Developing Sustainable Products

An increasing number of consumers now prioritize not only product efficacy, quality, and sensory experience but also safety of ingredients and commitments to environmental and social issues such as human rights, when choosing products and brands. In addition to formulas and ingredients, there is a growing demand for eco-friendly design from the initial development stage, particularly for packaging, to reduce plastic usage and support resource recycling. Consequently, sustainability initiatives are increasingly recognized as essential elements that demonstrate a company's stance and values. Furthermore, as climate change raises concerns over alterations in the atmospheric environment, the risk of consumers being affected by UV radiation is projected to increase over the medium to long term^*. Against the backdrop of these environmental changes, the importance of sustainability initiatives—including formulas, ingredients, and packaging—as well as UV care to protect the skin is expected to grow even further.

• *According to an announcement by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.

Shiseido Group has applied its extensive research expertise in dermatology and material science, accumulated over more than 100 years, to develop and deliver safe, high-quality products and services to society. Aiming to improve consumers' QOL and contribute to society, we prioritize safety above all else, while valuing the comprehensive value of functionality, quality, sensory experience, and design. This commitment is formally articulated in our Product Development Policy, and we enhance the quality of our R&D by conducting rigorous safety assessments for ingredient selection and formula development, alongside unique standards that consider environmental, ethical, and social impacts.
DYNAMIC HARMONY, our R&D philosophy that was formulated when Shiseido Group was founded, reflects our commitment to creating new forms of beauty by combining contrasting forces: Western science and Eastern wisdom. Under this philosophy, we position "Premium/Sustainability" as a key approach. In formula development, we promote manufacturing based on green chemistry that considers environmental footprint and biodiversity in addition to safety, functionality, and sensory experience. In the field of UV care, we are continuing to develop suncare technologies while appropriately addressing the impact on ecosystems, such as the marine environment.

• DYNAMIC HARMONY

• Environmental Policy

• Shiseido Quality Principle

• Product Development Policy (About Ingredients/Formulas)

Shiseido Group is aiming to minimize environmental impact and realize circular economy based on Shiseido's own packaging development policy; Shiseido 5Rs

1. ・Respect：Aim 100% sustainable packaging based on respecting people, society and environment
2. ・Reduce：Reduce plastic material of product packaging or POSMs by thinning or lightweighting
3. ・Reuse：Encourage reuse of packaging by introducing refill products or in-store refilling service
4. ・Recycle：Encourage recycling with packaging being separated easily and adoption of material suitable for recycling
5. ・Replace：Replace virgin plastic material with bio-based material, recycled material (PCR) or alternatives to plastic material

For packaging, we have strived to reduce environmental footprint since the launch of our first refillable product in 1926. In 2020, we established the "Shiseido 5Rs"^*1, our proprietary packaging development policy aimed at realizing a circular economy, and we are working toward our goal of achieving 100% sustainable packaging^*2 by 2025.
Specifically, we are adopting refillable packaging to promote reuse, mono-material packaging to improve recyclability, replacing materials, and lightweight packaging.
Realizing a circular economy cannot be achieved by a single company alone. We will actively engage in initiatives across the entire value chain through collaboration with various stakeholders, including the industry, suppliers, consumers, and governments, as well as participation in external initiatives.

1. *1：Packaging development policy: respect, reduce, reuse, recycle, and replace.
2. *2：For plastic primary packaging, on a design basis.

• ・By 2025：Switching to sustainable packaging 100%^*

• *For plastic primary packaging, on a design basis.

2030 Targets：

• ・Circular ingredients^*1 usage 90%
• ・Eliminating controversial ingredients^*2 from formulas 100%

1. *1：Cosmetic raw materials that are regenerated and circulated within human social systems and natural systems.
2. *2：Scope: PFAS (as of June 2026)

