Tom Branna, Editorial Director06.02.21
Kao Corporation is using recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) for select cosmetics. The move is effective this month. beginning with the Twany cosmetics brand. Kao's announcement is the latest inititiative by the household and personal products industry to reduce packaging waste.
Kao has teamed with PET Refine Technology Co., Ltd., a group company of Jeplan, Inc. In this initiative, the chemically recycled PET material that Kao will use for its cosmetic bottle containers was developed using Bring Technology, Jeplan's chemical recycling technology. This technology enables the recycling of containers made from PET material into material with purity equivalent to virgin PET.
The recycled material has been recognized for its quality, including certification by the Food Safety Commission of Japan, for use in food containers. According to Kao, the technology is capable of matching the quality of virgin PET when recycling PET material with color 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, according to Kao.
Kao has teamed with PET Refine Technology Co., Ltd., a group company of Jeplan, Inc. In this initiative, the chemically recycled PET material that Kao will use for its cosmetic bottle containers was developed using Bring Technology, Jeplan's chemical recycling technology. This technology enables the recycling of containers made from PET material into material with purity equivalent to virgin PET.
The recycled material has been recognized for its quality, including certification by the Food Safety Commission of Japan, for use in food containers. According to Kao, the technology is capable of matching the quality of virgin PET when recycling PET material with color 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, according to Kao.
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 utilization of recycled plastic for plastic packaging containers in Japan, in addition to the various approaches deployed to date, Kao maintains it is working to realize plastic circularity in society.