Efforts through Products
Efforts through Products
Our group strives to create products that delight our customers by blending the beauty techniques based on the sensitivities of hairstylists with our scientific development technologies, guided by our slogan: "Fusion of science and sensibility".
To advance sustainable research and development aimed at reducing environmental impact and solving social issues, we have set the following targets for 2030: "30% reduction in virgin plastic usage" and "100% adoption of RSPO-certified palm oil". We are committed to realizing regenerative and circular production and consumption activities, along with responsible sourcing.
We are creating sustainability-conscious products by not only setting strict standards for raw material and material selection, but also by designing products for use down to the last drop and reducing CO₂ emissions generated during the manufacturing process.
Product Design for Diverse Hair Types
We are committed to addressing diverse hair types of people across more than 20 countries worldwide, designing our products accordingly. Furthermore, we aim to realize a society enriched by beauty through our products in regions where beauty cultures, lifestyles, and living environments including water quality differ from those in Japan.
Specific Initiatives Concerning Containers and Packaging
In addition to their role in maintaining stable product quality for consumers, cosmetics containers and packaging play an important role in communicating the worldview and other product information. On the other hand, cosmetics are also consumables, so containers and packaging must be discarded after use. Milbon conducts research and development of containers and packaging taking into account environmental impact until disposal.
Smaller caps for hair color tubes
We have adopted a new, smaller cap design for the packaging of our hair color brand "ENOG", launched in 2022.
In developing this smaller cap, we successfully reduced the amount of plastic used per unit from 3.5g to 1.6g, achieving an approximately 54% reduction compared to the previous design, while maintaining the ease of opening of the conventional product.
This cap is being progressively rolled out to hair color products under our other brands.
At Milbon, permanent hair color products accounts for approximately 40% of our total product shipments (FY2020 results).
Once the switch to the new cap design is completed for all our hair color products, we anticipate reducing plastic usage by approximately 55 tons annually. This represents about 5.9% of the plastic used in our domestically produced products.
(Based on plastic usage ratio from FY2020 production at Milbon's Yumegaoka Factory)
Capless refill pouch conversion
Previously, all sizes of our hair care refill pouches included a cap on the spout. We have changed the 400mL size, which is designed for single use, to a capless design. This change is part of our efforts to reduce plastic usage.
Reducing plastic usage through thinner container bottle walls
We have successfully reduced the bottle thickness of 17 Aujua Leave-in Treatment and 34 items of 500mL bottles, while maintaining their original ease of use and quality. This change is expected to reduce annual plastic usage by approximately 4.8 tons compared to previous designs.
Thinner bottles are being adopted starting with the 2023 new product "Aujua Inmetry" for Leave-in Treatment and the 2024 new product "Aujua Presedia" for the 500mL bottle. Existing items will be transitioned to the thinner bottles sequentially.
Laser-printed 2D code labels
We have reduced paper labels by installing equipment that enables direct laser printing onto the product boxes, replacing the paper QR code labels previously affixed to them.
Active use of bioplastics
By replacing a portion of petroleum-derived plastics with plant-based plastics in product packaging, we are reducing plastic usage while maintaining the quality of containers.
We expect to reduce plastic usage by approximately 1 ton annually by using bio-based PET in the "COLOR GADGET Color Shampoo" and bio-based PE in "Mizulisse", both launched in September 2022.
Active use of FSC-certified® paper and recycled paper
Milbon knowledge-based product* boxes and shipping cartons primarily use FSC®-certified paper and display the FSC® certification mark.
This mark makes it easy for customers to identify products using paper from responsibly managed forests, helping them recognize our commitment to environmental consideration and contributing to a sustainable society.
Additionally, Milbon actively uses recycled paper for the boxes of its permanent hair color products, contributing to the reduction of paper waste.
Milbon knowledge-based product: Products provided to customers with valuable information based on the knowledge and insights of professional hairstylists.
Use of bagasse paper
We use bagasse paper, made from sugarcane pulp residue that would otherwise be discarded, for the product boxes of some items.
Recommending refill pouches
Milbon has been selling refill pouches for shampoos, hair treatments, and professional salon care products for over 20 years to promote the continuous use of containers.
