in the field of sustainable fashion.

In April 2022, Panasonic announced a new brand slogan, “Live Your Best.” The rollout included a TV commercial filmed on a set decorated with approximately 20,000 flowers. After filming wrapped, a Panasonic employee suggested that instead of discarding the flowers, they could be upcycled by extracting pigment from the petals and using it as dye for an original product. This idea led to a collaboration with ECOALF, the environmentally conscious clothing and accessories brand from Europe. 

As the first fashion brand in Spain to earn B Corp™ certification for its social and environmental performance, ECOALF’s vision is to create the first generation of recycled products with the same quality and design as the best non-recycled products. The company applies proprietary technology to the development of new fabrics from plastic bottles, fishing nets, tires and other refuse, and its clothing and accessories are made entirely from recycled materials and/or natural materials with low environmental impact. ECOALF’s approach has led to it being officially recognized as one of B Corp’s “Best for the World,” positioning the brand in the top 5% of the 5,000 B Corps across the globe in the environment category.

Sanyo Shokai Co., parent of ECOALF Japan K.K., took up the challenge of creating the dye that was then used by ECOALF to create a special T-shirt. “When I heard the idea of dyeing T-shirts with pigment extracted from leftover flowers, I immediately got on board,” said Masatoshi Shimokawa, director of ECOALF Japan K.K. “We’ve handled dyed products before, but this was our first attempt to dye finished T-shirts with pigment from dried flowers. But we shared Panasonic’s enthusiasm to ‘recycle and repurpose items that would otherwise be discarded.’” 

The T-shirt fabric was 100% cotton (50% recycled and 50% organic). Panasonic came up with the print design, placing the ECOALF brand concept (“BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLANET B”®) in a spiral to evoke upcycling and the circular economy. 

“The amount of dye was limited, and there were some difficulties in securing the T-shirts. Also, the T-shirts were made of a thick, durable fabric, so it was difficult to get the colors to render properly. However, the professional dyers we worked with are experts, and by consulting with them on site we could ensure that the finished product turned out nicely,” said Shimokawa.

This project was the latest collaboration between Panasonic and ECOALF, which began working together in 2021, developing tumblers, buttons and other items using Panasonic's cellulose-based recyclable material, “kinari.”

kinari is a high-performance, plant-based plastic under development by Panasonic since 2015. The material has almost the same properties as conventional plastics, but cellulose accounts for up to 85% of its composition, making it extremely sustainable. 

Hideo Mine of the Manufacturing Innovation Division of Panasonic Holdings, Inc. is driving research and development of the kinari technology, which can turn waste into resources, and has been involved in the collaboration with ECOALF from day one.

“In 2019, we developed a composite processing technology that could mix cellulose fiber into the resin at a 55% concentration, but today we can go as high as 85%. We are now developing a 100% plant-derived and biodegradable binding resin,” Mine explained. 

“ECOALF focuses on ‘going beyond the boundaries of fashion’—not only in Europe, where the brand was founded, but also here in Japan. We look forward to collaborating with partners who can transcend the boundaries of industry to resolve global environmental issues,” said ECOALF’s Shimokawa. “Leveraging this collaboration, we want ECOALF to be a pioneer in the apparel industry and gradually replace environmentally unfriendly products with sustainable alternatives. We will continue take a flexible attitude toward the challenge of making sustainable society a reality.”

“We look forward to maintaining our collaboration with ECOALF,” said Panasonic’s Mine. “We are currently receiving a significant number of inquiries about kinari and will continue to promote co-creation projects in various fields and further increase the production of kinari.”

Panasonic and ECOALF share a commitment to tackling environmental issues. In line with ECOALF's aspirations to “think seriously about environmental issues, identify what we can do and then ACT,” Panasonic is actively promoting sustainability initiatives under the PGI initiative. The Panasonic Group understands the critical importance of collective action to address and resolve the urgent issue of climate change. Through the accumulation of efforts (ACTs), Panasonic will work alongside partners like ECOALF to realize a sustainable future.