The story so far①

The story so far

HushTug is a leather brand founded in November 2017.

After a period of preparation, sales began on the online store in April 2019, and since then, the product has become available to many customers.

However, the road was not always smooth sailing, and he was worried that "If things continue like this, the company will go bankrupt...!"
There were more than a few crises that made me feel this way.

We were able to overcome this crisis thanks to none other than our customers who chose HushTug.

Leather products aren't cheap.

Even in these circumstances, we wanted customers who are considering purchasing HushTug to know the story behind it and our thoughts about the brand .

This is the story that has been created together with HushTug employees, craftsmen, and customers.

It's a little long, but I hope you'll enjoy reading it when you have the time.

table of contents

An essential part of telling the story of HushTug is the country where it was founded: Mongolia.

There are many apparel and bag manufacturers that have bases overseas or produce overseas, but most of them are based in places like China or Southeast Asia, which are cost and production efficient.

So why was HushTug in Mongolia?

The reason for this is that when he actually went to Mongolia, he found a "tragic situation that we Japanese could not know."

Mongolia's reality and serious social problems

HushTug representative Toda first visited Mongolia in May 2017.

When we Japanese think of Mongolia,

・Vast nature
・Nomads living freely
- Many animals

Etc.

However, when I actually set foot in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, I found that it had been rapidly modernized, with many high-rise apartment buildings and commercial facilities lined the streets.

At that point, I immediately felt a gap between what I had imagined and what I was seeing, but what really shocked me was the sight just a few kilometers away from that area.

People keep warm by burning non-combustible waste such as plastic and old tires.

Because they cannot afford electricity for economic reasons, they use garbage as fuel to survive the cold winters, when temperatures can drop to -40°C.

Air pollution in the city is getting worse, and the air is so dirty that it's impossible to walk outside properly.

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

What was even more shocking was the sight of children living on mountains of garbage.

Economically struggling, abandoned children survived by scavenging through piles of garbage.

Mongolia has such a problem.

Shocked by this, Toda wondered, "Is there anything I can do to solve this problem?"

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."

When HushTug was born

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

The Mongolian people face poverty and environmental problems.

To solve these problems, it was necessary to "produce high-quality products that could be used worldwide in Mongolia and sell them worldwide."

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 brand spreads and more people become aware of the current situation in Mongolia, 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.