For Aujua professional salon treatments, we adopted refill pouches in the 2023 new product "Aujua Inmetry". Switching from the conventional 180g tube to a 500g pouch + shared professional empty container is expected to reduce plastic usage by approximately 5.5 tons annually.
Environmental initiatives through the PJOLI brand
All containers for PJOLI knowledge-based products contain as much plant-derived plastic as possible, and they are packaged in cosmetic boxes made of difficult-to-recycle paper* and FSC-certified paper. In addition, all sizes of shampoo and treatment bottles have been designed to be refillable.
Difficult-to-recycle paper includes recycled paper from beverage containers. Paper manufacturers with specialized recycling technologies can recycle paper, that would otherwise be discarded as burnable trash or industrial waste, into new paper.
Switching to materials suitable for recycling
Milbon has been participating in Kobe Plastic Next: Joining Forces to Recycle Refill Packs (plastic recycling) since October 2021. This initiative aims for "horizontal recycling" by collaborating with Kobe City, retailers, daily goods manufacturers, and recycling businesses to realize a circular society. It involves installing collection boxes throughout the city to separately collect used refill packs for daily goods such as detergent and shampoo, then converting them back into new refill packs.
As part of this initiative, we are progressively changing the materials for our refill pouches (1000mL) to make them suitable for horizontal recycling. This involves switching from the previously used aluminum pouches to aluminum-coated pouches and replacing from paper labels with plastic labels.
Product Formulation
As with its approach to containers and packaging, Milbon employs environmentally friendly manufacturing methods and conducts sustainability-conscious procurement of raw materials when formulating its products.
Specific Initiatives
Use of RSPO-certified oil
Milbon is committed to the sustainable procurement of palm oil, one of the main raw materials for our products. In 2019, we joined the RSPO to ensure sustainable use of palm oil, a key raw material for Milbon products, that is also in high demand worldwide. We are currently working to switch some of our raw materials to certified palm oil. By 2030, we will have all palm oil, used as a core raw material for Milbon products, certified by RSPO under either MB (Mass Balance) or BC (Book & Claim). In 2022,we acquired supply chain certification for the Yumegaoka Factory, our core production facility.
We have set the above initiatives as the Five Key Challenges for sustainability in our company, and we have set medium- to long-term goals and are promoting these initiatives.
Please refer to this page for specific goals and progress on achievements.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, an international certification system aiming for the production and use of sustainable palm oil.
The certification criteria specified by the RSPO. MB (Mass Balance) is a certification model where certified oil from certified plantations is blended with non-certified oil during distribution. While it physically includes non-certified oil, the purchased certified plantation and its quantity are guaranteed. BC (Book & Claim) is a system where certification credits are issued for certified oil produced by RSPO-certified producers. By purchasing these certification credits, buyers support producers of certified palm oil.
A certification system that verifies whether products made using certified palm oil meet SCCS certification requirements throughout the manufacturing, processing, and distribution stages.
Realization of a low-energy manufacturing method
Milbon's low-energy manufacturing method applies levels of mixing and emulsification suitable for each product while reducing total energy consumed in the compounding process of the product formulation. This manufacturing method suppresses environmental impacts by reducing CO2 emissions in this way. For particular products, we realize energy reductions while scientifically confirming quality to ensure that low-energy manufacturing does not degrade product quality. We plan to continue using this low-energy manufacturing method in the future, expanding its application to a wider range of product development.
Some examples of products realized through the low-energy manufacturing method
Development of hair coloring products with a focus on organic raw materials
Villa Lodola Color combines ingredients that respect biodiversity and are manufactured with sustainability in consideration. As part of ecosystem conservation, it primarily uses organic and plant-derived ingredients, earning ICEA vegan certification as a hair color containing 92% naturally derived ingredients. In hair color products, non-naturally derived ingredients such as surfactants and alkaline agents are essential for functionality and quality. However, Villa Lodola Color has reduced the amount of non-naturally derived ingredients through research that maximizes the benefit of plant-based ingredients and ensures these ingredients work effectively on hair.
Procurement and usage of environmentally conscious raw materials
"milbon" Blonde Plus series includes fragrances formulated with "upcycled" materials, effectively using waste that would otherwise be discarded.
Additionally, Aujua Presedia series utilize "bamboo shoot bark extract", an upcycled ingredient derived from the skin of domestically grown bamboo shoots that would otherwise be discarded.
