### Voices of the times in rice husk furniture - From the site of the 2007 Shiga Environmental Business Messe

### Voices of the times in rice husk furniture - From the site of the 2007 Shiga Environmental Business Messe

At the Shiga Environmental Business Messe held in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, in November 2007, Itoki, a company that produces desks and office furniture, presented Huskboard, a new material made from rice hulls that are compressed and molded. Kohei Morimoto, who is in charge of the project, told visitors, "We applied the existing particleboard processing method and made it by ourselves from the beginning. These words convey the spirit of the development site, which is a major company but is not content to rely on external technology, and is taking on the challenge of working with its own hands.

At the time, Japanese society was strongly affected by soaring oil prices and the international struggle for resources. Prices of steel and plywood used for construction materials were rising, and domestic manufacturers were searching for ways to ensure a stable supply. Under these circumstances, Itoki's idea of turning to a "common but surplus resource," rice husks, an agricultural byproduct, was exactly what the times called for in the search for a resource-recycling society. In Japan, as much as 2 million tons of rice husks are generated annually, 30% of which are incinerated. Itoki's attempt to utilize this surplus for furniture tops was an attempt to both reduce environmental impact and make effective use of resources.

Mr. Morimoto further explained, "If we use 2% of the rice husks in Shiga Prefecture, we can supply all of our study desk tops. These words were not just an introduction of technology, but a presentation of a vision to link local resources and industry. Rice husks are finely crushed, mixed with adhesive, poured into a board skeleton, and pressed with heat. The resulting boards contain 18% silica, which is unique to rice husks, and have a hard, well-designed finish that is superior to conventional products in terms of design and strength.

Behind the attention this exhibit attracted is the social interest in "environmentally friendly products" that has been spreading since the mid-2000s. Following the Kyoto Protocol's entry into force in 2005, local governments and companies were strengthening their environmental reports and CSR activities, and consumers were beginning to show a tendency to choose "environmentally friendly products. In the midst of these trends, rice husk furniture was perceived not as a mere substitute for materials, but as a symbol of the "resource-recycling lifestyle of the future.

Morimoto's words at the site were a living message to the visitors to the exhibition booth, making them feel familiar with environmental issues. The surprise and satisfaction of seeing such a familiar material as rice husks transformed into study desks showed that the age of environmental business was moving from a "distant idea" to a "real-life reality.