This season, Nanamica has created garments using recycled nylon made from discarded fishing nets.
It is a visible expression of the connection between the sea and the city—a connection that has always been central to our philosophy.
To trace the story behind this material, we visited the fishing communities of Hidaka, Hokkaido, where people make their living from the sea, as well as a recycling facility in Tomakomai, where discarded fishing nets are transformed into new materials.
A story that begins with the sea
For Nanamica, the lives of those who work at sea, the people who create the materials, and our everyday lives in the city are all connected. What happens at sea extends to the city, and what is created in the city eventually finds its way back to the sea. We believe our lives — and the clothes we make — exist within that continuous cycle.
But that connection can't be understood through numbers and data alone. It only begins to take shape through the hands of those working at the harbor and the expertise of those who transform materials.
This time, we turned our attention to discarded fishing nets from Hokkaido.
Tracing how they pass from one pair of hands to another, and the thinking behind the role they take on next, also became an opportunity to revisit the idea that Nanamica has embraced since its founding: "ONE OCEAN, ALL LANDS" — the belief that there is one ocean, connecting the entire world.
Connecting the work that often goes unseen
At the harbor, piles of fishing nets that had reached the end of their working lives were stacked along the docks.
Rather than being discarded as waste, they are collected and sent on to be transformed into new materials through the recycling process.
In Hokkaido, many of the fishing nets used for gillnet fishing are made from monofilament, and a large number of them become raw material for recycling. These nets support the work of fishermen every day. They are repaired and reused whenever possible, but when they can no longer be used, they are replaced with new ones.
For fishermen, the sea is, before anything else, the place where they head out each day and continue their livelihood. Sending worn-out nets on to their next purpose is simply another part of that daily cycle.
Once collected from the harbor, the fishing nets are transported to Suzuki Shokai Tomakomai Plastic Factory, a recycling facility in Hokkaido.
The most critical step is the initial sorting process. Even the smallest amount of foreign material —such as rope, metal fittings, or seashells — can have a significant impact on the recycling process that follows.
What stood out at the factory was the sight of staff spreading out each net, cutting boldly into it with large scissors, and carefully removing every piece of foreign material by hand. Even the smallest debris is inspected by eye before the nets are passed on to the next stage. It is only through this painstaking work that discarded fishing nets can take on a new role as a material. After washing and sorting, the nets undergo mechanical recycling and are processed into REAMIDE® recycled nylon pellets, taking their first step toward becoming a new material.
A material connected by many hands
MURON®, developed by Morito Apparel Co., Ltd., is a recycled nylon yarn made from 100% recycled resin pellets produced from discarded fishing nets collected in Japan and recycled by Refinverse Co., Ltd. More than just a recycled material, MURON® serves as a circular platform with a high level of traceability, making it possible to identify the region where the fishing nets were originally collected.
MURON® is then delivered to textile manufacturers, where it is transformed into fabrics with the performance and texture required for clothing.
For this season's jacket and pants, Nanamica uses a 100% nylon taffeta made by combining MURON® with false-twist yarn. By taking advantage of the different shrinkage rates during the dyeing process, the fabric achieves both enhanced wind resistance and a richly textured surface with subtle depth. Finished with a PFC-free water-repellent treatment and cut in a relaxed silhouette, it offers a contemporary take on the classic windbreaker. While designed for everyday wear, it also provides the functionality needed for active movement.
What Nanamica strives for is to naturally integrate materials that originate from the sea into everyday city wear and relaxed sportswear. Even without knowing the story behind it, you feel compelled to pick it up. Then, through wearing it over time, you come to learn where the material came from. In this way, materials born from the sea become part of everyday life in the city. The clothes you put on today are connected to the sea, too.
OOAL Wind Hooded Jacket [S26FA013U] $380.00 USD
OOAL Wind Pants [S26FC014U] $340.00 USD
OOAL Quilting Varsity Jacket [S26FA026U] $520.00 USD
OOAL Quilting Bench Coat [S26FB025U] $650.00 USD
