Teijin Frontier, the Teijin Group's fibre-product converting company, will participate for the first time in Playtime Paris, a leading international trade fair specialised in children and maternity goods, which will be held at Parc Floral de Paris, in France, from 28-30 January.

Teijin Frontier will showcase RANDSELLIER high-quality backpacks for schoolchildren made of high-grade artificial leather. The items are jointly developed by Teijin Frontier and Katochu, a specialist maker of these distinctive backpacks, known in Japan asrandoseru, which derives from the Dutch word ransel.

Japanese ransel backpacks are gaining global popularity as functional, high-quality fashion items for users ranging from schoolchildren to adults. Traditionally made from natural leather, ransel are now commonly made with synthetic materials due to the quality of high-grade artificial leather, such as Maestley, as well as out of respect for animal rights.

Through the show, which is expected to attract 500 international brands and some 5,000 visitors, Teijin Frontier say it aims to develop new customers in Paris and expand global awareness of Japan’s ransel culture, as one of the Japan's Gross National Cool policy, a concept that expresses Japan's emergent status as a cultural superpower.

RANDSELLIER backpacks

RANDSELLIER backpacks, suitable for use by schoolchildren in many countries, are made with Maestley, a high-grade leather substitute distributed by Teijin Cordley, the Teijin Group's man-made leather business.

Teijin Cordley developed Maestley in 2016, through innovative developments in fibre selection, nonwoven structures, based material density and lamination methods. In April, the company announced its plans to expand its series of Maestley products in collaboration with Japanese tanners, deploying the same production processes as those used for natural leather.

According to the manufacturer, Maestley, inspired by traditional Japanese tanning technologies, offers the equivalent texture and richness of natural leather, and boasts fine textures, moisture permeability, light weight, scratch resistance and easy care.

Teijin Group

Teijin is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the areas of sustainable transportation, information and electronics, safety and protection, environment and energy, and healthcare.

The company’s main fields of operation are high-performance fibres, such as aramid, carbon fibres and composites, healthcare, films, resin and plastic processing, polyester fibres, products converting and IT. The group has some 150 companies and around 16,000 employees spread out over 20 countries worldwide.

www.teijin.com

Further reading

Teijin Cordley develops new high-grade natural leather substitution