From cotton cultivation to sock production. All of it made in Kakogawa

Starting in the Meiji period and continuing to this day, Kakogawa city in Hyogo Prefecture is home to a flourishing local sock manufacturing industry, said to be the top three in Japan alongside the Tokyo and Nara regions. Back in the Edo period, the region was known as one of the top cotton producers in Japan. With this in mind, Kacotton Co., Ltd.’s CEO Yoshimasa Washio (who also presently works as the director of the Hyogo Prefecture Socks Product Coopertive) resolved to make the region into a cotton production area once more, creating the perfect socks made in Kakogawa.
Starting a crowd funding campaign for an pesticide-free cotton cultivation project using fallow fields in Kakogawa, there are now 2 hectares of land on which the highest quality cotton flowers, producing the longest stems of cotton, are being cultivated without using any pesticides. “At first we only produced 1,500 socks, but now we’re on track to product 5,000 socks with this year’s harvest. We were able to come so far thanks to the initial crowdfunding, and the subsequent cooperation of everyone in Kakogawa, including many businesses and individuals,” says Yoshimasa as he warmly looks over the cotton harvest. Local elementary school students assist with both the cultivation and harvesting, and all of the manufacturing processes – from initial cotton spinning to sock production – are carried out by Kakogawa companies. “Last year we relied on Kyoto to perform the dyeing process. This year I’m hoping we can do everything, including the dyeing, within the Kakogawa region.” He is going to great lengths to realizie this “made-in-Kakogawa” concept.

As we continue I want to create a type of cotton called “Kacotton,” growing it into an emblem of reliable Japanese-made cotton thread,” says Yoshimasa. In the textile industry, approximately 97% of the product is imported. The Cotton Farm Project hopes to create a new revolution in sock industry, working hard alongside the 3% of domestic manufacturers.
This spring, a new season for cotton flower cultivation begins, and Yoshimasa and his team will continue to take on the challenge, making this project into their life’s work.