The Forefront of “Furniture Adventure”
Mark Masayoshi Ito, President of Green Hospitality Products International (GHPI)
Launches organic furniture project
Yokohama branch shop opens in May
Organic brand “Furnature Japan” offers gifts of nature
The July 25 issue of Ambiente introduced Tsuneyuki Fujioka, president of Brand Architecture, which is known for its organic furniture brand ”ECODECOR.” President Fujioka has worked with a Japanese designer who is active in the US, Mark Masayoshi Ito, who launched and has marketed the furniture and bedding brand “Furnature Japan” in Japan since this May. We interviewed Mr. Ito to gain insight into his views of the furniture business and his future plans.
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Mark Ito established Green Hospitality Products International (GHPI) (Tokyo office, 2-5-1-102 Koraku, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo) in August 2005 to market “Furnature Japan.” He became active in the furniture business after reading a newspaper article about Furnature Inc., an American organic furniture company in Boston. He said, “It was in 2005 when I was designing various living facilities such as hotels, restaurants, houses, and offices. Over the past five years, I have become more conscious about environmental problems, such as global warming and recycling. From an environmental point of view, I realized that many commercial and living facilities contained various chemical materials that harm human health, and I had been wondering what I could do about those problems as a designer. When I read the article about Furnature Inc., I immediately flew to Boston to ask the company to work with me. They accepted my offer and with my designs, Furnature Japan was established to target Japan and other Asian markets.”
Established in 1992, Furnature Inc. is a pioneer in the development and marketing of organic furniture in the US. Before chemical sensitivity and sick house syndrome became growing problems in the world, the company conducted extensive research to find a solution for people with multiple chemical sensitivity and developed organic furniture in collaboration with manufacturers, such as a Canadian bed company. “We are going to focus more on living environments and interior items in Japan. The company name “Green Hospitality” symbolizes the “green” of nature, including environmental conservation and recycling, and “hospitality” for living spaces such as houses and hotels. We mainly focus on bedrooms and children’s rooms, because we spend one third of our lives in our bedrooms, and children’s rooms are important to the healthy development of children,” said President Ito.
GHPI opened the first “Furnature Japan” shop in the organic shopping mall “PLANT’S” (1-25 Nakagawa-chuo, Tsuzuki-ku, Yokohama city). “Since opening, beds and pillows have been selling well. And, regarding pillows, we have many repeat customers. We are going to increase sofa types, including those for children, because children often want their own sofas,” said Ito.
Although the catchphrases “good for health” and “good for the environment,” have become popular recently and legal restrictions imposed on the formaldehyde content of construction materials, there are still few companies handling a full line of organic furniture and bedding items in Japan. President Ito said, “It’s difficult for existing companies to immediately switch to a different direction, even though it’s an environmental matter, because they need to have innovative ideas, getting away from stereotypes. We will continue to make efforts to market organic furniture in Japan, carrying out our original intention.”
He continued, “While Furnature Inc. handles only finished products, GHPI offers both organic materials and finished products. We will be recruiting business partners from the furniture and interior fabrics industries, aiming to develop the Japanese organic market.” |