Why did you choose Made in Tokyo?

In the past, "Made in Japan" was synonymous with the highest quality.

However, as mass-produced goods in low-wage factories in China and Vietnam became more common on the market due to their low prices, the number of expensive Japanese-made goods gradually decreased. The sewing factory where my mother worked was also affected by this trend and closed down.

At first, I thought that overseas products were "cheap and bad," but when I saw the quality, I was convinced that they weren't bad for the price. Above all, fashion has become a commodity, so I think you can compromise and think, "This is fine." (I should add that the quality of products produced in Asia these days is "very high.")

My honest opinion is that it's only natural that Japanese products, which cost more than twice as much, will not sell (although I'm sure there are companies that are making efforts to sell at least twice as much).

So why did they insist on Made in Japan, and even more expensive, Made in Tokyo?

This is because we strive for the highest quality.

I deal in raw materials sourced from impoverished regions of Africa. For people in Japan, who have little information and no market for these products, I think they have a preconceived notion that "cheap is bad."

When I first traveled to Kenya, I met Ann, the British founder of a Kenyan apparel brand. She told me, "Japan doesn't demand cutting-edge products, but it does care about quality." It seems that Japanese people's desire for quality is well known overseas as well.

If the quality of the product is poor, it will not be accepted in the Japanese market. There is no point in producing something to raise awareness of poor areas if it does not sell at all.

Above all, we wanted people to use it for a long time and cherish it, and we wanted people to accept that it is not just a product, but that it contains a big dream and hope of ``creating a society where everyone has more opportunities,'' so we considered producing it in Tokyo.

KARL&C items are produced by manufacturers that produce products for major brands or that have been in the manufacturing business for over 70 years, so they are characterized by no compromise on detail.

We can confidently say that it is a win-win-win situation.

However, my dream is to eventually manufacture products in local factories in Africa that are of a quality that everyone can be satisfied with, including the design. I'll talk about that another time.

Representative Kaoru Tsuji