There is always one sponge in every home, whether in the kitchen or bathroom. While almost 100% of conventional household sponges were made of urethane, a petroleum-based material, sponges made of vegetable fibers have been gaining market share over the past few years. Chaflose Corporation, established in September 199411, is a venture company that has developed a cellulose sponge made from non-wood fibers such as reeds and awn. The market for this sponge made of natural materials has rapidly expanded, with sales of over 700 million yen in its second year of operation. We interviewed the company's president, Mr. Koji Sasatani.

There is always one sponge in every home, whether in the kitchen or bathroom. While almost 100% of conventional household sponges were made of urethane, a petroleum-based material, sponges made of vegetable fibers have been gaining market share over the past few years. Chaflose Corporation, established in September 199411, is a venture company that has developed a cellulose sponge made from non-wood fibers such as reeds and awn. The market for this sponge made of natural materials has rapidly expanded, with sales of over 700 million yen in its second year of operation. We interviewed the company's president, Mr. Koji Sasatani.

Chaflose, a sponge made from weeds

Mr. Sasatani first encountered cellulose sponge in the United States around 1980. At the time, cellulose sponges were widely used in Europe and the United States in place of urethane. Mr. Sasatani was managing a Japanese restaurant in the U.S. when an acquaintance recommended a sponge made of cellulose that could be sterilized with boiling water for use in the kitchen. Mr. Sasatani used it immediately and, noticing that there were no cellulose sponges available in Japan, began importing and selling them in Japan. However, due to the strong dollar at the time, he was forced to set the price at nearly double that of urethane, and sales were slow. This was further compounded by the problem of deforestation. The problem of deforestation was also a major concern, and the use of cellulose sponges made from virgin wood pulp came under increasing scrutiny. We decided to make a sponge from something that was neither petroleum nor wood, so we thought about using weeds. I have always fe
lt that there are plenty of resources in the world that can be used, and it was my dream to someday start a business that utilizes them as resources," he said. We chose plants that are not usually used, such as reeds, reeds, and silver grass, because they contain a lot of cellulose and are easy to obtain. The use of these plants not only allows for the effective use of resources, but also keeps the cost of raw materials low. In addition, the material is biodegradable, so when disposed of, simply bury it in the soil and it will return to the earth. The "non-polluting sponge" was born. After obtaining patents in Japan, the U.S., and China, the company was established. The company name "Chaflows" is a coined word combining the English word "chaff" meaning chaff and cellulose. We chose this company name to express our determination to make effective use of what is currently unused. In marketing the product, the company has learned its lesson from the past and has decided to keep
the price low, at 150 yen per unit, which is the same as the price of urethane products. This price is half that of cellulose sponges made from ordinary wood pulp. In order to achieve this price, we were very particular, including setting up a factory in the U.S., where electricity and water rates are unbelievably low. The U.S. factory (SASAYA AMERICA INC., 170 employees) manufactures and exports the sponges, while another Japanese company (Nihon Kotsu Sangyo Co., Ltd., 60 employees), which has been operating for some time, processes the sponges. Chafroz Corporation, which oversees the sponge operations, has 16 employees, almost all of whom are in charge of sales. Currently, the company delivers to about 100 companies of all sizes, including Jusco, Seiyu, and Co-op. JUSCO and Amway Japan, among others, supply the company's products as private brands, and they are the core of the company's sales. Currently, 90% of the sponge market is made of urethane and 10% of cellulose, b
ut the company's products account for half of the cellulose market. The O-157 scare in the summer of 1996 was the catalyst for the increase in market share.

The sponge was introduced in a health magazine as a sponge that can be disinfected with boiling water and dries quickly as a sanitary measure in the kitchen, and sales of the sponge nearly doubled.

Dream: Desert greening with used sponges

Once the sponge got off the ground, we are already developing new applications for it. Next to sponges, we have been working on "Chaff Wall," a wall coating material that also utilizes waste materials such as rice husks. Natural materials such as rice husks and scallop shells are powdered, processed, and sprayed on walls. The materials are inexpensive, but because of the labor involved, the price is about 1.5 times higher than conventional chemical wall materials. However, the adverse effects of chemical substances used in housing have become an issue, and an increasing number of housing manufacturers are adopting this method. Compared to low-priced sponges, it is a more difficult field to get into, but we hope it will be useful as a wall material for ordinary households suffering from allergies and asthma," said Mr. Kato. Another area currently under development is nursing care products such as disposable diapers. We have already succeeded in making non-wood-derived cellulos
e highly water absorbent, and we have good prospects for commercialization.

Mr. Sasatani's own style is to develop new applications one after another. He does not have a laboratory of any kind, but rather conducts his research in collaboration with a wide range of university laboratories and manufacturers, seeking advice from them. Funding for the development of new applications comes from public financial support for small and medium-sized enterprises from the city, prefecture, and national government. Since the company was established, it has received a total of more than 360 million yen in six loans. Banks are reluctant to lend us money, but since we are a venture company in a new environmental field and have acquired patents, it is easy for us to receive public support, so we are actively using it.

One of the goals for the future is "to have more people know about a company that manufactures environmentally friendly products. As a way of appealing to society, we initially aimed to make our products available on a special over-the-counter market, but since the special market itself is not progressing smoothly, we will hold off on making them available to the public for now and aim to make them available to the public on a regular basis over time. Another goal is the greening of deserts by taking advantage of the biodegradability and water retention properties of sponges. The plan is to collect used sponges, plant fertilizer and seeds, transport the compacted material to the desert, plant it on-site, and water it to make greening material. This plan is large-scale, but research has already begun at an experimental facility of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, and is now in the process of being tested in Mongolia in the near future. We have some issues
to overcome, such as the construction of a recovery system, but we are eager to take on this challenge as a true effective use of resources," he said.