I received a response from a major mass retailer participating in the Tohoku Cotton Project regarding the "mix ratio" of Tohoku cotton in their retail products. It took about a week to receive a response.

In conclusion, I believe that the Tohoku Cotton Project is a sales promotion tool for companies to sell their products.

Blended ratio is a percentage that indicates how much Tohoku cotton is contained in a product. According to an inquiry to the corporation in charge of spinning Tohoku cotton, the maximum blend ratio is between 2% and 3%.

An email we received from the environmental manager of a major mass retailer participating in the Tohoku Cotton Project stated the following.

"Regarding the Tohoku Cotton Project, company XX sold two items, cotton short-sleeved T-shirts and cotton towel handkerchiefs, at limited stores in June 2013. The harvested cotton was distributed among the participating companies, and the blend used in the above products planned by our company was 5%."

"The return to those affected by the disaster is already included in the unit price of the product. The Tohoku Cotton PJ office will collectively give back to those affected by the disaster, including other companies."

The first thing I thought was, “?" What I first wondered was the "5%" blend of Tohoku cotton in the products of this major mass retailer. The only corporation in charge of spinning in the Tohoku Cotton Project answered, "The blend ratio of Tohoku cotton in the yarn is 2% to 3%. Why is it possible to manufacture products that exceed the blending ratio of the spinning company?

The reason for the low blended ratio is that "we want more consumers to use the precious Tohoku cotton. Therefore, the company compensates for the shortage of cotton in the manufacturing process by using organic cotton from the U.S. and other countries.

What this means is that very little cotton can be harvested from the Tohoku Cotton Project's 1.6 hectares of cotton fields. They want to distribute a very small amount to each company and use the narrative of Tohoku support to sell more products to each company. It is all about maximizing their own profits.

Back to the story. The blended percentage of Tohoku cotton in the T-shirts of a major mass retailer was not revealed on their website. Since I could not get an answer on the phone, I asked the question in writing.

This major mass market retailer's Tohoku cotton blend of 5% is a high enough blend to be proudly announced on its website (as other companies do). This is because some of the participating companies disclose that their Tohoku cotton blend ratio is 1.4%. (Some products are said to have a blend ratio so low that it is impossible to measure.)

The corporation in charge of spinning exclusively announces that the blend ratio in the Tohoku Cotton Project is between 2% and 3%. Why does this major mass market product have a blend ratio of 5%?

Does it mean that the yarn is specially made into yarn by another spinning company? Considering the assembly of commercial distribution (division of work roles), that is not possible.

A term used in the distribution industry is the word “giwa". In essence, it is padding. It refers to the amount of fiber in a retail product that is several times larger than the amount of organic or regionally restricted cotton produced. In the textile and apparel industry, it is an unspoken agreement.

It's about the price of Tohoku Cotton at this major mass market retailer; it's about the merchandising of the Tohoku Cotton Project in 2014.
Product: Tohoku Cotton Support Project ○○○ Stole 3 kinds
Retail price (planned): 7,900 yen
The blend used in the above product in 2014 will be 5%.

The retail price of this mass-market T-shirt made with a very small amount of Tohoku cotton is 4.980 yen.

As for the T-shirt, we were not given the mix ratio. This T-shirt is also priced at 4,980 yen, so it can be considered a high-end product.

Towel handkerchiefs cost 525 yen. Towels use three yarns: warp, weft, and pile, so the blending ratio can be even lower.

They have no plans to give back (donate money) from the sales of these products to the Tohoku disaster area.

The reason for this is that "the return to those affected by the disaster is already included in the unit price of the product. The Tohoku Cotton PJ office will collectively give the money back to those affected by the disaster, including those of other companies," the person in charge of environmental affairs replied in an e-mail.

The return that this major mass retailer explains is that "we only buy raw cotton (cotton balls used as raw material) from the affected farmers (two agricultural organizations) at three times the price. It is unfortunate that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has subsidized 47 million yen in taxes, but the amount of cotton they buy from the Tohoku disaster victims (two agricultural organizations) is only three times the price of cotton distributed in the world.

Cotton is usually produced in India, Pakistan, the poorest countries in Africa, and Uzbekistan in the former Soviet Union, and is very inexpensive, costing as little as $0.5 per kilogram of seeded raw cotton (cotton balls).

In 2011, this major mass retailer responded to a consumer inquiry about Tohoku cotton by stating, "Almost 95% of our clothing products are manufactured overseas (from raw material procurement to sewing).

If they are sewing, packing, and shipping in the affected areas in Tohoku, there is an aspect of job creation in the affected areas, but this major mass retailer is not making such efforts.

Participation in the Tohoku Cotton Project is beneficial enough for companies to enhance their corporate branding, since every time they hold a Tohoku Cotton product launch, they have the advantage of advertising in the mass media.

It is upsetting that support for the disaster-stricken areas of Tohoku, which has suffered from an unprecedented disaster, is being used as a sales promotion tool.

( to be continued )