In light of growing societal concern regarding environmental impacts and chemical substances, as well as stricter regulations globally, the Shiseido Group does not view responding to these changes as merely following external demands. Under the Premium/Sustainability approach based on our Research & Development philosophy, DYNAMIC HARMONY, balancing highly sensible efficacy backed by scientific evidence with consideration for people, society, and the global environment is the very essence of the value creation we have consistently pursued.
Based on this approach, we have set two core KPIs in ingredient and formulation development. The first is to make 90% of cosmetic ingredients circular by 2030. Aiming for a transition to a business structure premised on limited resources and a future net-zero society, we will evolve our R&D and product design with a focus on sustainability. The second is thorough chemical substance management to minimize the use of controversial ingredients. Shiseido has consistently selected cosmetic ingredients in consideration of safety, environmental impact, and other factors. Toward 2030, as a precautionary and proactive decision, we will prohibit the inclusion of PFAS—which is highly persistent in the environment and raises concerns about long-term impacts—in all product formulas. By applying our own strict standards from the initial stages of formulation development and exploring alternatives based on green chemistry, we achieve a high-level balance of safety, functionality, and environmental consideration.
We will continue these two approaches in tandem, aiming to achieve sustainable business growth and a circular economy.

In light of growing societal concern regarding the safety and environmental impact of chemical substances, as well as stricter regulations, particularly led by EU, we are strengthening our commitment to responsible chemical substance management. From the formulation development stage of cosmetics, we are minimizing the use of SVHC (Substances of Very High Concern) and controversial ingredients. In addition, we are actively replacing materials with plant-derived ingredients and adopting alternative processes and technologies utilizing green chemistry. For ingredients that are likely to be released into the environment after product use by consumers, we are analyzing their dynamics in the environment and enhancing our understanding of their impact on the ecosystem.
For newly developed ingredients, we refer to both domestic and international safety assessment guidelines while establishing our own strict standards.
Additionally, we assess safety without conducting animal testing by utilizing alternative testing methods and other approaches in line with OECD Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals. We continuously monitor global trends in chemical regulations and advanced technologies, including those in Japan and Europe. We comply with safety and environmental regulations in each country and region, while also ensuring a comprehensive and rigorous understanding of the impacts and management across the entire lifecycle of cosmetic ingredients—ranging from ingredient safety and material selection to manufacturing processes and post-use biodegradability. Through these efforts, we strive to deliver safe and sustainable products.

Chemical Management

We strive to provide safe and effective products to consumers while complying with cosmetics regulations and respecting the principles of animal protection. For more than 40 years after we established a safety research department in 1963, we have continued to study alternative methods that do not involve animal testing. In 2013, we abolished animal testing entirely^* and shifted to an animal-free safety assurance system.
We have established a safety assurance system with our unique strict standards. Working together with external stakeholders, we are striving to establish alternative methods, developed on our own or jointly with other companies, as official methods. In February 2023, we announced our involvement in the newly launched International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety (ICCS). The ICCS is a global project involving manufacturers, suppliers, industry associations, and animal protection organizations whose goal is to promote and implement animal-free safety assurance in the development of cosmetics and personal care products.
We promote and implement safety assurance for cosmetics without animal testing through the sharing of technologies and knowledge about alternative methods of animal testing, discussions and collaboration with related companies and organizations, and compliance with the regulations of each country and region.

• *Except when required by governmental and regulatory authorities.

1. *1：Egg-laying size groups of coral, excluding those in the planktonic larval and juvenile stages.
2. *2：Utilizing the Tokyo Bay risk assessment model developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
3. *3：The world's first technology to improve powder dispersibility through the evaporation of volatile components after application, within a formulation that uses only UV scattering agents to ensure UV protection (Based on a Clarivate Analytics Japan survey in August 2024).
4. *4：A formulation that ensures UV protection solely through UV scattering agents.

We exhibited two products: Bi no tama Magatama, a cream molded from jelly-like polysaccharides of brown algae such as kelp by applying film-forming technology, and Bi no tama Shizuku, a serum in which algae-derived oil is encapsulated in a bead-like shell (solid oil shell) using our lipid shell technology^*. At the MATSURI Plenary Meeting held in September 2025, we provided our Global Innovation Center as a venue and presented the research results of Bi no tama. In November, we also gave a lecture at the MATSURI Open Day at the University of Tokyo, an industry research event organized by the CHITOSE Group. To maximize the potential of algae, we will work together with partner companies to promote the transition away from fossil resources in cosmetics.

• *A technology that can keep emulsified particles stable while making them visible in size.

Click here for News release about MATSURI (in Japanese only)

Granting Technology License to Toyo University for Environmental Impact Reduction In March 2020, Shiseido became the first partner company from the cosmetics industry to join WIPO GREEN^* worldwide. In 2021, we granted Toyo University a license to use our low-energy manufacturing technology, which is listed in the WIPO GREEN database. In 2022, the university developed a prototype of an environmentally friendly product that uses extract from boysenberries, a local specialty of Tatebayashi City, Gunma Prefecture, and the product began to be sold via crowdfunding in 2023.

