Summer in Japan is hot and humid. Newspapers wilt. Mold flourishes. Even non-electrically heated toilet seats feel pre-warmed. Subways set the air conditioning to arctic or just blast the fans to stir the muggy air around.
The Japanese government's Cool Biz initiative launched in the summer of 2005 by then-Prime Minister Koizumi encourages workers to cope by taking off their ties and ditching their jackets. To cope, that is, with a carbon-emission reducing and sweat-increasing thermostat setting of 28 degrees Celsius. (Farenheit friends, let me save you a second. That's an indoor temperature of 82 degrees.)
The jury may be out on how significant the emissions cut is and whether the initiative has helped or hurt the economy. But in the prospect of the workforce stewing in steamy offices all day, retailers have seen a great opportunity to push clothing lines with coolness built in. Ito Yokado also saw a ready-made tagline; its budget-conscious Power Cool and Mira-kool clothes are all categorized as "Cool Biz goods." The company is just one of many retailers taking advantage of new fabric technology – anti-bacterial! anti-odor! – from manufacturers such as Toray and Asahi Kasei. They even say that washing won't dilute the funk-busting properties.