There is a manufacturer that makes socks for 10,000 yen a pair. It is West Co. These socks are woven to perfectly conform to the shape of the foot, using the finest Egyptian super-long-staple cotton and the finest cashmere yarn. They are wrapped in Echizen washi paper, placed in a paulownia wood box, with a Sanada string. In the words of an expert, the "face of the sock" is different, making it stand out on the sales floor.

There are only five special machines in Japan that can knit these socks. Furthermore, there are only a few skilled technicians who can handle these machines. There is now only one factory in Japan that has both the machines and the technicians.

This factory in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, was originally owned by a major underwear and sock company, but when the Iwaki operation was shut down, West took over all the equipment and technicians and revitalized it as its own "Iwaki Socks Lab and Factory".

The president, Kyomi Nishimura, started a crowdfunding campaign to get the word out about this factory. "The hidden theme is to awaken the self-esteem of engineers. The skills required to handle a machine capable of knitting the finest socks are special and highly valued. We want the technicians themselves to be aware of this fact," says Kyomi.

Currently, there are 16 staff members working at the factory. The technology of our factory workers has been bought cheaply as something that can be replaced. "We never dreamed that our skills were so advanced until President Kyomi pointed it out to us", said one of the engineers. Because the former major managers of the factory "didn't say anything" about the value of the technology so that they wouldn't have to raise wages.

"After the factory is lost and the technology is lost, it is too late to spare it. We don't want to have such regrets. To do so, above all else, we must understand the value of our own products and compete to sell them at a high price. The workers, who have only done what they were told by others, also have a responsibility," said President Kyomi. Thus, the factory workers under her leadership have awakened to the value of technology and are now working on their own to establish a system to produce ultra-high quality socks that cannot be produced anywhere else but here, and to send them directly from the factory to the rest of the world.

There is a persistent belief that socks are just consumable items priced at 1,000 yen for three pairs. On the contrary, this factory does not produce such mass-produced products. The factory engineers deal with a customer base that understands the value of the products they make, at a price that will earn them a fair wage. As a result, they are asking the world about Japanese luxury, while also looking to build a business practice that makes everyone involved in the production process happy. Such a spirit was understood by the right target audience, and the crowdfunding exceeded its goal in one day.

I hope that this attempt from a factory in Iwaki will have an impact on craftsmen and hearty business owners across the country. There is a way to make a change by moving away from being a subcontractor who only makes cheap products at low wages as told, and by having legitimate self-esteem and proactively proposing to the world. The challenge of Iwaki Labo suggests that the happiness of the next generation of manufacturers will be predicated on protecting the dignity of those who make them.

The original article  in Japanese: