The bottom of the backpack is made of a durable, wa-ter-resistant gangway canvas. The canvas has three layers as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sandwiches woven fabric in the middle. This structure, which provides strength, can also be According to Ikeda, since a gym-nastics mat consists of various mate-rials, it is difficult to dispose of it as industrial waste. To make bags, the medium-thick “Class-8” canvas, the categoriza-tion of canvas thickness widely used in the Jap-anese textile industry, is generally used. Mean-while, a gymnastics mat is made of ultra-thick and more durable “Class-4” canvas.Starting in Septem-ber 2022, Sunward is soliciting project supporters for upcy-cling the discarded school equipment through a crowdfunding campaign featuring SDG products by the end of October 2022. A part of the proceeds will be donated to schools in the form of balls and other goods. Since many public schools in Japan have difficul-ty purchasing even a single ball due to their limited budgets, Sunward is actively committed to expanding its activities nationwide to solve the problem.seen in the strap on the hanging ring. Meanwhile, the mate-rial of the ring generally differs between trains. The ring used on this bag is made of polycarbonate (PC). Asked what the most difficult process for production was, he answered, “It took a lot of time to design the bag and select the right materials for the bag’s shape so that railfans would like our product. The most backbreaking task is washing gangway canvas.” And, the president himself washes them. “I am occupied with the task on weekends. I’ll have to wash more and more canvases in the future,” he said with a laugh. In October 2022, small items such as pouches and tote bags made from the fabric of the train chairs were also debuted.Projects with other railway companies in Kobe, Kobe Electric Railway and Kobe New Transit, are also underway. Sunward is working on expanding the scope of upcycling the parts of retired railcars and planning to do crowdfund-ing for producing body bags and sacoches (lightweight and compact shoulder bags that can carry a minimum of valu-ables).In this upcycling process, Sunward disinfects the fabric formerly used for a gymnastic mat and then applies transfer printing because some stains on the fabric cannot be cleaned off completely. Also, unlike conventional transfer printing, which is performed on polyester, Ikeda’s company uses a modified printing machine to perform the process on cotton fabrics. This machine can also apply transfer print-ing of photographs. Staffs disassemble hanging rings for bleaching and cleansing and then polish and dry them for like-new white handgripPorch and pen case (left) upcycled from basketballs43Upcycling discarded gym equipmentSunward is also working with SDGs-minded Sakai City in Osaka Prefecture. It is planning to collect gymnastics mats and balls used at municipal elementary and junior high schools in the past but now lying in the storeroom to make pouches, bags, tablet cases, and other prod-ucts.
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