The government's "Warm Biz" campaign to encourage offices to set thermostats lower in winter will generate 232.3 billion yen in economic ripple effects, Dai-ichi Life Research Institute Inc. figures.
The campaign, intended to help cut greenhouse gas emissions by reducing heater use, will encourage office workers to wear warmer, and more, clothing so thermostats can be set at a recommended 20.
"Warm Biz" is expected to bring twice the profit as the summer "Cool Biz" blitz that was launched this summer to encourage men to wear lighter clothing and shed their ties in the office so air conditioners could be set higher.
The "Warm Biz" campaign is expected to trigger more sales than the summer campaign as it targets both men and women, the institute said.
According to the institute's research, a male office worker will spend an additional 26,000 yen on warm clothing, including thermal underwear and turtleneck sweaters, for "Warm Biz." The average female employee will shell out an extra 23,000 yen.
Clothing sales are expected to reach 142.6 billion yen during the "Warm Biz" campaign, the institute predicted. The estimate is based on the assumption that about 3.1 million men and 2.7 million women will buy more clothes for the new office temperatures.
Combined with the effects on production and distribution, the ripple effect will total 232.3 billion, yen pushing up the annual gross domestic product by 0.03 percent, the institute reckoned.
