About HushTug
HushTug is a leather brand that offers high quality, simple leather products at affordable prices.
At the same time, we aim to develop technology and expand employment by completing the final product in our own local workshop.
In this way, it is also a social brand that aims to solve social problems such as poverty in Mongolia through its brand operations.
The link below tells the story of how HushTug was created.
・The social problems Mongolia faces ・The setbacks faced before launching HushTug ・HushTug's vision for global expansion
In this uncensored report, CEO Takahisa Toda shares his experiences in Mongolia.
Lean product pricing
The selling price of HushTug is about half that of other brands that use genuine leather.
This does not mean that we use inferior leather or that we cut back on labor costs to our craftsmen.
They use high-quality Mongolian leather that is also exported to Italy, the home of leather. Because the work involves detailed and time-consuming work, they pay labor costs about 25% higher than the market rate, and they import YKK parts from Japan.
"Improve quality but keep prices down"
In order to achieve these two seemingly contradictory goals, we chose a business model that involves doing everything in-house - from running the workshop to planning and developing products to selling them - and cutting costs as much as possible other than material and labor costs.
Because there are no middlemen, we are able to cut unnecessary costs, enabling us to offer our products at a reasonable price that is half the conventional price.
Simple design with no unnecessary features
We want to create products that bring out the best in our customers.
With this in mind, HushTug products do not display any logos that would assert their brand.
Furthermore, we pursue simple designs that are not affected by trends, as we want our products to be used for a long time.
The longer you use genuine leather, the more it will become familiar to you. Please use it as your own partner.
HushTug's four principles
#1 All information is open
With the desire to be an honest brand to our customers, we disclose all information about the materials used in our products, the factories and craftsmen who make them, and the costs of the manufacturing process.
By discreetly disclosing all information, we aim to be a brand that customers can purchase with confidence.
#2 Simple x High Quality
To ensure that you can enjoy using our products for a long time, we focus on providing products with simple designs that are not affected by trends.
While maintaining high quality, we strive to create functional products that are "easy to use for a long time."
#3 Preserve culture for the future
The world is home to many cultures and technologies that we can be proud of.
We build factories in countries where we have the materials and technology, and by manufacturing everything from start to finish, we aim to create jobs and improve technology. By contributing to economic development, we can protect the wonderful traditional culture and techniques of each country and pass them on to the future.
#4 Good for all sides
There's no point if it doesn't make everyone involved happy.
HushTug will continue to be a win-win for consumers, producers, and society. We will also add the future (next generation) to the existing win-win situation, aiming to be a brand that connects to future generations and does not pass on problems to the next generation.
The idea behind the brand name
In factories in developing countries, many workers are forced to work for unfairly low wages in order to mass-produce low-cost products.
Furthermore, mass production is causing environmental destruction and severe damage to the health of residents living near factories; the problems caused by mass production and mass consumption have become one of the major social issues around the world.
The pursuit of profit is natural for a company.
However, upon learning this reality, we thought,
"We want to convey the message to our customers to 'select and buy only what they really need', rather than mass production and mass consumption."
"I want people to take good care of things that can be used for another 10 years."
That is what it means.
With this in mind,
Hush → Calm down something
Tug → to pull something hard
This combination of these two words conveys the meaning of "putting a stop to mass production and mass consumption and becoming a brand that leads the apparel industry in the next era."
"Hashtag" also refers to the "#" used on social media, and also conveys the meaning of "we want to connect with people who have the same values as us."