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Ventilated jacket, T-shirt in cooling fabric or ice-cold tube to put on the neck: the market for refrigerated clothing and accessories is booming in Japan, where summers are always hotter.
Faced like the rest of the world with global warming, Japan has just experienced its hottest month of July on record. In many places, the temperature hovered around 40°C on some days, a stifling heat further accentuated by high humidity. More than 35,700 people were hospitalized and 39 died of heatstroke in the country last month, according to data from Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Ventilated jackets
The ventilated jacket, equipped with two mini-fans placed at the bottom of the back, is thus one of the portable objects that has conquered the general Japanese public for a few years, whereas this product was initially intended for a niche clientele, such as workers. of building site.
“With an increasingly hot climate, people who had never worn one want to find a way to cool off and are more and more likely to want to buy one”, says Yuya Suzuki, public relations officer at Workman, a Japanese workwear brand. This company launched a consumer version of its ventilated jacket in 2020, sold between 12,000 and 24,000 yen (75 to 150 euros) depending on the different models of rechargeable batteries.
Another Japanese company, Chikuma, has gone so far as to integrate mini-fans into office suits, intended to be worn “in places where casual clothing is not allowed”, explains to AFP Yosuke Yamanaka, a representative of the company.
Fabrics that cool with sweat
The firm MI Creations relies on its frozen and colored tubes to be placed under the neck, more innovative than it seems. “There are arteries located in the neck and by cooling them, we can lower the body temperature”explains Nozomi Takai, a sales representative of this company.
With a pentagonal inner contour, this tube adjusts “to all collar sizes”, she adds. Its contents – a liquid which solidifies at 18 degrees – “can preserve a constant temperature, neither lukewarm nor too cold”.
As for the company Liberta, it offers clothing with cooling effects, such as T-shirts or arm covers made of fabric. Organic compounds are incorporated into it, causing a cold sensation when they react to water or sweat.
“You feel the freshness as long as the fabric remains wet”, details Momo Shirota, in charge of public relations for Liberta, who sees the sale of her refreshing clothes “skyrocket”. “You can suffer from heatstroke even at home. So we put pajamas and jinbei on sale” (a traditional outfit for the summer, editor’s note), adds Ms. Shirota.
Men dare umbrellas
While some Japanese consumers are opting for innovative objects, others are turning to more traditional methods such as the use of parasols, which are becoming a popular accessory with men as well.
This trend is partly due to a recommendation from the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, launched in 2019, encouraging people to use them to avoid heatstroke.
Men used to be “embarrassed” because parasols have long been associated with skin-conscious women, recalls Hiroyuki Komiya, manager of Komiya Shoten, a luxury umbrella shop in Tokyo that has also been making small parasols for men since then. four years.
While visiting the traditional district of Asakusa in Tokyo, under a blazing sun, Kiyoshi Miya, 42, decided to use his black umbrella as a parasol.
“It’s better than having nothing at all – it’s a bit cooler, it gets me out,” he told AFP.
Others stick to portable fans, already widespread in Japan, without necessarily being completely satisfied. “It makes the situation a little more comfortable but does not solve everything” in the face of warming temperatures, sighs Shoma Kawashima, 21, another tourist in Asakusa. “It’s so hot. I want to be naked.”