Tokyo, Japan - 02-20-2023 (PR Distribution™) - 
Helping socially and environmentally conscious individuals take action with confidence, including foreigners living in Japan and visiting tourists
Zenbird Media (subsidiary of Harch Inc., Tokyo), an English online magazine that shares Japan’s sustainable spirit, culture, and philosophy with the world, has just launched Zenbird.Life, a curation site for sustainable brands in Japan. Using an intuitive rating developed in-house, users will be able to take action for society and the environment without giving up their preferred lifestyles, thus helping them achieve unconscious, responsible consumption.
Expert insights based on Zenbird's experience
The Zenbird Media team releases news, columns, and interviews about sustainable products and activities in Japan that are good for society or the environment, backed by Zenbird’s sister media, including IDEAS FOR GOOD and Life Hugger. This places Zenbird in a very strong position to curate brands, because it discovers more about the sustainable brands, understanding what passions motivate their founders and the details of their activities.
Intuitive rating based on Triple Bottom Line and Circular Economy
Zenbird has developed a simple rating system to convey how sustainable a brand is in three aspects:
- How positive its impact is on society.
- How positive its impact is on the environment.
- How circular a brand is.
The Triple Bottom Line represents the three pillars of sustainable businesses: People, Planet and Prosperity. They determine sustainable businesses that are good for the community it serves, have minimal impact or restorative influence on the environment, and allow stakeholders (including customers and employees) to flourish.
The rating is also based on concepts of a Circular Economy. To battle the wasteful linear economy that most consumption cities are based on and to reverse the climate crisis, we must shift into circular economies that remove our high dependency on natural resources and create zero waste. The introduction of circularity into the rating system also demonstrates how these role models do it, encouraging aspiring businesses looking to make that shift.
To complement other databases of sustainability
In Japan, several services and apps in the market provide a database of sustainable brands, including maps of sustainable brands and locations for proper disposal of garbage.
Zenbird.Life is designed to complement these services. We are aware that it is not market share that drives these services, but a common passion to make the world a better place. These services will aim for quantity to offer myriad choices for the users, and Zenbird will support them with quality by introducing brands to help users feel confident about committing.
Why is there a need for Zenbird.Life?
Japan faces two barriers to accelerating sustainability on two fronts: awareness and actionables.
Japan's schools have been conducting lessons related to SDGs, and the country's media have been promoting the term SDGs more often than before. While there is an increase in awareness of what the SDGs entail, there is still a disconnect between knowing and taking action. Many still need to learn the relevance of the purpose of sustainability to themselves.
Even among individuals who understand the importance of sustainability, it takes effort to find sustainable alternatives to their lifestyles. Supermarkets and stores still use single-use plastics, greenwashing is growing, and the government is not doing enough against the climate crisis.
What Zenbird.Life does to tackle these two issues is to introduce brands that users can engage with confidently. Regardless of the users’ level of understanding of sustainable goals or circular systems, Zenbird.Life introduces these brands in simple terms and visualizes them with an intuitive rating system. It allows users to take action with Zenbird.Life as a one-stop “research station.” Learning about sustainability can come later, as users become invested in their purchases.
A shift from sightseeing to life-seeking
Zenbird.Life is not a service only for users living in Japan, but it is also meant for tourists visiting Japan to utilize.
The coronavirus pandemic has uprooted the foundations of tourism in Japan. But it has also brought about many revelations, including the importance of local residents’ welfare in pursuit of tourism (designing tourism by prioritizing local communities) and a revolution in the definition of traveling (increased interest in self-discovery in the process of connecting with local communities).
Sustainable tourism is possible, and Zenbird.Life wants to share experiences and products that allow tourists to positively impact local communities and the environment.
Some examples of the curated Japanese sustainable brands on Zenbird.Life
Zero Waste Market Totoya
Only a few in the industry know about Kyoto's first zero-waste supermarket. Zero Waste Market Totoya. The founders understand that waste is an error in the consumption machine, and built a circular business model to refuse plastics and prevent food waste. It has even developed a unique weighing system, so users will find it hassle-free to buy their favorite products by weight. The supermarket also supports local farmers by selling their produce in the store, and uses unsold produce in its restaurant to prevent food waste.
[Link] Zero Waste Market Totoya
Oku Japan
While the prospect of visiting the less traveled areas of Japan is attractive, it pales to the comfort of knowing that traveling to these areas also protects the needs of local communities. Tour operator Oku Japan uses an evolved understanding of traditional "sanpo yoshi" to prioritize the needs of local communities first. It prevents overtourism and limits any adverse effects of tourism, while allowing local communities in Japan to share the beauty of their region with visitors.
[Link] Oku Japan
LFC Compost Kit
Food waste is a big concern, and interested individuals are looking for ways to deal with them. The LFC Compost Kit gained international recognition for being the perfect food waste solution for the urbanite. Beyond the chic design and easy-to-start kit, LFC Compost provides a support system with its Compost Ambassadors to help new users succeed in composting and educate them about different organic materials. Furthermore, LFC Compost is highly active in collaborations to promote composting to individuals and organizations.
[Link] LFC Compost Kit
Future developments for Zenbird.Life
Beyond curating brands and services, we want to help users visualize how they can implement these into their sustainable lifestyles. In the future, we want to provide guides and suggestions to inspire individual action, like cutting personal carbon footprints by 50%, sustainable experiences to benefit local communities and engaging in resolving poverty.
About Zenbird Media
Zenbird Media is an online magazine that shares news, columns, and interviews about sustainability and social good originating from Japan. The magazine reveals the hidden sustainability within the Japanese culture, philosophy, and spirit, and shares them with the world, creating a bridge to learn and create a better world together.
Website: https://zenbird.media
About Harch Inc.
Harch Inc. is a digital media company that focuses on promoting sustainability. With a mission of “Publishing a better future,” Harch Inc. has been running multiple online media brands to create positive impacts on people and the planet since its founding in 2015. Besides publishing socially good ideas on its websites, the company has also been helping businesses and cities to develop and implement sustainability and circular economy strategy.
Website: https://harch.jp/
Media Contacts:
Company Name: Harch Inc
Full Name: Roger Ong
Phone: 07043682406
Email Address: Send Email
Website: https://zenbird.media/
For the original news story, please visit https://www.prdistribution.com/news/sustainability-magazine-zenbird-launches-zenbird-life-a-curation-site-for-sustainable-brands-in-japan/9550141.
