Ikeuchi, Imabari, and the history of towelettes

I am Ikeuchi, the representative of IKEUCHI ORGANIC.

IKEUCHI ORGANIC is now selling seven different types of terrycloth bedding. The price range is from the upper 10,000 yen to 30,000 yen. This may seem like a very aggressive price tag, considering that most towelettes are priced in the thousands of yen range.

Our terrycloth beds have been well received by many of our customers.

In addition to home use, we are also receiving an increasing number of customers who purchase them as gifts or for special celebrations. When I read a note from a customer who chose our towelettes instead of diamonds for his/her 10th wedding anniversary, I was very moved and so were my employees.

It will soon be 10 years since we started selling towelettes, and I feel that towelettes have become an important product for IKEUCHI ORGANIC.

On the other hand, did you know that Towel Kets are “a product that was in danger of being forgotten by the world”?

In fact, the number of people who know the name “towelettes” but have never used them is increasing, especially among young people. We have many customers who say that the Ikeuchi towelette is the first towelette they have ever used in their lives.

Towel pails first appeared in history around 1960.

Taoroket” is a Japanese word that is a cross between “towel” and “blanket,” and is a uniquely Japanese product.

It was apparently developed to meet the need for bedding that would be comfortable in Japan’s hot and humid climate. Because they are soft to the touch, absorb moisture well, and can be washed in a washing machine, terrycloth blankets have become widely used in Japanese life.

The towel industry in Imabari has grown significantly because of towelettes. Towel beds, which used large amounts of yarn and required large towel cloths, were the most efficient product for towel companies to produce at that time. The popularity of terrycloth towels energized the towel industry in Imabari.

However, the rise of inexpensive towels from China and Vietnam around 1990 led to a sudden decline in domestically produced towels, and by 2010, the number of towels produced in Japan had dropped to about 1/40th of what it was in 1960, when the industry was at its peak.

This situation was also helped by the fact that through the 1990s, the common looms used by Imabari towel companies were replaced by newer types of looms. The size of the new looms was no longer suitable for towels, and the number of companies seriously engaged in the production of towelettes decreased year by year.

Today, among the 100 or so towel companies in Imabari, the number of companies manufacturing towelettes is quite small. IKEUCHI ORGANIC, which sells seven types of towels under its own brand, must be quite unique.

On the other hand, contrary to the history of Imabari’s towelettes, we did not produce towelettes until the 2010s.

The reason for this is that when towels were supporting the towel industry in Imabari, IKEUCHI ORGANIC (at that time, Ikeuchi Towel) was focused on exporting to overseas countries that did not have a toweling culture. Also, our predecessor may not have wanted to work on products that would compete with other towel companies in Imabari.

IKEUCHI ORGANIC’s first towelket was the “Cotton Nouveau 2012” towel blanket.

The reason was simple: I wanted a towelette that I could use at home.

I wanted to buy a new one at the same time, so I decided to make one. Therefore, I made only a small number of sheets. We sold a limited number of sheets as a way of sharing them with our customers.

We received many comments from customers about how great it felt to be wrapped in Ikeuchi’s towels, and many asked us to resell them again. We decided to take this seriously and create a standard towel blanket.

In 2013, we launched the “Organic 732” towelettes.

Since then, we have been adding to our lineup of face and bath towels as well as terrycloth towels, as long as the weave is adaptable to terrycloth towels.

Incidentally, our ability to work on towelettes is partly due to the difference in looms. I mentioned that the looms used by the towel companies in Imabari are no longer suitable for the width of towels, but we use a different loom. I am not fond of doing the same thing as others, so I introduced a loom (SULZER) that is different from those used by most towel companies, and it is relatively easy to produce towelettes on that loom.

Now, with the advent of summer bedding such as cotton blankets and summer futons, towelettes have become an option, and it is unlikely that we will ever return to the days before 2000, when towelettes were a common sight in every home.

However, with the recent heat wave and the increased focus on a good night’s sleep, towelettes are once again in the spotlight. Several popular actors have publicly declared their love for towelettes, and the younger generation is taking a greater interest in them.

We would like to preserve the towelettes for the future.

Towel bedding is often thought of as summer bedding, but in fact, it is an excellent product that can be used all year round. They are especially recommended in winter, when you put a towelette inside a futon and it absorbs moisture so that you can sleep very comfortably.

Some customers have told us that the towelettes, which make sleeping time comfortable 365 days a year, are “the cosiest product ” among IKEUCHI ORGANIC’s products.

Indeed, compared to bath towels and face towels, terrycloth towels make sleeping time, which occupies a large part of the day, more comfortable. Moreover, they are durable, so as long as they are washed, they can be used for more than 10 years without losing their comfort.

Towel kets use more than three times the amount of organic cotton used in bath towels, and the size of the towel fabric is also more than double. You can enjoy the sensation of being wrapped in organic cotton all over your body.

We would like our customers who say they like IKEUCHI ORGANIC towels to experience our towelettes.

For your life. And we would like to continue to provide towel kets that can accompany you in your life.

For more information on how to choose IKEUCHI ORGANIC’s towelettes, click here.

＜Editorial cooperation: Keiji Ide