Did you know that it takes 200g of cotton to make one T-shirt, and 2,000 liters of water to grow that cotton? From Wednesday, August 9th Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building , B1F - Men's Underwear, Nightwear, and Socks will be running a promotion for KAMAKURA CUT&SEW, a collaboration between artist Naomi Kazama, who travels the world with live prints, and designer Takehito Onodera, who runs melple. They will be selling plain T-shirts made from organic cotton, featuring designs by a total of eight designers and artists, including Naomi Kazama.

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Share messages from 7 people and 8 designs on blank (plain) T-shirts.

Naomi Kazama, the artist who runs the "Big O Project," an activity that prints on various objects using silkscreen and shares messages through on-the-spot printing, answers the question "Why advocate for organic?" by saying, "Cotton is the second most pesticide-using crop in the world, yet we consume it without considering its production background. We use money as a voting ticket and support the party we vote for, so by intentionally choosing organic, we create benefits such as reducing health damage to farmers and soil pollution. A circular and sustainable economy, rather than a linear one, helps to protect the rhythm of nature."

Takehito Onodera, who has known Naomi Kazama for about four years, explains the project: "I'm sure there are many people, including myself, who have an awareness of the need to 'think about the Earth' through organic clothing, food, and shelter, but don't know what to do. I'm still learning from Naomi, and I wanted to propose items that allow us to share this awareness together, while translating that into fashion. But I didn't want to overcomplicate things; I wanted people to feel comfortable and naturally touch upon them. So, I had artists and brands I'm involved with create graphics for organic cotton T-shirts."

I want you to like the graphics, wear the clothes, and read and feel the message.

Takehito Onodera explained that his interest in organic cotton began when his child was born, "I started to become more conscious of what touches my baby's skin when I hold him. The organic cotton used in this KAMAKURA CUT&SEW collection is hand-picked organic cotton from India and knitted by knitters in Wakayama, Japan, who are proud of their work, resulting in a soft and gentle feel. As for the sizing, since Naomi does a lot of live printing overseas, we've created a size grading that can be worn by foreigners as well, with a wider body width than usual. Even the S size can be worn loosely by women."

On the inside of the T-shirt, Naomi's message, which she designed herself, is printed in English, Japanese, and Portuguese. "I hope that by reading the message, which includes information such as the amount of water used to make one T-shirt, people will be inspired by Naomi's awareness of the issue and take some kind of action," she continues.

Available at the NEXT Isetan Online Store! Click here for a list of products created in collaboration with 8 designers and artists.