• *The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency under the United Nations, responsible for developing international intellectual property systems. WIPO GREEN is an international framework established by WIPO in 2013 for promoting innovation in environment-related technologies and its dissemination and has more than 150 partner corporations worldwide as of April 2025. As of April 2025, the Shiseido Group has licensed out 11 patented technologies.

2030 Targets：

• ・Recycled (PCR^*1) or bio-based materials used in cosmetic packaging: 15%^*2
• ・Recycled material (PCR) used in cosmetic PET packaging: 30%
• ・Reduction of virgin plastic used in cosmetic packaging: 20%^*3

1. *1：Refers to materials recovered and processed from used products so that they can be reused as components or raw materials for new products. PCR stands for Post-Consumer Recycled.
2. *2：Average rate for primary cosmetic packaging.
3. *3：Per product, compared to 2019.

Recognizing climate change and marine plastic waste as global environmental issues, we are stepping up the development of sustainable products. Under our unique packaging development policy, the "Shiseido 5Rs," in addition to our conventional targets focused on the reuse and recycling of packaging after use, we have established new targets toward 2030 regarding the materials used. For plastic packaging primarily made of PET, we will set the usage rate of recycled material (PCR) to 30%. For materials other than PET, we will proactively utilize recycled and bio-based materials across packaging materials, including glass and other plastics, raising their collective usage rate to 15%. Furthermore, in addition to the utilization of these materials, by adopting highly recyclable materials such as glass and aluminum, optimizing the design of cosmetic containers, and actively expanding lightweight refillable products, we aim to reduce the amount of virgin plastic per product by 20% by 2030.

We won four awards at the 2025 Japan Packaging Contest (47th) organized by the Japan Packaging Institute. IPSA ME n received the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award, the top prize of the JAPAN STAR Award, and ANESSA Perfect UV Brush-on Powder received the Packaging Technology Award.

• ・Sustainable Packaging 98%（100% Sustainable Packaging (2025))

We have been promoting initiatives to switch plastic cosmetic packaging to sustainable packaging by 2025, working on adopting refillable packaging to promote reuse, mono-material packaging to improve recyclability, replacing materials, and lightweighting packaging. At the time this target was set in 2019, reducing marine plastic waste by promoting the reuse and recycling of plastic packaging after product use was recognized as a critical issue. As we proceeded with the transition, we faced technical constraints in recycling, as well as technical challenges surrounding plastic recycling from the perspective of social infrastructure. Based on the principle of never compromising on quality and safety, we pursued technologically and qualitatively feasible measures from a product design perspective. As a result, the transition achievement rate stood at 98% as of December 31, 2025^*. In formulating our new sustainability strategy toward 2030, we reviewed the definition of sustainable packaging from a broader perspective of supporting the circulation of limited resources across society. Considering the expectations of stakeholders surrounding cosmetic packaging and the latest technological trends, we have established new medium-term targets centered on the utilization of PCR and the reduction of virgin plastic usage.

• *Amount of plastic packaging used in Japan in 2025 (including estimates): Approx. 7,600t

We have advanced design to reduce our environmental footprint by setting strict standards for primary and secondary packaging. To conserve resources, we are also focusing on tertiary packaging, which protects products from contamination during production and transportation. To conserve resources, we began reducing tertiary packaging itself, such as protective boxes and pillow pouches, in 2023, thereby helping to minimize both plastic waste and paper consumption. In 2025, we achieved reductions for 54 SKUs, focusing primarily on existing products of key brands such as PRIOR and REVITAL.
We are further expanding our initiatives by promoting the development of new products that minimize the use of tertiary packaging.

To realize a decarbonized society and a circular economy, it is necessary to once again add value to products and materials that have completed their roles and to reuse them repeatedly in society.
We are working to establish a scheme for collecting used plastic cosmetic packaging through retail stores, leveraging a wide range of interactions with consumers and business partners, aimed at securing sustainable, high-quality resources for the future and implementing a circular economy in society. By fostering awareness that used packaging can become resources for new products and encouraging behavioral change across society, we aim to enhance the resilience of resource procurement from a long-term perspective.