Brazilian companies participate in Innovation Mission in Asia

Aimed at fostering and promoting development of innovations in the Brazilian textile industry, a group of companies that are members of Texbrasil (Brazilian Fashion Industry Internationalization Program, promoted by Abit in partnership with Apex-Brasil) were in China and Japan from February 23 to March 9.

The Innovation Asia Mission, promoted by the Program’s Innovation and Sustainability center, took six companies and SENAI-SP to execute activities in Asia. Dudalina, Green, Lalitex, Oceano, Moovexx, and Tecla used their benchmarking tactics to observe what was most innovative and create closer relations with international institutions that could result in partnerships and business.

Activities executed by the group included visits to research centers, universities, and companies considered to be references in innovation and design. In Japan, the Brazilian team of companies participated in a meeting with Yoshio Kakishima, the Director of the international division, and Sanae Kosugi, the dean of Bunka Fashion College, the country’s first school of fashion. They then visited the school’s labs and museum. Students also held a fashion show, showing the main trends in Japan for the fashion market.

The schedule also included meetings with the Vice President of Production at UNIQLO, a major Japanese retailer, with the President’s office at the Itochu Corporation, which specializes in trading, and with the General Director of Retail at Muji, which is also has a chain of stores in the country. To learn more about the process of evolution in innovation adopted by the Japanese, the group was welcomed by the Miraikan Museum’s director. There, the Brazilian representatives were able to learn about the newest high-performance products in the local market. The Teijin Mirai Studio Technology Center was also visited. This location shows the most modern and technological products available in the areas of sustainable transport, information, and electronics.

In China, meetings were held with Isetan Mitsukoshui, Li & Fun Trading Company, the dean of Donghua Fashion College, and with professionals from the Apex-Brasil Business Center in the country. The schedule of visits took the entrepreneurs to Intertextile Shangai, to the Ningbo Sunrise Textile and Bin Zhou Huafang factories, and to the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, a Chinese school that is a reference in fashion.