Kao aims for material recycling of plastic bottles for cosmetics, begins using chemically recycled PET material
In line with its initiatives to realise plastic circularity in society, Kao Corporation will use chemically recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) material manufactured by PET Refine Technology Co., Ltd., a group company of Jeplan, Inc., for its cosmetics bottle containers. It will progressively introduce this material starting in June 2021, beginning with bottles for its Twany cosmetics brand. Going forward, it will promote this initiative to collect used bottles and reuse them in cosmetics PET bottles, achieving material recycling from bottle container to bottle container.
Recently, the social trend toward reducing the burden on the environment has been strengthening. A change in consumer purchasing awareness is visible, with an increasing number of people choosing environmentally friendly products. This is true for the cosmetics industry as well.
On the other hand, the use of recycled plastic in packaging requires guaranteed quality and a stable supply. In this initiative, the chemically recycled PET material that Kao will use for its cosmetic bottle containers was developed using Bring Technology, a chemical recycling* technology from Jeplan. This technology enables the recycling of containers made from PET material into material with purity equivalent to virgin PET. The recycled material has been recognised for its quality, including certification by the Food Safety Commission of Japan, which is part of the Cabinet Office, for use in food containers. The technology is even capable of matching the quality of virgin PET when recycling PET material with colour printing and decorations, or containing residual cosmetics content, which has long been considered a challenge. As it becomes feasible to recycle a wide range of used PET material, including cosmetics packaging, a stable supply of recycled material can be expected. Going forward, Kao will continue working to achieve material recycling of cosmetics PET bottle containers and progressively expand its use of bottle containers using chemically recycled PET material. It is also considering ways to gather and reuse used containers.
In April 2019, the Kao Group established its ESG strategy, the Kirei Lifestyle Plan, with 19 leadership and priority actions. The use of chemically recycled PET is an initiative that will contribute to “Zero Waste,” one of the leadership action themes. Through full-scale utilisation of recycled plastic for plastic packaging containers in Japan, in addition to the various approaches deployed to date, Kao is working to realise plastic circularity in society.
* Used resources are chemically broken down into the raw materials for PET resin and recycled. The method displays excellent ability to eliminate foreign matter and impurities from the material being recycled.
