The story so far

This story begins when HushTug founder Takahisa Toda moved to Mongolia alone in May 2017.

In order to solve the serious social problems that are unique to developing countries and that I have come to realize through living in Mongolia, I am in the midst of working together with local artisans to take on a huge challenge that would be impossible to accomplish alone: ​​"creating an industry in Mongolia."

I hope you will enjoy this story, which progresses little by little each day, with excitement and thrills along the way.

About 3 minutes to explain how HushTug was born and how he met the craftsmen

Mongolia's reality and serious social problems

This was my first time moving overseas. I had done some research on Mongolia, but the scenery that unfolded before me was a completely different world than I had imagined.

The image that comes to mind of Mongolia is of nomads living in the great outdoors with animals. However, the scenery that actually unfolded before my eyes was shocking.

There is a huge gap between the rich and the poor in Mongolia. On the one hand, there are abandoned children and people living on garbage dumps in slums, but on the other hand, just 10 kilometers away, there are people who drive luxury cars, live in large mansions, and live a life of luxury without any hardships.

It is an extremely cold country where temperatures drop to minus 40 degrees in winter.

To survive the cold, people living without electricity are burning non-burnable garbage such as plastic and old tires to stay warm.

As a result, air pollution in the city is worsening, and the air is so dirty that it is impossible to walk outside properly.

PM2.5 levels are more than 100 times the safe limit set by the WHO ( more than five times the air pollution in Beijing ), and the capital, Ulaanbaatar, is said to have the worst air pollution in the world.

Mongolia has such a problem.

Toda was shocked and wondered, "Is there anything I can do to solve this problem?" He spent his days searching for what he could do in the unexplored land of Mongolia.

My encounter with Mongolian leather

I had been living in Mongolia for six months.

By chance, while shopping, I happened to pick up a Mongolian leather product. Leather products were being sold randomly around town. Although the price was very cheap, the design and construction were poor.

But then I suddenly thought.

"Mongolia is a country with a lot of animals, so materials can be obtained cheaply. If we introduce Japanese designs and technology, we might be able to create products that can be used worldwide."

Afterwards, we had an expert on leather quality look into the matter, and found out that Mongolian leather is used in the seats of a well-known German luxury car manufacturer, and that approximately 40% of the leather processed in Mongolia is exported to Italy, the home of leather, as well as Spain, Turkey, South Korea, and other countries.

As we continued our research, we discovered that one of the reasons for its popularity overseas is the durability of its leather.

Mongolian livestock survive in some of the harshest environments in the world, with temperatures ranging from 30°C in summer to -40°C in winter. This is why their hide grows to be strong enough to withstand a variety of conditions.

In addition, the animals are raised in a free-range environment, eating natural grass in clean air that is completely free from air pollution, and this relaxed lifestyle makes their skin strong.

In this way, Mongolian leather has become a high-quality material that is highly regarded around the world.

The negative cycle that has engulfed Mongolian leather

Despite having all these materials, Mongolia's leather industry has never been thriving.

When we looked into why this was the case, we found that Mongolia lacked the technological capabilities for processing and design, which led to a large proportion of its exports being in the form of raw hides with low added value.

(Raw hide before coloring. Since it is less processed, the price is naturally low and the profit is small.)

Mongolian raw hides are made into final products such as bags in Italy and other countries, and are sold around the world as " luxury products Made in Italy." However, Mongolia, which cannot process the hides and simply exports the materials, does not make a significant profit.

There are some companies in Mongolia that make leather products, but most of them are exported to China. Instead of making products that require technical skill, the focus is on how to mass-produce them cheaply, so the quality is not so good (many of them are crudely made, like cutting leather and sewing it together).

Despite the availability of Mongolian leather as a highly superior material, the leather-related industry is stagnating due to a lack of processing and product manufacturing techniques that can utilize the material. As a result, Mongolian leather workers are unable to make a profit and are unable to invest in workplace facilities and human resource development, which means that processing and product manufacturing techniques are not developing.

The Mongolian leather industry was caught in this negative cycle.

When HushTug was born

"This is it! Let's make high-quality leather products using Mongolian leather!"

In order to break the negative cycle that Mongolian leather workers were caught up in, it was necessary to "produce high-quality products that could be used worldwide in Mongolia and sell them around the world."

If we can set up a production factory locally and get the business on track, it will generate technology and jobs in Mongolia. If we can generate jobs, it will be a great help to society. Also, if the number of people who know about the current situation in Mongolia increases as the brand spreads, it may help solve the social problems Mongolia faces.

Finally, I have come up with an answer of my own.

Through this activity, we can enable hard-working local craftsmen to acquire new skills, and we can also deliver long-lasting, high-quality products at reasonable prices to people in Japan who will be happy to receive them.

"We really want to use it!"

If you are going to make something, create and sell a product that you can talk about with confidence.

It was at this moment that HushTug was born.

A journey to find artisans to help build the brand

Thus began the days of searching for a craftsman.

