Woodlands that inspired the creation of My Neighbor Totoro sit at the edge of the biggest city in Japan, but this fund helps keep them green. Though My Neighbor Totoro touches on a lot of Japanese cul

Woodlands that inspired the creation of My Neighbor Totoro sit at the edge of the biggest city in Japan, but this fund helps keep them green.

Though My Neighbor Totoro touches on a lot of Japanese cultural values and traditions regarding the sanctity of nature, Totoro himself is entirely a product of the fertile imagination of director Hayao Miyazaki. But while there are no actual folktales about Totoros inhabiting the forests of Japan, there is a real-world woodland area with a deep connection to the Studio Ghibli character. Sayama Hills, on the border of Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture, served as the inspiration for the setting of the anime film, and Miyazaki’s frequently expressed reverence has earned it the nickname “Totoro Forest.”

With Tokyo being Japan’s largest city, though, and still growing bigger, natural spaces within or along its borders are always going to be candidates for future urban development. So to help keep the Totoro Forest as lush and green as a Ghibli movie background, there’s the Totoro Fund, a trust fund dedicated to environmental conservation in Sayama Hills. Naturally, Ghibli specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku also wants to help protect the area, and they’re once again offering their line of Totoro Fund merchandise, with a portion of proceeds donated to the fund.

Cloth totes and reusable eco shopping bags featuring Totoro and the Catbus are fun and practical for nature walks and local errand running alike…

…and if you want to show your care for the Totoro Forest on your literal sleeves, there’s a long-sleeved T-shirt, in black or white, with Totoros, Soot Sprites, and the name of the fund itself across the chest.

You can actually make any of your possessions into a way to spread the word, since there’s a slew of Totoro Fund stickers.

And then there’s the most beautiful part of the Totoro Fund lineup, post cards and letter writing sets with watercolors and illustrations from Hayao Miyazaki himself.

Of course, arguably the only real differences between a post card, letter stationery, and a poster is the size and thickness of the paper stock, so using them for decorative purposes instead of correspondence is an option that’s entirely on the table/walls of your home too.

Prices range from 660 yen (US$4.30) for the stickers and post card sets to 4,510 yen for the shirts, so there’s something for fans of even modest budgets who want to own some cool Ghibli artwork and also help preserve the place that inspired it. The whole lineup is available through the Donguri Kyowakoku online shop here.