MUJI, Gogoro and Naoto Fukasawa Collaborate on New Gogoro Smartscooters and a New Range of Merchandise and Accessories

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07/31/2023 - 04:00 AM

The Vehicle, Merchandise and Accessories Collaboration is part of Gogoro and MUJI's Joint "Recycling for Good" Sustainability Initiative that Enables the Public to Recycle Polypropylene Plastic (PP) Waste for use in the new Gogoro MUJI Smartscooters.

TAIPEI, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gogoro Inc. (Nasdaq: GGR), a global technology leader in battery swapping ecosystems that enable sustainable mobility solutions for cities, today announced a collaboration with Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa and MUJI, the Tokyo-based consumer goods and lifestyle company. The newly designed Gogoro VIVA ME and Gogoro VIVA MIX ME along with a range of merchandise and accessories were launched today at a press event in Taipei.

Created by Gogoro and MUJI, the Gogoro VIVA ME and Gogoro VIVA MIX ME offer simplified Smartscooter designs that utilize recycled polypropylene (PP) body elements. Personally curated by Fukasawa, the Smartscooters adopt the classic MUJI design elements, unique rustic color palette and simple color tone philosophy to create a new urban mobility experience that is simple and comfortable yet unique.

"The most important thing in design is that it must always uphold the spirit of integrity towards people, the environment and life," said Naoto Fukasawa, world-renowned designer, author, educator and MUJI's advisory board member. "Both Gogoro and MUJI are quite popular brands, and it is very natural for them to cooperate in this way. It's not just one plus one equals two. Instead, let one plus one see a greater value."

Gogoro pioneered the mass market manufacturing of recyclable polypropylene plastics for vehicle body panels in 2019 with the Gogoro 3 Smartscooter and then across its full range of Gogoro Viva Smartscooters including Gogoro VIVA, Gogoro VIVA MIX and Gogoro VIVA XL. This innovative manufacturing process led to Gogoro's collaboration with MUJI.

"Naoto Fukasawa offers such a fresh and unique approach to simplicity, functionality and beauty in everything he creates, so it was an honor to work with him on our new Smartscooter designs and accessories," said Horace Luke, founder, and CEO of Gogoro. "This collaboration between Gogoro, MUJI and Naoto Fukasawa establishes a strong unified voice in promoting sustainable lifestyles in Taiwan and across the region, not just for transportation but across all aspects of life. Our joint 'Recycling for Good' initiative promotes the reduction of urban pollution through encouraging the public to recycle plastics at Gogoro and MUJI stores and their reuse in our new Smartscooters."

Recycling for Good - A Joint Sustainability Initiative
Gogoro and MUJI share a vision for sustainability and a core philosophy of giving back to the Earth. In response to this year's World Environment Day theme #BeatPlasticPollution, the companies joined together on June 5, 2023 to launch the "Recycling for Good" initiative in Taiwan. "Recycling for Good" encourages people in Taiwan to participate in recycling PP (polypropylene) plastic waste at Gogoro and MUJI stores and empower them to take small actions toward building a more sustainable future.

Polypropylene objects recovered during the Recycling for Good initiative are screened, cut, granulated, reshaped and regenerated into the body panels of the newly unveiled Gogoro Smartscooters. The polypropylene body material is also made of the same material as MUJI's PP storage series.

"MUJI and Gogoro are continuing the concept of a sustainable lifestyle and together have created this new series of Gogoro Smartscooters that are optimized for life and the environment. Gogoro's commitment to being a sustainable business is aligned with MUJI's business philosophy," said Akihiro Yoshida, general manager of MUJI Taiwan. "MUJI is not just a store that sells goods, but it creates a simple and pleasant life through comprehensive sustainable thinking and takes practical action for sustainability of society and the earth."

Gogoro Sustainability
Today, more than 2.5 million Gogoro users have reduced carbon emissions by more than 680 million kilograms, and 100% recyclable polypropylene PP (Polypropylene) is used as the Smartscooter shell material to promote resource regeneration and friendly recycling. In addition, Gogoro has introduced 40% renewable energy in factories since 2022, and 100% use of green electricity in designated Gogoro stores, gradually moving towards the goal of fully using renewable energy by 2050.

Naoto Fukasawa / Product Designer
Born in Yamanashi Prefecture in 1956. Graduated from Tama Art University's Product Design Department in 1980. In the same year, he joined Seiko Epson, where he was responsible for advanced development design. In 1989, he moved to the United States, where he joined ID Two (now IDEO San Francisco). Having honed his craft for seven years, focusing mainly on Silicon Valley industries, he returned to Japan in 1996. Fukasawa established and headed up IDEO's Tokyo office, creating a Japanese design consultant base for the company. He went independent in 2003 and founded NAOTO FUKASAWA DESIGN. For more information on Naoto Fukasawa, visit https://naotofukasawa.com.

About MUJI
Mujirushi Ryohin, MUJI in Japanese, translates as "no-brand quality goods." MUJI was founded in Japan in 1980 and now has more than 800 stores around the world, carrying more than 7,000 items. With the goal of making people's daily life pleasant, MUJI is globally recognized for its high-quality products that are functional, well designed and reasonably priced. Find us online at www.MUJI.com or Instagram: @muji_global and Twitter: @muji_net.

About MUJI Taiwan
MUJI Taiwan has been operating in Taiwan since 2004, and it has been nearly 20 years. MUJI Taiwan has always been committed to connecting with Taiwan and producing local products in Taiwan, hoping to provide customers with a good life. Find us online at www.muji.com/tw/zh_tw/store, Instagram: @muji_taiwan or Facebook: www.facebook.com/muji.tw.

About Gogoro
Founded in 2011 to rethink urban energy and inspire the world to move through cities in smarter and more sustainable ways, Gogoro leverages the power of innovation to change the way urban energy is distributed and consumed. Recognized and awarded by Frost & Sullivan as the "2023 Global Company of the Year for battery swapping for electric two-wheel vehicles", Gogoro's battery swapping and vehicle platforms offer a smart, proven, and sustainable long-term ecosystem for delivering a new approach to urban mobility. Gogoro has quickly become an innovation leader in vehicle design and electric propulsion, smart battery design, battery swapping, and advanced cloud services that utilize artificial intelligence to manage battery availability and safety. The challenge is massive, but the opportunity to disrupt the status quo, establish new standards, and achieve new levels of sustainable transportation growth in densely populated cities is even greater. For more information, visit https://www.gogoro.com/news and follow Gogoro on Twitter: @wearegogoro.