Clothing has seen some changes over the decades. The 60s bought us the mini-skirt, the 70s was the decade of flares and the 80’s was the decade best left forgotten! Clothing trends come and go, but until now clothes have rarely performed any other function than providing a fashionable covering or protection for the body. Our embroidered clothing service offers customisation for many different clothing items, but we haven’t seen any new innovations to hit the clothing market in a long time. Until now!
Japan has suffered many electricity outages and restrictions recently following the tragic earthquake and tsunami. Such restrictions have meant many office workers have struggled against the heat as the mercury goes through the roof. Unable to rely on air cooling fans and air conditioning, office workers have been forced to sit dripping sweat in very hot and humid conditions.
Often out of desperation comes genius and some clever people at Kuchofuko’s Clothes decided to design special clothing that also provides air conditioning for the body. The hottest item in their range right now is the air-cooled jacket. Sporting two cooling fans on each side, the coat allows air to be drawn in and cooled. The coat then inflates allowing cool air to circulate around the insulated internal walls of the coat cooling the wearer down considerably. What might seem like a gimmick actually has sound financial and environmental gains. Whereas offices needed to switch on air conditioning units to cool an entire office, the air conditioned coats now do the job perfectly well at a fraction of the cost. As a result of keeping air conditioning units switched off, companies can also reduce their carbon footprint.
Uptake of the coat is growing and the company has sold at least 40,000 air-conditioned products since they first began. Each coat costs around £80 which seems like a high price, but when you consider the comfort, economic and environmental advantages it is actually quite a small price to pay.
Air conditioned clothing has so many possibilities. Factory workers, office workers and construction workers often work in very hot conditions causing drops in productivity. Being able to keep cool in these conditions would ensure staff are comfortable and more able to carry out tasks more efficiently. It’s probably only a matter of time before branding starts to be seen on these items of clothing in the form of logos and company names. It’s not clear yet how that branding will take shape, but possibly in the form of printed or embroidered clothing.
So watch this space. The moment that air conditioned clothing comes to the UK we’ll be keeping a close eye on its progress. We can brand most things and this type of clothing is no exception! These items would be perfect for our embroidered clothing service and would not only look cool, but keep you cool too!
