Editor’s Note
This article explores how a veteran Japanese manufacturer is challenging perceptions of plastic through its handmade brand ‘ame’, crafting beautiful, durable products from recycled materials. It highlights a thoughtful approach to sustainability that values both environmental responsibility and enduring design.
Honda Plus Co., Ltd., a 77-year-old plastic molding manufacturer based in Shinshiro City, Aichi Prefecture, has been operating its private brand “ame” since 2008 to communicate the true charm and value of plastic to the world. The ‘ame’ products, handmade from recycled plastic materials, are so beautiful they unleash a sparkling brilliance like gemstones. Amidst the societal “headwind” that plastic is bad, the company has turned numerous crises into opportunities. This is the birth story of the brand ‘ame’, which continues to create products that convey the “beauty of plastic” to as many consumers as possible and are loved for a long time.
A lifestyle brand born from a plastic molding manufacturer, pursuing the beauty of recycled plastic. In the manufacturing of plastic products, waste plastic that is inevitably generated is collected, sorted, carefully crushed, remelted, and then reshaped by the hands of artisans. By recycling materials that would otherwise be discarded and breathing new life into them through handmade processes, they create plastic products that are not disposable but are loved for a long time in people’s lives. Recently, they have been working not only with waste plastic from their own factory but also on product creation that incorporates various defective products collected from the market.
President Takamitsu Honda took over as the third-generation president of the plastic molding company. His grandfather, the founder, made sheaths (caps) for calligraphy brushes, and his father, the second generation, achieved the top domestic market share for correction fluid bottles. In his childhood, Honda had an image of plastic as cheap and bad for the environment and couldn’t quite like it. However, the waste plastic dump behind the factory sparkled like gems and looked like a toy box.
About 20 years ago, at a graduation exhibition of an art university held at the Spiral complex cultural facility near his office in Omotesando, Tokyo, he was moved by the delicate glass art works of contemporary glass craft artist Mika Aoki. He conveyed to Aoki his own upbringing being drawn to art, his current pursuit of “beautiful things” while running a plastic company, and the depth of his feelings. Aoki, who actually visited Aichi, also resonated with the potential beauty of the sparkling waste plastic, leading to the start of a collaboration with the glass artist. After more than half a year of preparation, in 2008, Aoki and Honda Plus held an exhibition titled “Shining Rain” in Nishi-Azabu, expressing the Earth’s water cycle through plastic.
The exhibition was attended by many celebrities and artists and generated significant反响. They were entrusted with creating accessories for ISSEY MIYAKE’s Paris Collection and stage displays for a famous musician’s concert. Stepping into the world of art beyond design became a major opportunity for Honda Plus.
From art creation to product (goods) creation. They repeatedly experimented to achieve both the beauty of plastic that rivals glass, realized through art activities, and the pursuit of quality as products that color people’s lives. Utilizing unique techniques, they repeatedly faced the advantages of plastic and created prototypes. The molding technique is fundamentally the same as that used for their main business of plastic container molding. While incorporating the know-how from their main container molding business, they improved product quality and created new products.
Ten years after the first collaboration, they confidently opened their original shop in Omotesando, lined with renowned brands. The brand was named “ame,” incorporating the meaning of “candy” (飴) for the beautiful melted plastic resembling syrup, and “rain” (雨) symbolizing the Earth’s water cycle. “Rain” falls from the sky, becomes rivers, changes form into seas, clouds, snow, and circulates the world. It continuously changes its name and expression depending on the season, how it falls, and the time, and you can never encounter the same rain twice. Similarly, ‘ame’ uses recycled plastic, a circular material, and has established a unique technique where each piece is handmade by artisans. This unique technique differs from conventional plastic molding using molds, allowing for original and free creation because it is handmade.
At the time of the shop’s establishment (about 10 years ago), the cheap image of plastic among general consumers was deeply rooted. Some customers, when told the products were made from recycled plastic, would say “Recycled items are dirty, I don’t want them” and leave the store. Even though they should have recognized the products as beautiful enough to rival glass, they couldn’t feel the value of the products simply “because it’s plastic…”.
However, on the other hand, there were voices that purely resonated with the beauty of the products, saying “It sparkles like amber and is beautiful.” There were also positive reactions resonating with the unique charms of plastic that glass cannot possess, such as “light and hard to break,” “can be used without worry,” “can be worn with peace of mind,” “can be washed with water,” and “safe even if dropped.”
They continued to aim for creating products that pursue the “beauty” of recycled plastic, are not disposable, and are loved for a long time in people’s lives.
In recent years, the word “sustainable” has become widespread among general consumers, and attention has focused on environmental initiatives for everyday products. Previously, they hesitated to communicate that their products were made from recycled plastic, but as if the past was a lie, they now receive empathy from many people saying “purely beautiful,” “can’t tell it’s made from recycled plastic,” and “wonderful initiative.” Their long-term efforts bore fruit, and thankfully, not only from general consumers but also from major Japanese companies, they began receiving requests like “We want to plan a collaboration with ‘ame’.”
Mist -MOYA- Tissue Case (15 colors, ¥7,480 incl. tax)
A sense of substance and transparency that is hard to believe is plastic, and free forms where no two are the same, go beyond the concept of recycling to fill the heart and add color to life. It can be fully washed with water, so it can be kept clean forever, is highly durable, and can be used for a long time, which is also appealing.
ame -Fragment- Earrings/Pierced Earrings (2P: ¥4,290 incl. tax, 3P: ¥4,400 incl. tax)
Fragments of recycled plastic that look like natural stones. Irregular and uniquely shaped scraps that accidentally occur during ‘ame’s manufacturing process are finished into accessories. The size, shape, everything is unique; no two are the same, making each piece one-of-a-kind in the world.