The Japanese spirit of valuing things
UCHINAOSHI
One of the characteristics of cotton futons is that when they have been used for a long time and have become flattened, they can be made fluffy again by loosening the cotton again with a machine and add some new cotton.
This is not practical for overseas customers because of the high cost of round-trip shipping, but in Japan, we take good care of our futons in this way.
For example, in the following cases, a futon can be re-fabricated.
The side fabric is torn and the cotton is showing.
It has become stiff and no longer feels warm.
The futon does not puff up even after drying in the sun.
It has become moldy or smells musty after being stored for a long time.
A special machine is used to loosen the fibers, but the fibers become shortened in the process. Usually 3-4 times is the limit. Even so, it can be used for 20 years (5 years. 4 times). The futon can also be made into a zabuton.
In the old days in Japan, a futon was prepared for a bride when she got married. Some people want to reuse the futon filled with their family member’s memories in a different way.
It is very amusing to see an old futon that you were already thinking of throwing away come back fluffy as new.
We receive more than 1,500 requests for futon re-fabrication in a year.
It’s not free. The price is a little cheaper than buying a new futon. Although the feeling of using one’s things carefully for a long time while repairing and maintaining them is rooted in the Japanese life. If you have a chance during your long stay in Japan, please give it a try.
(Futons made of polyester or those mass-produced by machines cannot be refinished. Please contact us for more information.)
The process of re-fabrication of futon
1. Our customers send their old futons to us.
2.Cut the futon into pieces and take out the cotton inside. The fabric is then taken to a recycling company.
3.The old cotton waste will be removed, and we will add up to 1.5 kg of cotton to the reduced amount.
4. This is a machine to make cotton fluffy and even in thickness.
5. The cotton became fluffy.
6. The cotton becomes sheet.
7. Cut each piece into 300g pieces so that it can be easily processed into futons.
For example, we use more than 20 sheets for a single size mattress.
8. After this, the customer’s name tag is attached, and these cotton bundles are handed over to the futon craftsman to make into a futon in the style desired by the customer.
