MOTTAINAI My Bottle Project Starts

May 31, 2010

ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Masahiro Okafuji; “ITOCHU”) announces the start of the MOTTAINAI My Bottle Campaign on June 1, 2010, the first day of Environment Month, as a part of the MOTTAINAI Campaign（*1） that ITOCHU, as an environmentally considerate brand, is pursuing. Creators’ My Bottle and My Furoshiki designs will be released in sequence at MOTTAINAI Shops」（*2） and other commercial facilities. ITOCHU will also promote bottles and original bottle covers, developed in collaboration with Senshukai Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Osaka City, Osaka; President and CEO: Yasuhiro Yukimachi) and their shopping service, Bellemaison Net (http://www.bellemaison.jp[Open in a new window]). All these efforts go to support the lifestyle promoted by MOTTAINAI, to build a sustainable and recycling society. In Japan, PET bottles are consumed in at an enormous number of over 20 billion a year, or 634 every second（*3）. With the idea that PET bottles that are used only once are MOTTAINAI [a Japanese phrase meaning “what a waste”], the MOTTAINAI My Bottle Project began as part of the MOTTAINAI Campaign, with the aim of promoting My Bottles, which can be used repeatedly. The publicized My Bottle and My Furoshiki designs were under the theme of MOTTAINAI, by creators active in the world of advertisement and design, including Michihiko Yanai and Bunpei Yorifuji. In view of the effective usage of PET bottles as a resource, My Furoshiki was produced from fibers of recycled PET bottles. Furoshiki, traditional Japanese wrapping cloths, appear less frequently in our modern daily lives, yet they can be used as a cover for a My Bottle if they are tied the right way. Original bottle covers designed and developed in a project by Shirokuma-no-akubi are also being commercialized, with special cooperation from Senshukai Co., Ltd. A portion of thesales will be contributed to the Green Belt Movement, a planting venture promoted by Wangari Maathai（*4）. From June 1 - August 31, 2010, a MOTTAINAI Shop within the Shinjuku Odakyu Department Store will be open, selling My Bottle, My Furoshiki and other MOTTAINAI goods. An event will also be held on July 18 to announce new My Bottle designs. ITOCHU is committed to spreading the MOTTAINAI spirit through the MOTTAINAI Campaign.

　 　
  1. The MOTTAINAI Campaign
    The MOTTAINAI Campaign was started by Prof. Maathai, Kenyan woman who was the first person to win the Nobel Peace Prize for work in the environmental field. On her visit to Japan in 2005, she was impressed by this Japanese word which expresses not only the 3Rs of environmental activities (reduce, reuse, and recycle) but also the additional R of respect for the earth's irreplaceable resources, and embarked on efforts to spread usage of "MOTTAINAI" as a worldwide watchword for environmental preservation. With Prof. Maathai serving as its honorary chairperson, the campaign is being promoted mainly by ITOCHU as a global activity aimed at the diffusion of environment-friendly lifestyles and creation of sustainable, recycling-oriented communities. （the official MOTTAINAI website：http://mottainai.info/[Open in a new window]）

  2. MOTTAINAI SHOP
    ・MOTTAINAI SHOP & STATION
    Address ：Palaceside Bldg. 1F, 1-1-1 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
    Access ：One minute walk from Takebashi Station (Exit: 1b) on Tokyo Metro Tozai Line
    Business Day ：Monday to Friday (Closed on Saturday, Sunday, National Holidays and year-end & New Year holidays)
    Business Hour ：11:00 am to 6:00 pm
    ・MOTTAINAI Web Shop 　http://mottainai-shop.jp/[Open in a new window]
    ・MOTTAINAI Shop at Shinjuku Odakyu Department Store
    Address: Special Event Hall, Sundries Alley, 2nd floor, Min Building, 1-1-3 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
    Access: One-minute walk from west exit of Shinjuku Station on JR and Odakyu lines
    Store hours: 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. (8 p.m. on Sundays and Holidays)
  3. The trial calculation assumed the amount of PET used per 500-ml PET bottle to be 26 grams, based on actual domestic demand for PET resin (surveyed by the Council for PET Bottle Recycling).

  4. Wangari Maathai
    Born in 1940; Ph.D. in Biology; former Vice Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kenya; founder of MOTTAINAI Campaign; United Nations Messenger of Peace; Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement (a non-political organization) with other volunteer members in 1977 and began tree-planting activities. Instead of a mere natural conservation campaign, Maathai’s group has sought, through tree-planting, to raise awareness among poverty-stricken people to participate in the world and democratize Kenyan society; efforts that include empowerment of women. The number of saplings planted has reached 40 million, and Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004; a first for environmental contributions and as an African woman. These days, Maathai is seeking to spread mottainai as a worldwide term for protecting the global environment.

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