The Circle of Color - "Circulation of Nature and Aesthetic Sense" in LOHAS Dyeing (2006-2007)

The Circle of Color - "Circulation of Nature and Aesthetic Sense" in LOHAS Dyeing (2006-2007)
In the mid-2000s, the term "LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability)" began to spread widely in Japanese society. The era of mass production and mass consumption had reached a turning point, and there was a movement in many parts of the country to bring back environmental consciousness and local circulation into the culture of daily life. One of the symbols of this movement is "LOHAS Dyeing" by Tsuyakin Kogyo of Ichinomiya City, Aichi Prefecture. The method of dyeing cloth using natural dyes extracted from food waste is not merely a technological innovation, but also an ideological practice of "reconnecting nature and human sensibilities.
In this dyeing method, materials that are usually discarded, such as soybean meal, azuki beans, and chestnuts, are used as a source of color. Although naturally occurring colors do not have the uniformity of synthetic dyes, the unevenness of the colors was valued as "living color. What we see here is the reintegration of "nature" and "beauty" that industrialized society has separated. Iyakin Kogyo also developed a system to recycle waste as fuel, transforming the entire factory into a place of "beauty in circulation.
At the time, the Ministry of the Environment was promoting the "3Rs" (reduce, reuse, and recycle) and required companies to manufacture in a sustainable manner. Meanwhile, the principles of "eco-design" and "slow life" were attracting attention in the design and fashion industries, and "ethics" was being superimposed on the aesthetics of craftsmanship. The LOHAS dyeing philosophy is rooted in the Japanese aesthetic of "imitating the natural order and finding beauty in it," rather than simply reducing waste.
At the root of this philosophy is the "mottainai" culture that has existed since the Edo period (1603-1868). This sensitivity, which accepts fluctuations in color and materials with limited resources, is regaining value in this day and age of climate change and resource depletion. LOHAS dyeing is an attempt to transcend the boundaries between science and technology and craftsmanship, to fuse lifestyle culture and ecology, and to be remembered as an "aesthetic of recycling" originating in Japan.