Topics You Care About

In all stages of our business, from research and development to raw materials, production, shipping, and sales, we pursue a high level of safety, and we never stop working to make improvements. At Kao we are committed to Yoki-Monozukuri which means we don’t accept the status quo, and we believe in always trying to do things better. It’s this commitment that drives our passion for creating high-quality products that help to enrich people’s everyday lives.

We consider product safety, quality and performance to be key for our customers and consumers. We are focused on compliance and laws and all quality and safety regulations throughout the product development process, across all the countries and markets we operate in. In addition, we have established our own Kao safety standards which often go beyond what is required by law.

Animal testing on cosmetic products has been prohibited in the EU since 2004. Hence it is our policy not to conduct animal testing for the development of our Beauty Care products.

But Kao’s efforts to find alternatives to animal testing and make it obsolete started more than thirty years ago, well before the official EU legislation in 2004. The Kao Group continues to work hard towards the global abolition of animal testing.

It’s our goal to find solutions that will be acceptable as official test methods, globally. We are working in partnership with industry associations, other companies and relevant third parties to find robust alternatives and have them adopted as international guidelines.

At Kao we’re dedicated to the safety and protection of our consumers. The products that we develop adhere to the stringent safety requirements of the markets we operate in, including the European Union and the Unites States authorities.
 
Hair cosmetic products are among the most stringently regulated and controlled consumer products. This also applies to the ingredients of hair colourants, which are subject to a very stringent assessment process by EU scientific experts. Like all cosmetic products, hair dyes undergo a mandatory safety assessment prior to market release. This safety assessment takes into account the safety profile of all ingredients. These scientific findings are supported by numerous international long-term studies and have been confirmed by the EU experts of the SCCS (Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety), which inform the EU Cosmetics Regulation. Kao guarantees the safety of its hair colourants based on intensive research, development and scientific testing. We carry out our own regular internal assessments and voluntarily commissioned consumer protection studies, carried out by independent institutes. We’re dedicated to ensuring the highest standards of safety. The ingredients used in hair dyes are continually monitored and checked by a range of international scientists. Their aim and ours is the same—to ensure the products are safe to use and this particularly applies to the use of hair colour during pregnancy.
 
Even though our products adhere to the highest quality and safety standards, some hair colourants may cause an allergic reaction. While this is very rare, we also recognise allergies of all kinds are on the rise and therefore we provide clear information, which we believe is crucial to help our consumers understand what is inside every hair colour pack.

We believe that fragrances make life more beautiful. They are an important part of many of our products, creating a great sensory experience for our consumers. We all have our favourite scents and smells, many of them recalled from childhood. There is something magical about them.

We bring this magic to our products working with talented fragrance creators around the world; and as with everything we do, safety is our first priority. All our fragrances are selected based on latest scientific knowledge. They are all meeting the regulatory and safety standard of the International Fragrance Association (IFRA), which includes the IFRA Code of Practice and all its applicable regulations across multiple markets.
 
A beautiful fragrance is born out of a combination of high-quality ingredients and dedicated research by scientist and perfume experts. Some ingredients and some fragrances can cause allergies. It’s our aim to give our consumers as much information as possible so they are always well-informed, especially when it comes to the ingredients in our products. Scientific research never stands still and we seek to be at the forefront of new initiatives and regulations that protect our consumers.

Preservatives play an important role in protecting products against contamination.

Parabens are a common preservative preventing the growth of fungi, bacteria or yeast and so in turn preventing deterioration and extending the life of the product. Parabens are derived from para-hydroxybenzoic acid, or PHBA, which occurs naturally in many fruits and vegetables. They have been used for more than half a century and been extensively studied and regulated.
 
We only use parabens in quantities approved as safe by regulatory authorities. Because there are many types of parabens, we clearly list the ingredients on all of our products so consumers who may know they are allergic to certain ingredients can check the contents.

Many of our products, particularly our hair care products, are designed to be truly transformative. Carefully researched and developed to bring shine to dull hair and eliminate frizz and dryness, some of these products contain silicones which are often a key ingredient in helping to smooth hair or bring rich moisturising properties to skin care products.
 
At Kao we only use high performing silicones which are water or shampoo soluble so there is no danger of the build-up that gave silicones a negative reputation in the past. All the silicones we use have been rigorously tested and assessed for safe use and we continually monitor any new scientific findings.

We understand that some consumers are concerned about using products that contain animal derived ingredients. In the personal care industry, there are a few animal derived raw materials. Whenever we use these ingredients, we do so because they deliver a unique benefit to the product. In all cases, we conduct a review of our suppliers to determine the source of the material’s origin and how it has been processed before utilising in our products. Our usage of these materials complies with the appropriate regional and national regulations.

Whilst we follow the highest-level of requirements relating to our raw materials, small traces of gluten may be present in a few of those raw materials derived from wheat, rye, barley and oats.

We understand that some consumers may have a gluten intolerance and not wish to use products with even a trace of gluten.

Plastic packaging plays an important role in the effectiveness of our products—it’s versatile, adaptable and flexible. However, overuse of plastic has always been a concern for us and our consumers because of the potential negative impact on nature.

We believe that the plastic we do use should be made within limits our own planet can safely handle. Plastic should never enter nature, and every piece should either be reused or recycled. Plastic that has already entered the environment should be recovered and renewed. Our ambition is to transform the world of plastic packaging through materials, technology and design. We strive to minimise the amount of plastic we use and want to empower our consumers to use less packaging and recycle more.

Our action on packaging is driven by our 4R programme based on continuous improvement and bold innovation.