On this day, Maho Iwamoto, a staff member who develops original goods at the GAZOO Racing Company, visited the JAL headquarters in Tokyo from Aichi Prefecture, where Toyota is based. The purpose of her visit was to make the final adjustments for the collaboration development with JAL.
Collaboration with TGR, which promotes the joy of cars, in the field of sustainability
Under the vision of Chairman Akio Toyoda, TGR aims to bring smiles, joy, excitement and emotion to people through motorsports and sports cars for the next 100 years. With a track record in world-renowned races such as the WRC, WEC and the Nürburgring 24 Hours, the company has developed "GR" brand vehicles that incorporate the technology it has cultivated in races into commercially available cars, making it a well-known name among car enthusiasts. It was in 2020 that TGR and JAL met. Shusuke Kaminaga of JAL Chubu Branch looks back on the story.
Kaminaga: "TGR's philosophy of making better cars through motorsports and aiming to become carbon neutral resonated with us as a company that also deals with mobility, so we decided to become a partner of TGR's rally team. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were not blessed with many opportunities to take on concrete initiatives."
In April 2024, during a regularly held policy meeting, a decision was made to undertake initiatives related to sustainability.
Kaminaga: "Until now, our main goal has been to expand the number of rally and aviation fans at TGR and JAL, but as companies that both aim to reduce CO2 emissions, we decided to develop upcycled products using waste materials as part of our new sustainable efforts."
What to make? Each participant brings their own materials and discusses the idea.
First, we had to decide "what to make," and the project began with selecting materials.
Iwamoto: "We each brought materials that we thought could be upcycled and put them on the table. We brought in a variety of materials, including car and aircraft parts and uniforms, but the quantities were small and some were already being recycled, so it was quite difficult to choose the materials."
These were the words of Maho Iwamoto of Toyota GR Marketing, who is in charge of product development at TGR. She usually develops official goods for fans. Meanwhile, Shunhiro Yamada of JALUX, who develops original goods and manages JAL Shopping, joined the team at JAL.
A unisex tote bag with a pouch and key holder.
Yamada: "Because this was our first attempt, we initially thought of keeping our collaboration as simple as possible and considered combining materials from both companies to create one product. However, it was very difficult to glue different materials together, so we decided to create products using each company's waste materials and sell them as a set, which is how this project came to fruition. On the JAL side, we used genuine leather from domestic economy class seats (JAL SKY NEXT specification), and created a tote bag that, although simple at first glance, will make people realize, 'Oh? Is that a JAL seat?' by making full use of the material."
Iwamoto: "TGR decided to create a pouch set that would fit snugly inside the tote bag. It was made from an upcycled high-necked inner suit worn inside a racing suit. It's ivory in color and made from a thin, light, and durable material. We also decided to include a key chain with the TGR and JAL logos engraved on both sides, made from the same carbon fiber used in the car body."
Thus, the product to be made was decided. However, unlike normal product development, there was the theme of upcycling. Looking back, there were difficulties different from normal product development in order to re-release something that had already been released as a product in a different form.
Once something was out in the world, it is now a product again. The story behind the development of this product is unique to upcycling.
Yamada: "In the past, we have upcycled genuine leather from domestic Class J seats to manufacture products, but this was our first attempt at making a product using genuine leather from economy class seats (JAL SKY NEXT specification). Even though it is the same genuine leather, there are many differences in the texture and lining condition, so we went through a lot of trial and error in cleaning and sewing in order to make the most of the original design of the seat and create a product that makes effective use of genuine leather."
It was difficult to find a company willing to take on the highly skilled tasks of washing and sewing, and the one who finally stepped up was our affiliated company, JALUX STYLE Inc. While product development for bags was progressing in this way, development of pouches was also progressing steadily.
Iwamoto: "TGR has a rally team called TGR-WRT, which is based in Finland. We found out that there were many inner suits worn by the drivers that were going to be discarded. It is a unique and valuable material imbued with passion, and we really wanted to make use of it. However, we were quite troubled by the question of which parts to use and what size to make it. In the end, we wanted to make use of the stretchy texture of the material, so we deliberately did not make a gusset and made it a rectangular shape with just the right size to fit small items, gadgets, and cosmetics."
Making the collaboration itself a sustainable initiative. Scheduled for release on November 21st
The carbon keychain, with the TGR and JAL logos on both sides, is also a masterpiece. It is made at Toyota's Motomachi Plant using recycled carbon material that is left over from the car manufacturing process.
Yamada: "We are also making flight tags with the TGR and JAL logos as related products. We have removed the text and created an iconic design that combines airplanes and racing cars."
Thus, the lineup is complete. The tote bag, pouch, and key chain are scheduled to be sold as a set of 30 limited editions for 46,000 yen (tax included). They will be sold at the Rally Japan venue, which will be held from November 21st (Thursday) to 24th (Sunday), and will also be available for purchase at JAL Shopping.
Kaminaga: "We see this initiative as a milestone that takes the partnership between TGR and JAL one step further. There were some difficult aspects, and because we are two separate companies, we have different cultures and different processes for getting approval. We had to work things out, but this initiative allows us to mutually utilize the sales channels and social media of both companies, and we can expect to create synergy. We can have a greater influence than if we were to tackle this alone, so it's worth doing."
Iwamoto: "We would like to continue incorporating the theme of 'sustainability' into our official merchandise going forward. We hope to make this not a one-off project, but a sustainable endeavor in itself."
This collaboration between the sky and the land will soon be available to customers. The whole team is looking forward to that day, but it may sell out quickly. If you are interested, please check the official website.
JAL Mall official website
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The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
