Social Contribution Activities

Kyoto Model Forest Campaign

Gunze concluded the Agreement on Forest Use and Conservation with the Kyoto Model Forest Association and has been conducting volunteer activities for Satoyama conservation in the concluded area in Ayabe, the city where the Company was founded, as part of the Kyoto Model Forest Movement in Ayabe about four times a year since July 2010.
The model forest initiative encompasses the practice of sustainable community development proposed by Canada at the World Earth Summit in1992. The goal is to develop and conserve forests that provide multifaceted functions, including the production of timber, prevention of global warming, prevention of sediment runoff and collapse, recharge of water sources, formation of good landscapes, improvement of health, and biodiversity.
The initiative resumed in fiscal 2022 after a hiatus owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. This model forest activity has been conducted a total of 42 times since its start in 2010 and attracted an aggregate total of 1,237 participants. Activities since 2018 include the construction of an observatory and the planting of mountain cherry trees as well as maple trees in the Obata district of Ayabe City as part of the Obata Castle Restoration Project. Most recently, we have been working with the Obata Castle Preservation Association, NPO Satoyama Net Ayabe, Kyoto Prefectural College of Forestry, Kyoto Prefectural Nakatan Regional Promotion Bureau, and the Ayabe City Department of Agriculture, Forestry, Commerce and Industry to establish a native azalea colony.

Kurunto Complex Development Project Utilizes Former Factory Site

From 2021, the site of a former apparel factory that faced Nagai Station (Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture) was jointly redeveloped by Nagai City and Gunze Development Co., Ltd. under a public-private partnership (PPP). Its construction completed in August 2023, the Kurunto complex opened the following month. Built on a 23,000m² site (about 1.5 times the size of Koshien Stadium), the 5,000m ² steel-framed facility has one floor and a partial second floor above ground and is characterized by its polygonal shape reminiscent of a cocoon, representing the history of Nagai City, where silkworm farming was once a thriving industry. There is an amusement facility for children on the north side of the building, a library on the south side, and a café in the common space, making it a lively hub for people of all ages to gather and socialize. The name Kurunto was chosen to represent the image of a place where children can be gently watched over as they grow, like a cocoon that gently and lovingly envelopes a silkworm, and also to represent the image of energetic children playing around, doing somersaults for example. We hope that Kurunto will remain a place of relaxation for the people of Nagai City, and also become a facility that can be enjoyed by everyone in the surrounding area.

“No waste” activities

As an easier way to contribute to society, Gunze encourages collection of aluminum can pull-tabs and used books in exchange for donations to charities.