After about a year of development, our new fabric is finally complete — the American Sea Island Cotton TSURIAMI loopback. Known as one of the world’s finest cottons, “Sea Island Cotton” (scientific name: Gossypium Barbadense) is now primarily cultivated in the West Indies and the United States. For LOOPWHEELER, we chose to work with American Sea Island Cotton grown under the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, ensuring both quality and sustainability.

The protocol is built upon six pillars of sustainability—water use, energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, soil conservation, soil carbon, and land utilization—making it the world’s first cotton initiative to offer full supply-chain transparency. Over the 35 years leading up to 2015, U.S. cotton farming reduced water use by 79% and greenhouse gas emissions by 40%. Further goals for 2025 include reducing water usage by 18% and greenhouse gas emissions by 39%. This makes American Sea Island Cotton a cotton that’s as kind to people as it is to the planet.

We first trialed a loopback fabric using American Sea Island Cotton for all three yarns—the face, mid, and loop threads. However, for this production, we used 60/2 American Sea Island Cotton for both the outer and middle yarns, and combined it with a 10-count untwisted “Phanon” yarn for the loops. For finishing, we collaborated once again with Yutaka Senko, known for the “100-Year Brushed” series, who handled dyeing and final steaming using their signature steam tumbler process. The result is a TSURIAMI loopback with a uniquely soft handfeel, lustrous sheen, and supple texture. More details on the finished product will follow.

By Satoshi Suzuki