Plastic Products
can be lifelong companions
if you care for them.
"Long Life Plastic Project" is a project where we tackle change with age and using plastic as a life-long material. We have the desire to not just market it as a product but also ask customers to participate in our project.
From left to right, these are the new colors for 2025: Bordeaux, Matte Yellow, Dark Green, Washed Blue.
Kenmei Nagaoka (The Founder of D&DEPARTMENT PROJECT)
I have always loved the way plastic changes over time. When Soichiro Honda used it in the windshield of his Super Cub, for example, everyone took notice of it as a material with a sense of the future. Eventually, due to the availability of raw materials and ease of production, it replaced steel, ceramics, and especially glass, and while its success spread quickly, it became synonymous with "disposable". Because of its durability, plastic works in a harsh environment, and its stains and scratches look to me like the "scenery" of the tea ceremony as it ages. This is a project to communicate through these mugs with those who agree with the idea that even plastic can become a lifelong product that has acquired a unique scenery through such aging. Plastic can be used for a long time unless you throw it away. This is the message of this project.
Kazuyoshi Sanada (The president of Sanada Group)
As a manufacturer of plastic household products, the issue of plastic trash is one that we must address. In 2015, we adopted the management philosophy "Let's make plastic that is loved" and have been working to create products that can be used as tools for a long time. In January 2020, I went to see the “nagaoka kenmei plastics” exhibition. I was really shocked when I saw the exhibition, because its concept of "enjoying the aging of plastic" expressed exactly what we are aiming for as "beloved plastics". We had the opportunity to start the "Long Life Plastic Project" with Mr. Nagaoka. There were many challenges, but with the wisdom and ingenuity of many people, including Mr. Nagaoka, we were able to make it happen. We hope that this project will help you feel a new aspect of plastic.
It is our "branding project" to think of plastic as a lifelong product.
2025 Plastic Mug
2023 Plastic Mug
2021 Plastic Mug
The Lid for Plastic Mug
We at D&DEPARTMENT, who have been examining and proposing long-life design from various angles, are paying renewed "attention" to "plastics", which are placing a tremendous burden on the global environment and ecosystem.
Although there are many ways to think about it, one important point is the idea that "there is a meaning to things that have been around for a long time". From this point of view, when we think about "plastic", we can say that "disposability" and "littering" are primarily a matter of human manners.
And when we think about whether we should make plastic, which has played an important role in our economic growth, into a "bad guy" because of human selfishness, we decided to organize a sales event as
well as an exhibition, thinking that there is an idea that "we don't throw it away" or "it would be nice if we were just aware of it as an important tool of life for the rest of their lives".
For several years now, we have been practicing a sales style called "Mononomawari (Around Things)," in which we believe that things have environment / region / people / industry / living around them.
In this issue of "Plastics," we would like to consider these five aspects as well. The plastics industry is currently undergoing a lot of mold reform and value reform. For example, there are technological products like jeans that "enjoy aging". We are pleased to have the cooperation of our co-sponsors, Sanada Seiko of Osaka, a company in the region where the plastics industry is thriving, as well as Okay Kasei and Techno Global, both of Osaka, who are also involved in the molding industry, to jointly make various suggestions while keeping the environment in mind
regarding the long-life design of plastics. We are very grateful to them for their cooperation. We are also plan to create project products with our people from manufacturers, and hold regular events, factory tours, study sessions, etc. with our people who have purchased the products.
"Packaging" was once considered a necessity for "products" whose concepts are gradually changing due to the logistical and environmental changes. For example, we need to change the idea of a design where we open the package at home and dispose of it once the product is delivered from the retailer to our homes.
This "Long Life Plastic Mug" does not use conventional packaging, but rather a single plastic bag. Needless to say, it has a vivid message and logo with the impression to encourage you to use it as a shopping bag once it arrives at your home.
The challenge of using a new material called 100% bio-based polypropylene.
The "Long Life Plastic Project 2025 Mug" utilizes 100% bio-based polypropylene created by the mass balance method and has Mitsui Chemicals, Inc's "BePLAYER®" project logo engraved on it. BePLAYER® is an effort aimed at promoting the use of bio-based products in society to resolve the global warming issue.
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