Police officers and town hall employees in the Kanagawa Prefecture beach town of Hayama have a new, stylish form of protection against the coronavirus thanks to a luxury jeans brand -- denim face masks.
At a ceremony held at Hayama town hall on June 17, Gion Jeans CEO Lee Longshaw donated 650 masks for front-line workers in the town.
Local assembly member Yoko Tosa, who organized the event, said 300 masks are going to town office employees, 117 to the police, and the rest to workers such as Starbucks staff.
Longshaw, who splits his time between Hayama and Kyoto, where the business is based, said he wanted to do something positive for the town.
"People have been in the doldrums over this corona thing," he said. "I wanted to give masks to the people who, all year, work hard to keep Hayama a safe place." He also hopes the donation will remind people more widely that the coronavirus hasn't gone away. "It's better people are prepared when it comes back," he said.
"Each person can choose whether or not to wear them," Mayor Takahito Yamanashi said, the day after the handover ceremony. "But I and some of my senior staff members wore them at the plenary session today. It was a perfect fit [and] the design is cool. It feels more chic than black," he said, referring to the indigo color.
Hideyuki Kaneko, Hayama police station vice chief, said he was happy for the support of townspeople and plans to use his mask carefully. "When I showed it to my family, my wife told me it was stylish," he added.
"The police work really hard in Hayama," Longshaw said. "Any time anything happens, they're there."
He was motivated to contribute to the community after seeing that the beach bars that are a staple of summer in the town have had to close during the virus outbreak, losing much of their annual profit. Hoping to keep people connected during a challenging time, he has launched an initiative called Friends of Hayama Beach to promote goodwill. Local businesses and community initiatives, including the mask donation, are featured on the project's website (friendsofhayamabeach.com).
"I thought it's a nice way to put people together and create community," he said.
The idea to make masks from his company's denim was sparked when Longshaw noticed that the woman who runs a shop above Hayama beach bar Oasis was turning donated clothing into masks, then selling them and sending the profits to an orangutan sanctuary in Borneo.
She offered a template, and working with their Kurashiki factory in Okayama Prefecture, Gion Jeans had the masks designed, manufactured and delivered to Hayama six weeks later. They are lined with linen for comfort, and the elastic loops can be replaced when they wear out.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
.png?w=600)
