MOTTAINAI at Earth Day Tokyo 2009

Earth Day MOTTANAI Workshops etc to Be Held

April 10, 2009

ITOCHU Corporation will participate in Earth Day Tokyo 2009, as it did last year. Earth Day will be held in Yoyogi Park on Saturday April 18 and Sunday April 19, and is the largest citizen-initiated environmental event in Japan. ITOCHU is participating in this event as part of the MOTTAINAI Campaign, to express its support for the intentions of this event.

An overview of Earth Day

Earth Day started in 1970, when the U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson declared April 22 to be Earth Day, a day for taking action on behalf of planet Earth. This day, where people express their thanks and love for the Earth and share an awareness that human beings must live in harmony with nature, has grown into the world's largest global festival, with participation from about 500 million people in 175 countries around the world.
Events related to Earth Day have been held in Japan since about 1990, and Earth Day Tokyo in particular has emerged as the largest Earth Day festival in Japan. In 2008, there was participation from 376 groups and 125,000 people.

The website for Earth Day Tokyo
http://www.earthday-tokyo.org[Open in a new window]

An overview of the MOTTAINAI Campaign

1. The MOTTAINAI booth at Earth Day Tokyo 2009

1) Earth Day MOTTAINAI workshops

Workshops will be held in the MOTTAINAI Campaign Booth, focusing on things that people can do immediately. A gift of a sweet basil “seed bookmark” will be given to all participants.
(A seed is released when the “seed bookmark” is inserted in the soil and watered, so that a plant can grow.)

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April 18 workshop
Easy recycling with familiar objects
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April 19 workshop
Using Furoshiki, embodying the wisdom and aesthetics of the Japanese people
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Workshop held on April 18 and April 19
Thinking about the women of Kenya through familiar fashion accessories

2) A request for MOTTAINAI manifesto

MOTTAINAI manifesto
http://mottainai.info/sengen/[Open in a new window]

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MOTTAINAI advocate
Wangari Maathai
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Broadcast writer
Koyama Kundo
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Celebrity
Lou Oshiba

3) Taking responses to the ‘Is this MOTTAINAI?’ survey

Is this MOTTAINAI?
http://mottainai-lab.jp/koremotta/[Open in a new window]

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4) Selling MOTTAINAI brand products

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MOTTAINAI lunch box
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MOTTAINAI tumbler
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MOTTAINAI mug
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MOTTAINAI bamboo towel

5) An exhibition of MOTTAINAI Campaign activities

2. Selling Earth Day Tokyo 2009 official merchandise doggy bags

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MOTTAINAI doggy bag
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Can be washed and re-used repeatedly