The topic of how cotton affects the environment has come up for a couple of years now. Although it is a natural material, cotton requires large amounts of water and chemicals to produce cotton fabrics. There are also the human rights issues surrounding cotton that have been brought into the spotlight.

However, as a shirt making company, we depend on cotton. At Kamakura Shirts, we want to change the way we approach the production of our shirts while still considering the global environment. We want our customers to be at ease when they wear our shirts. And that is why we started to create a functional shirt for the shirt-wearers on the go, without compromising the quality of our products.

In Okayama, western region of Japan, a spinning factory called Unitika Tokiwa Factory boasts as having the highest level of spinning technology in all of Japan. After being selected for a project by the Ministry of Enconomy, Trade, and Industry, Unitika and Kamakura Shirts started working together. After a three-year development period, after trial after trial, we finally succeeded in creating the world's first "PALPA® Premium Thread" (patented in 2019). The thread uses recycled polyester wrapped in cotton, which woven together creates our wrinkle-resistant, easy-care PALPA® shirt. It achieves both the comfort and functionality, as well as being considerate of the environment.

Please try the one and only PALPA® easy care shirt. We are confident that you will be satisfied by it.

The part of the fabric that comes into contact with the skin is made of 100% cotton, so the comfort and textures are not inferior to those of ordinary cotton shirts. The premium cotton from India and the luxurious cotton from Australia, which is known for its whiteness, is blended together to create an original cotton thread. We tested this fabric under the skin irritation test to check the formalin content and found the number to be small. Surprisingly, the number approaches the level required for a baby's underwear.

Usually, for wrinkle-resistant/easy care shirts, it is obtained by spraying chemicals such as special coating and/or resin on the surface of the fabric, but it causes the texture to feel rough and uncomfortable. However, the same easy-care fabric can be obtained by the structure of the thread itself.

*This shirt has not been ironed. Only washed and dried.

Although there is polyester, as the cotton is wrapped around the polyester thread, it has a gentle cotton texture that is not inferior to the comfort of regular cotton fabric. This is because we use 100% high-grade cotton and the very white Australian-made-cotton is blended with the outer cotton. This reduces the amount of bleach (chemicals) and amount of water used for cleaning. Fewer chemicals and less water.

Although cotton has a high water absorption rate, it takes time to dry. This PALPA® fabric dries three times faster than a cotton 100% shirt. This is because the outer cotton absorbs the moisture, and the polyester inside helps it dry fast. The effect is the same if you dry it in the room.