Electric mobility and battery swapping tech pioneer Gogoro has recently announced a collaboration with Japanese lifestyle brand Muji. Working directly with renowned Muji designer Naoto Fukasawa, the partnership has given birth to special edition smart scooters, as well as a range of co-branded merchandise. The two companies joined forces as part of the “Recycling for Good” initiative, with sights set on recycling plastic waste.
Specifically, the sustainability initiative seeks to reduce polypropylene plastic waste, and incorporates recycled plastic body panels onto the new electric scooters. In total there are two new scooters from the Gogoro x Muji partnership: the Viva ME and the Viva Mix ME, both of which are focused on simplifying and electrifying urban mobility. The two scooters were personally curated by Naoto Fukasawa, a renowned Japanese designer who’s done a lot of design work for Muji. As such, the scooters adopt classic Muji design elements such as rustic colors, simple bodywork, and a user-friendly design.
"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 in the collaboration’s official press release. "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," he added.
As for Gogoro, the Taiwanese electric mobility company is no stranger to sustainability initiatives. The brand first introduced mass-produced recycled polypropylene plastics for its scooters’ body panels back in 2019 with the Gogoro 3 Smart Scooter. Later on, the entire range of Viva Smart Scooters would feature these recycled body panels. It was this unique manufacturing process that sparked the collaboration between Muji.
The “Recycling for Good” sustainability initiative is not only about using recycled plastic on new electric scooters. Rather, it’s to encourage a lifestyle change where people would be more conscious about plastic waste. In Taiwan, the initiative encourages people to deposit their PP waste in Muji and Gogoro outlets, wherein it will then be processed and eventually used in the construction of the special edition scooters.
