Japanese beauty owner and formulator Kao has set up a new beauty takeback scheme.
From February to July, Kao will collect used plastic packs from cosmetic brands at Aeon retail outlets that offer its Twany products in the Kanto region of Japan.
Once collected, Kao will deploy Jeplan’s chemical recycling technology to make the old plastic fit for new cosmetic packaging.
Jeplan’s Bring technology, or ‘bottle-to-bottle’ commercial production, makes PET bottles from other PET bottles.
This technology can also take polyester fibres from discarded clothing to make new fabrics.
Kao – which is set to offload around 13 of its consumer beauty brands by 2024 – said it wants to make horizontal recycling (or chemical recycling) a reality across the country quickly.
Going forward, the owner of Jergens and Oribe will collaborate with personal care brand Kosé to accelerate chemical recycling.
“Kao will continue to seek initiatives that allow both Kao and Kosé to collaborate beyond the scope of each company, and to create solutions that contribute to the realisation of a sustainable society in various fields,” the company wrote in a statement.
In response, Kao has committed to supporting Mangata, a seller of paints and other colourants made by recycling make-up products that are no longer in use – a company Kosé has been working with.
This month, Kao also expanded the use of chemically recycled PET plastic in its own cosmetics.
No longer exclusive to the company’s Twany brand, the plastic resins will be rolled out to its Lissage and Dew beauty brands.
