Kao, Kanebo, and GC Team up with Partners to Provide PPE suits as part of the "PET to PPE" Project to Support Sustainability and Social Protection

23 March 2022 – Kao Industrial (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer of consumer products and chemicals, teamed up with Kao Consumer Products (Southeast Asia) Co., Ltd., Kanebo Cosmetics (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited, or GC, a leading global chemical company committed to better living, to give back to society and help Thais get through the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, they donated 1,000 PPE suits made from used polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles under the "PET to PPE" project, worth 498,000 baht, to the Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute; Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University; and Faculty of Medicine, Vajira Hospital, Navamindradhiraj University to keep medical personnel and frontline healthcare workers safe while continuing to support GC's vision of environmental sustainability at PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited.

Mr. Yuji Shimizu, President of Kao Industrial (Thailand) Co., Ltd., said, "To follow the way of Kirei—Making Life Beautiful, Kao is committed to saving lives and protecting people. Kao Group, therefore, joined the 'PET to PPE' project through YOU-Turn, a plastic waste management platform, by turning used PET into reusable PPE suits for medical personnel and frontline healthcare workers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The target was a donation of 500 sets of PPE suits made from 9,000 used PET bottles."

"During the project period from 27 September-15 December 2021, Kao Group Thailand collected 19,415 used PET bottles from Kao Thailand's six drop-off points, equal to a donation of 1,000 PPE suits, so we have exceeded the target. This also demonstrates the solidarity and social contributions of our employees within the Kao Group in Thailand. As a representative of Kao, I'd like to thank everyone at both Kao Group and Kanebo for your cooperation and support for sustainability in the way of Kao. We are helping Thailand to reduce plastic waste consumption while promoting 100% recyclability in plastic. We also want to thank our partners like GC for creating meaningful projects for Thai society."

Dr. Chaya Chandavasu, Senior Vice President, Sustainability and Corporate Branding at PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited, said, "GC has always been committed to sustainability by supporting the circular economy and initiating the 'YOU-Turn' platform, a comprehensive plastic waste management system comprised of sorting, storage, and transportation for the recycling or upcycling of used plastics – also known as end-to-end waste management. GC has continued to collaborate with more than 50 partners in the 'PET to PPE' project through the YOU-Turn platform. As a result, the project is upcycling used PET bottles into PPE suits for delivery to 50 hospitals across Thailand. Today marks an important partnership between GC and Kao Group in Thailand, demonstrating our shared passion for giving back to society. Through this cooperation, we produced over 1,000 sets of PPE suits to keep medical personnel and frontline healthcare workers safe as they protect us during the COVID-19 pandemic."