In Japanese culture, there is a concept called “Mottainai” (勿体無い), which refers to feeling regret or a sense of pity for wastefulness, believing that everyone should have a grateful and respectful heart towards things in the world. To embody the spirit of “Mottainai” and support environmental protection and sustainable development, the leading Japanese beauty brand Shiseido started its Sustainable Beauty Actions several years ago, and recently launched new eco-friendly measures tailored to the growing online shopping market.
The pandemic has made consumers increasingly rely on online shopping to reduce the risk of infection when going out. However, each time we open a package from online shopping, we generate a large amount of packaging waste. In response to this waste issue, Shiseido has recently introduced new eco-friendly packaging for online shopping products, including environmentally friendly transparent bags that can dissolve in hot water and eco-friendly honeycomb paper cushioning made from recycled leather paper, replacing traditional plastic packaging materials, and implementing “plastic reduction and waste reduction” in more aspects!
Described as the “new generation of environmentally friendly plastic bags,” the water-soluble transparent bags are made of PVA, starch, glycerin, and water. Simply cut off the adhesive part of the bag, and the rest of the environmentally friendly transparent bag can be stirred in 80°C hot water for 5 minutes until dissolved. The liquid containing the dissolved substance can be poured into a zinc tray or toilet, where the microorganisms in the sewage will be broken down into harmless carbon dioxide and water. The environmentally friendly transparent bag can also be biodegraded and used for composting, with the printing on the bag done using eco-friendly ink printing technology that does not contain ketones or heavy metals. In addition to using recycled environmentally friendly materials, giving a second life to environmentally friendly materials enhances gratitude and feedback for environmental actions to “not be in vain.”
