The “RecyCreation” Initiative

Refillable packaging has continued to be innovated and developed, with the aim of making them easy to use while successfully protecting the contents, and reducing the amount of plastic used.
However, once used, in many Japanese municipalities this packaging is incinerated, therefore only being used as fuel.

This is because refillable product packaging is made of many layers of fused plastic, in order to protect the various contents from risks such as damage in transport, or risks in the storage environment such as ultraviolet rays. It is recognized as an issue that therefore, it cannot be easily recycled like PET bottles which are made from one type of plastic.

The “RecyCreation” initiative was launched with the aim of improving the circularity of plastic, a precious resource, and create new value from discarded plastic.
The word “RecyCreation”, combining “recycle” and “creation”, is a new word invented by Kao. It embodies the hope that we can find new value in used refillable packaging through technology and innovation.

RecyCreation was launched in 2015. As of December 2023, the total amount of used refill packs collected to date totals 2 million, or 36.8 tons. Although still in the social experiment stage, the project is being carried out in cooperation with consumers, other companies, and government agencies, and we are working to expand the number of partners.