Utilizing Reeds to Develop Stationery Full of Ideas

Overview

Reeds were once used as materials for roofs and blinds in Japan and have become a valuable part of daily life. However, as times and lifestyles change, opportunities for their use are rapidly decreasing. Against this backdrop, based in Shiga Prefecture, where Japan’s largest lake, Lake Biwa, is located, KOKUYO Product Shiga has developed and sold its “ReEDEN” stationery, involving paper products and brush pens, etc., using reeds that grow in clusters around lakes and rivers.

While the company manufactures high-quality paper products as a subsidiary of the major stationery manufacturer KOKUYO, it has produced over 130 stationery items using reeds, creating a unique business rooted in the local community. Many of these items are interconnected with Shiga’s nature, culture, and history, are born from creative designs, and are products that give people joy. The products are sold not only at stationery stores but also at souvenir shops in the prefecture. Reeds are utilized to help preserve the ecosystem of Lake Biwa, which is home to a variety of flora & fauna. They also purify water, prevent erosion of the lake shore, and absorb CO2.

Successful outcomes

• As a result of the ReEDEN project, the company has received more inquiries about creating products using reeds with original designs. Sometimes the company receives orders for hundreds to tens of thousands of units at a time.
• Over 100 on-site environmental education classes have been conducted using ReEDEN as an example.
• KOKUYO Product Shiga established a volunteer organization to protect Lake Biwa with reeds. There are over 130 member companies from both inside and outside the prefecture. Around 200 to 300 people participate in volunteer reed cutting activities that take place three times a year in winter.

Regional products that transcend the bounds of stationery, borne from persistent challenges

KOKUYO Product Shiga began developing products using reeds in 2006. At the time, the company was looking to create a new pillar of business for its operations. The company decided to create a stationery brand called “ReEDEN,” which uses reeds from the Lake Biwa-Yodo River system, as a business that could contribute to environmental conservation and the local community while utilizing its own paper processing technology. The name “ReEDEN” is a combination of “REED,” “RE,” and “EDEN.”

Lake Biwa is home to approximately 60,000 migratory birds every year and has a rich ecosystem, providing water for the daily lives of 14.5 million people living in Shiga and nearby districts. As part of its efforts to conserve the water quality and environment of Lake Biwa, Shiga Prefecture has established a reed colony preservation ordinance to promote the protection, cultivation, and utilization of reeds. KOKUYO Product Shiga has been actively developing products that utilize reeds to protect and nurture the resource. Additionally, the company participates in volunteer reed cutting with like-minded members of the community.

The company has developed business card paper stock that contains 100% reed pulp. Although paper using reeds has been made by some paper companies, no similar products with the required level of quality have yet existed before the company’s products because reed fibers are short and difficult to process. With the cooperation of a paper manufacturing company, it took a year and a half of trial & error until it became possible to create a reed paper that the company was satisfied with. “We began the challenge with the determination to create something authentic,” recalls Yoshimi OKADA, the development group leader.

In November 2007, the company released six types of products, including copy paper, notebooks, and envelopes, containing reed pulp. Reed pulp costs about 10 times as much as regular pulp, but through ingenuity in product design and production technology, the company has been able to achieve a selling price comparable to regular stationery.

Additionally, in 2008, the company developed a reed brush pen that uses the root part of a reed stem for the pen body and released it as part of a handmade reed special letter set. Each pen is crafted by hand and sold in a paulownia wood box for approximately 12,000 yen (excluding tax). They are often purchased as gifts or memorabilia.

ReEDEN’s initial products were natural and simple in design, but today ReEDEN has created stationery that conveys the charm of Shiga through design, such as a notebook that doubles as a fish encyclopedia with photos and names of 77 fish species that inhabit Lake Biwa and its rivers on the cover, message cards depicting Shiga’s famous landmarks and local products, and sticky notes shaped like Lake Biwa.

Sales group leader Kouji MATSUMIYA, who has extended the company’s sales routes beyond stationery stores to gift stores in service areas and hotels, says: “We would be delighted if visitors to Shiga purchase our products as souvenirs and that such products can become a conversation starter.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company launched its own online sales site: “Tonari no Hikidashi” (the “Drawer Next Door”). Through the website, Mr. MATSUMIYA says: “We would like to sell our products while providing detailed explanations of our operations, including our work on reed conservation activities.” Regarding the future, Ms. OKADA says: “We want to create things that are useful to the world, make people happy, and deepen bonds between people.”

ReEDEN

KOKUYO Product Shiga
https://www.tonahiki.com/f/brand/reeden

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