Sustainability

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Small-batch production, natural materials, long-lasting textiles.
yamamayu aims for circular dyeing & weaving.

Circularity / Reuse / Tools / Community, Education & Jobs / Materials / Process / Care / KPI

Circularity

yamamayu’s textile-making happens within a living cycle where mulberry and local plants, silkworms, and human life meet.
Spent dye plants and silkworm pupae are returned to compost, enriching the soil that nurtures the next life.

Circularity: composting spent dye matter and pupae

Reuse

Weaving inevitably creates offcuts and leftover threads.
At yamamayu, we tie and connect them into new expressions as “Mottainai Art.”

Artworks made by reusing leftover threads

Tools

Our studio uses foot-powered looms that require almost no electricity, and we also repair and keep old power looms in service.
Caring for tools and passing them on is part of our idea of “circularity.”

Foot-powered loom: a zero-electricity tool

Community, Education & Job Creation

yamamayu is rooted in the local community.
Through nature programs at schools and in early childhood settings, and by creating silk-floss handwork opportunities for seniors, we carry textile culture into the future.

Plant-dye experiences that connect with the community

Materials

We focus on natural fibers such as cotton, silk, and tensan (wild silk), and we choose plant dyes alongside lower-impact chemical dyes.
Not everything can be fully in-house, but we only use materials verified by our eyes and hands.

Sericulture: cocoons raised at the studio

Process

Indigo dyeing with fermented lye vats, plant dyeing, weaving—
we honor traditional methods while maintaining reproducibility and safety.

Indigo-dyed textiles from a fermentation vat

Care

Textiles develop character the more they are used.
We recommend gentle hand-washing with neutral detergent, drying in the shade, and storing away from light.

Care: textiles made to last

Take-Back & Re-Dyeing

To extend each textile’s life, we are gradually building a system to take back well-loved pieces for re-dyeing.
They receive new color and return to daily life once again.

KPI & Initiatives

  • Natural material usage (cotton / silk / tensan): 100% natural fibers
  • Plant-dye usage ratio: ~50% (chemical dyes: ~50%)
  • Foot-powered loom utilization: ~40% (power looms: ~60%)
  • Leftover-thread reuse rate: 100% (2025 target)
  • Repairs & re-dyeing handled: 10+ cases per year

By building on these practices,
yamamayu carries textile-making in harmony with nature into the future.

View Works (Collection) ｜ Read the studio Journal | One-Day Textile Experience (Hachioji)

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