To change the current situation in Mongolia, it is necessary to create high-quality products from the fine material of Mongolian leather. To do this, it is essential to have craftsmen who will lend us their support in this challenge.

To achieve world-class quality, it is essential to pay close attention to the invisible details and to carefully finish the finer details. Since Mongolia lacks such technology and culture, finding craftsmen was extremely difficult.

First of all, there are no job-recruiting websites like in Japan, so meeting people is all by introduction. Even if you talk to the craftsmen you are introduced to,

"I won't do anything that troublesome."
"How many can you sell by doing that?"

Days went by without any attention being paid to them. The craftsmen have jobs to do and livelihoods to make, so it is only natural that the thoughts and voices of young people they have never met from overseas go unheard.

From person to person. I went out and talked to anyone who had a chance.

After about three months of searching for a craftsman, the only people who shared their philosophy were Undraf and Chimge, a married couple who ran a small workshop.

(Left: Mr. Undraf, Center: Toda, Right: Mr. Chimge)

"We also felt a sense of crisis about the current situation in Mongolia. We wanted to work together with Taka (the Mongolian name for Taka)."

They don't have a place to sell their products. They have no idea when they will be able to start selling. Even though they knew the current situation, they chose to take on the challenge together with us.

A year of trial and error

Just because you find a craftsman doesn't mean everything will go smoothly.

In fact, this is where the real challenge began. Making products of globally acceptable quality locally was more difficult than finding the craftsmen.

We didn't have the technology or know-how to make high-quality products, and we couldn't communicate well enough.

I visited the workshop almost every day, made samples with the craftsmen over and over again, corrected them, and failed many times. I did everything I could, including disassembling and studying high-end brand bags to learn the techniques and studying under a Japanese leather craftsman for several months.

First media appearance

With no guarantee that things would go well, I experienced failures many times like I had never experienced before.

HushTug was slowly taking shape as a brand, but we were still being rejected by those around us in Japan and by the local people in Mongolia, and we were on the verge of giving up.

Several companies have begun to take notice of our activities and are doing feature coverage and interviews.

Montsame (Newspaper for Japanese people living in Mongolia)

(The Nihonkai Shimbun is a daily newspaper that focuses on Tottori Prefecture.)

("Mongolia Now" is a cable TV program centered around Miyazaki Prefecture)

It was the first time that our work was acknowledged. I still remember it vividly.

"I will never betray those who follow me"

From this time onwards, my feelings for HushTug grew even stronger.

Crowdfunding: The company's future at stake

It's been about a year since the brand was launched.

We are finally able to produce a high-quality product that we can be satisfied with.

However, even if we are convinced of the product, it will not become a viable brand if there are no customers who will buy it.

We thought we would try crowdfunding to see if it would be accepted by people in Japan.

" We're going for a bold goal of 500,000 yen! "

Although I had very little experience selling up until now, I set an amount with some hope that if I sold this much it would be a great success.

In the first few days after I started the project, some of my acquaintances bought some items, and I sold several items a day. Even if they were just buying things to show their support, I was honestly happy.

A few days after I was saying leisurely, "If we keep going at this pace we can reach 500,000 yen!", something strange suddenly happened.

We were holding a farewell party for a retiring employee, and four products were sold in just a few minutes.

"...Is it some kind of bug?"

That's what I honestly thought.

However, when I looked at the buyers, I didn't think it was a prank or a bug. Everyone in the company chat at the time was confused and excited.

We found out later that it all started when the project was introduced as a recommended project on a crowdfunding site.

We started this crowdfunding campaign with the hope that we would be successful if we could sell 500,000 yen, but in the end we far exceeded that goal.

It was the first time that all our activities were reflected in numerical figures. I still remember how happy the craftsmen and I were.

The story so far, the story to come

Thank you for reading the story so far.

When HushTug was born, a group of young people in their twenties with no know-how, knowledge, experience or connections decided to start a business in Mongolia, where they couldn't speak the language.

Many people opposed and looked down on me, saying it was a reckless thing to do, that there was no point in doing it because it wouldn't be successful, and that there were too many competitors in the leather industry to make any money.

However, it is precisely because it is difficult that we will tackle something that no one has done before, regardless of nationality or race, with all our might, and succeed. And we will create a new industry in Mongolia. It is precisely because it is such a big undertaking that I believe it is worth taking on the challenge.

Through HushTug, we would like to spread our values ​​and challenging attitude and hope that it will inspire even one person to start something new, thinking, "If they can do it, I can do it too," or "I'll give it a try!"

I believe that if more people could solve problems for society or for others, the world would be a richer and happier place.

At the same time, if the people of Mongolia see further potential in their country's leather and the industry thrives, it could even change the country.

A brand that grows together with "Mongolia" and "users." That is "HushTug."

A record of our activities will be added to this page as they occur.

This story has just begun. We will overcome many obstacles together with our local craftsmen and Japanese employees. We hope you will continue to support our story.

Thank you for reading to the end.

HushTug Representative Takahisa Toda