RiPiЯ is a sustainable women’s apparel brand that remakes new stock items worldwide.
While the domestic apparel market was 15 trillion yen during the bubble economy period*, but has recently shrunk to 10 trillion yen these days. On the other hand, the supply has almost doubled from about 2 billion to 4 billion items in the same period. As a result, supply outstrips demand, and many brands hold excessive stocks, resulting to both business and environmental issues.
*the bubble economy period: an economic bubble in Japan between 1986 and 1991
To fix the current circumstance where valuable products are discarded, RiPiЯ purchases stock items from apparel brands and remakes them. In this way, these remade items are almost one-of-a-kind items and highly valued.
The brand name “RiPiЯ” has the meaning of red thread (R/Я), which connects people (P) from both directions, and R/Я, which stands for reproduction in each process (Restock / Redesign / Reproduction / Repromotion / Rejoice / Reduce / Recover).
The brand is also environmentally conscious as its clothing tags are made with biodegradable seed paper. Also, they donate part of the proceeds to an organization that supports the environment. They are creating a good cycle that benefits everyone involved with the brand, based on the concept that “the joy of wearing clothing cures society and the environment.”