Kao Corporation is implementing field testing aimed at recycling used cosmetics bottles that have been collected, and transforming them back into new bottles.
The goal of the project is to achieve material recycling of cosmetics bottles that are made from plastic, and eventually realize plastic circularity in society.
During the period from February 1 to July 31, 2022, used cosmetics bottles will be collected at retail outlets directly run by AEON in the Kanto region of Japan that sell Twany brand products, and at Color Studio cosmetics retail outlets in AEON malls, and used for field testing of material recycling to turn used cosmetics bottles into new cosmetics bottles, utilizing the BRING Technology chemical recycling technology of Jeplan Inc.
The New Initiative
Going forward, in addition to expanding the range of brands for which chemically recycled PET material is used, Kao also intends to increase the scale of collection. Kao aims to utilize the know-how obtained from the current field testing to achieve social implementation of the material recycling of plastic cosmetics bottles as soon as possible.
In April 2019, the Kao Group established its ESG strategy, the Kirei Lifestyle Plan. The collection of used cosmetics bottles and field testing of chemical recycling is an initiative that will contribute to “Zero Waste,” one of the Plan’s leadership action themes.