Contributing to peace through the development, sale, and donation of recycled origami crane fiber products

Targets

12.5　By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse

To contribute to world peace by using our original recycled origami crane fiber products to raise people’s awareness and interest in peace

 

Initiative details

Every year, about 10 tons of origami cranes, or 10 million cranes, are sent to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park from all over the world to pray for peace. The origami cranes used to be incinerated after being displayed for a certain period of time, but now the City of Hiroshima distributes them to individuals and organizations that work to reflect the sentiments that they express.
We acquire some of these origami cranes and recycle them into “origami crane rayon yarn” in cooperation with a pulp mill and a spinning company. We began developing products using this yarn in 2016 and are now manufacturing and selling textile products such as towels, hand towels, and T-shirts that use this yarn for some of their raw materials. Origami crane rayon yarn is made by blending rayon fiber, which is made from the recycled pulp of the paper cranes presented to the Hiroshima Peace Park, and cotton.
Some of the products are sold at souvenir stores in Hiroshima, and many people pick them up as mementos that allow them to feel the message of peace embodied by the paper cranes.
We also donate a portion of the proceeds to the City of Hiroshima for peacekeeping activities, such as the Atomic Bomb Dome Preservation Project Fund.

Furthermore, every year on August 6, we donate towel handkerchiefs made of origami crane rayon yarn, along with a description of the product, to the ambassadors of various countries to Japan attending the Peace Memorial Ceremony at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. This is something we have been doing since 2017 via the city government, hoping to provide an opportunity for people who send origami cranes from around the world to learn a little more about this initiative.
Reusing origami cranes as raw materials is not only a way to reflect the sentiments that they embody but also an environmentally friendly initiative that avoids wasting resources. Today, the paper cranes are recycled together with the paper cranes that are given to the Peace Park in Nagasaki and the Himeyuri Memorial Tower in Okinawa.
Yamamoto Co., Ltd. will contribute to the realization of world peace by giving new shape to the sentiments expressed in the paper cranes and delivering them to as many people as possible.

 

Key Points

We are actively introducing our products to local companies, especially those in Hiroshima, who are keen to contribute to peace, and by having them support our efforts, we are getting more and more opportunities to use our products as novelties and anniversary gifts.
Going forward, we would like to open an e-commerce website to sell our products as well as to explain our efforts, allowing us to actively communicate with people outside of Hiroshima.

 

Yamamoto Co., Ltd.

6-2-17 Nishi-Ku, Shoko Center-Ku, Hiroshima

+81-082-208-2522

http://www.yamamoto-taoru.com/