Journalist at Eco-Products 2005

On the final day of Eco-Product 2005, I have invited my friends as a voluntary staff to share their insights about the exhibition. I thought about receiving numerous overview of report from people with little environmental knowledge and non-environmental related jobs somewhat interesting. But, I did invite one person from environmental consulting company to point out about giant eco-exhibition. From these feedbacks, I was able to see individual views about the current environmental trend in Japanese society. There are many infinite theories can be approached and tested to attain sustainability in the society. In fact, world needs some sort of connection between people where accurate decision can be made to track us to bright future. Anything is worth a try; and I decided to invite my close friends to share their overview about the Eco-Product 2005 exhibition. Here is the journal of my friends regarding Eco-Product
2005.

By Shiro Hosojima





Ryo Matsuzaki
Advertising Company

Environment and Capitalism

Having studied business in college life and now ride every morning on Tokyo subway as an advertising guy, I see how the business is rolling around the environmental concerns that are perhaps today’s world “trend.” I believe such environment-friendly trend, at least not a fad, finally came down to our feet to kick off the serious environment-makeup game after years of our reckless-driving toward the modern benefit of capitalism and nationalism.
Eco Products Guide 2006 (Nikkei BP), distributed at the entrance of Eco- Products 2005, talked about influence and power of “eco advertising.” The article mentions how eco now leads to sales, with the era that even Hollywood celebrities roll Toyota Prius, instead of stretch limo with tinted windows, to the Red Carpet.


Among several case studies on the leaflet, Matsushita (or Panasonic), one of Japan’s representative national companies, is also on the corresponding track. Their ongoing five-year campaign under the object of “No.1 enterprise in environmental contribution,” received amazing 10,000 pre-orders of non-Freon refrigerator before the product’s market release. Non-Freon refrigerators per se do not have any direct tangible environmental benefits, such as electricity cost-cuts, for end users. On top of that, they are a relatively expensive item. Nevertheless, consumers chose the products that were friendlier to our motherland.
The survey conducted in 2003 by Nikkei Newspaper also supports the idea. It shows how Japanese businessmen today prefer a product/service produced by companies with corporate environmental activities. 58.6% answered they would buy a product/service of environment-friendly company if the price is the same. 31.4% said they would buy even if the price higher.
Well, having glanced at such status quo, I went around a number of booths at Eco-Products 2005, ranging from major ball player such as Sony, Toyota, Hitachi to even financial houses. World-class faces are proudly introducing their most advanced technologies or concepts that are less harmful to the environment ever. As long as we live under the world of capitalism, such corporations exist to make money, and environmental issues now are a part of their business strategies. So in Japan, we are now living in the world of this fusion; Japan’s superior technologies and the rising mind of environment. The two extremes today are seeking the meeting point to understand and share each other. With shifting movement to environment-oriented needs and desires of market, Japan, as the home country of Kyoto Protocol is determined to take more control toward the issue of our great motherland

Hisato Akao
Pharmaceutical Company
“Overall Structure regarding environment”

Couple of years ago, I came back from the U.S. to Japan and started realizing what is different between Japan and the U.S.. For example, culture, language, price religion, and so on, one big difference of the field of environment is how to take out the garbage.
The first couple month after I came back, I did not like the Japanese way to take out the garbage, because it was inconvenient and complicated. However, after I participated in “Eco Product 2005” and think more about the global environment, the Japanese policy is nice.
And also, our new technologies for the environment are great, such as solar energy system, energy saving system, plastic raw material, and so on. Technology that makes up economic power of Japan today has been changed to the technology as the environmental problems measures now. Therefore, the products that have the technology try to come into the market steadily, and to be accepted by the consumer. It is very wonderful as the shift of the economy of Japan. However, only a good point to the environment of the product is advertised in such a forum. It was certain to be doubted somewhat when every part was considered including environmental problems that hang to manufacturing, and so on. Person in charge of explanation could not show every detail specific sometime.
The product that did the customer focus in full scale thinks that it has not come out yet though the number of products that consider the environment has increased. Perhaps, it influences the price and the method of the commercial. Therefore, the mission of the enterprise in the future is how do products that considered environmental problems appeal, and it buys it.
Finally, I would like to share with you the phrase which a boy who had participated in the garbage cleaning activity somewhere with Mr. Noguchi said. “Have a garbage box in your mind.” I was confused what he said and tried to understand. Most of people who listened it was also tried to figure out the meaning of it. If the word was interpreted in my own way, it might have been a word of the content that called the meaning of Eco-Products 2005 generically.

YOSHIYUKI BANDO
Electronic Company
“Easy ways to inhibit good environmental habits”

The greatest thing about the eco product 2005 was that I could see glass-roots movement of individual and NGOs. Among many participants, I was drawn by those (usually) less-funded and mostly unknown NGOs rather than by participants of big corporations. Why? That is probably because goals or purposes of those small NGOs and Individuals seemed like something that I could join from today. For example, there were people selling fair-traded coffee at small booth. I personally like coffee and so drink at least 2 cups of coffee everyday. I feel like buying those coffees which is made by organic process rather than buying coffee which is mass-produced with lots of chemical ingredients. Even though I like coffee, I do not have to drink 10 cups, so I do not have to buy strangely cheap products. Plus I can set up a limitation of consuming so that I can prevent myself from buying everything I want to buy. I believe this is about sustainability which is friendly to eco and also yourself.








Risa Onishi
Environmental Consulting Corporation
“Still behind the curtain?”

I have always wondered why garbage bins located at public places are non-transparent, with just stickers indicating what kind of waste ought to be disposed. Due to security reasons these days, most stations have removed garbage bins on site. As a result, people dispose waste in any garbage bins whenever they find one. Garbage bins for cans set beside vending machines are usually full, with pet bottles and other non-can wastes. Amongst several so-called ECO products, one product that struck me the most was the Transparent Eco Duster, manufactured by Sekisui. Sorting garbage for recyclable usage is an important behavior that can be carried out by everyone regardless of age and social status. Not only is this Transparent Eco Duster made out of recycled pet bottles, it is completely transparent enabling people to see what is inside. I believe that this would lead to public awareness (hopefully!), and eventually operate as self check system. The booth itself was not big and fancy compared to big name brands, but rather small and simple. It exhibited sample Transparent Eco Dusters with variety of colorful lids along with pellets of recycled pet bottles from which Transparent Eco Dusters are made. Advertisement and product details were reader friendly, compared to many companies which tried to contain every single detail in small letters, illustrating how eco-friendly the product is in a small, limited display space. For booths like this, I could only follow big bolded letters which did not quite capture the whole products’ selling point. It might have been companies’ intensions to let people stop and take a second to read the details, but considering the number of companies involved in the exhibition, I did not find it very strategic.
I was looking forward to organic products at the exhibition, but frankly speaking, I was a little disappointed. I got the impression that store owners were too focused on selling products than introducing and explaining organic products to the public. Taking into consideration that such exhibition is a great business opportunity, I do have to understand their intension. However, I felt pressured when taking the time to look at the products. Other company booths were only introducing eco-friendly products, so being targeted to consume on spot made me feel pressured even more. I was not able to spend as much time than I hoped to. Considering public attention towards organic products, the whole section could have been a little more spacious, so people could walk freely without being “caught” by store owners.
Even though my report includes negative comments, overall, Eco Products was very educational and interesting. I certainly enjoyed myself!