Floral Incarnation - Zero Waste Life

Since ancient times, the Japanese have believed that a life force resides in all creations. Valuing and caring for the things we use, a zero-waste life, pointing the way to better living for a new era. A department store in central Tokyo. The entranceway is adorned with a floral display. A dense, multi-colored array of dried flowers. Believe it or not, these flowers were all once destined to be thrown away. A display made entirely of these so-called lost flowers. Kawashima Haruka is the installation's creator. Hello. Today, she's visiting a flower shop. The storefront is lined with roses of many colours. But she's headed for the back of the shop. Thank you very much. They may look beautiful, but they're past their peak and can no longer be sold. They're set to be discarded. Kawashima calls herself a flower up-cycler. She buys flowers like these that are about to be discarded, up-cycling them into beautiful new creations of greater value than the original flowers themselves. All the flowers that she collects are dried, a process that begins by putting them in vases. But why? Let's watch as the flowers are transformed. Drawing in the liquid, the flowers change colour. Here, only the bugs are changed. In this moment, we can clearly see that the flowers are still living things. The drying process is a battle against time. To preserve the colour, it's best to hang them up while they're still fresh. In a climate-controlled room set to 40% humidity, they're hung up one by one to dry. Today, she has around 3,000 flowers hung up to dry. In summer, it takes three to four weeks, and just one week in winter. They are now ready to begin their second life in the hands of Kawashima. I like the fact that I can use flowers until the end of my life. It's fun and I can use them without throwing them away. A lifelong nature lover, she first began drying flowers in her early 20s. She was inspired to make the most of the flowers she had used to decorate her home. I just don't want to waste them. They're so cute. They're so fleeting and cute that I can still use them. Before she knew it, she had dozens of dried flowers. A workshop held for friends was a huge hit, and she began exhibiting at other events. Working part-time as a florist over Christmas, a popular season for flowers in Japan further inspired her. On Christmas, I line up 30 bouquets, 40 bouquets of red roses for my proposal. I line them up until the night of the 25th. After the 25th, I throw away all the bouquets because I'm going to buy them for New Year's. When I look at the 300 or 400 bouquets, they look like a mountain of treasures to me. Weddings and other events also discard many flowers. When dried, they live on in a new incarnation. In 2017, taking inspiration from the social issue of food loss or food waste, she coined the term flower loss and began selling this waste as dried flowers. She also started using these lost flowers for accessories. Her hope is that in wearing them, people become more aware of the issue. The lost flower creations got immediate attention. Her beautiful arrangements are especially popular. Despite a reputation for simplicity, in Kawashima's hands, dried flowers are completely transformed. She also studied flower arrangement abroad in Paris, where she found renewed appreciation for the importance of flowers in daily life. The department store display we saw earlier has now come to an end and teardown work is underway. But Kawashima's lost flowers don't just serve a single purpose. They'll be reused once again. After the stems are cut, they're collected in a bag. Their third incarnation? Decorative botanical soap. In addition to its cleansing properties, it also has a pleasing aroma. Kawashima is now tackling a new flower loss issue. Miyaji Narihiro is a flower grower in Kagoshima Prefecture. He's been unable to ship his flowers because of the pandemic. Kawashima has created an e-commerce site to sell the unshipped flowers. Including lilies from Miyaji, she's sold over 10,000 flowers so far. As the flower loss continues, so too do Kawashima's efforts to reduce it. When I discover something that I haven't found yet, I want to keep doing it. That's how strong I feel.