Five principles of Ryohin Keikaku from the aspects of the environment and society.
This ensures that there is mutual understanding with our business partners, which enables them to act according to the same principles followed by Ryohin Keikaku. We sent a questionnaire to all of our business partners in the latter half of FY2009 to confirm that they agree to act according to these principles. In the same questionnaire, we also confirmed the background of wood materials used in production.
Major materials include vinyl chloride resin (to which we do not add phthalic acid esters as a plasticizing agent in the manufacture of products for children or for products which come into direct contact with users' lips), formaldehyde (controlled in accord with JAS and JIS standards), forest resources (use of wood from illegal felling prohibited), stevia and sorbic acid (prohibited).
MUJI stationery satisfies at least one of the following conditions.
- Recycled materials (including recycled paper) are used.
- Expendables are sold separately for replacement or refill.
- Vinyl chloride is not used.
- Wood pulp from illegal felling is not used.
*Covers of appointment books that were released for sale in February 2009 used vinyl chloride and these are being recalled and recycled.
As a manufacturer and retailer, MUJI pays special attention to what happens to products after they have fulfilled their function. We therefore offer products that embody recycling principles, minimizing waste and reducing the strain placed on resources.
About 90% of MUJI textile goods are made from cotton fibers. The FUKU-FUKU Project, which is a collaboration of companies from various industries, aims at 100% recycling of clothes primarily through the use of a new technology that regenerates bio-ethanol from cotton textiles. Ryohin Keikaku was one of the leading members of the experimental collection project supported by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, which was implemented for one year beginning in March 2009. We contributed to the experimental collection of customers' surplus clothing (carried out in designated areas twice during FY2009), the systematization of collection operations and the design of characters to represent the project. Since June 1, 2010, this project has been established as a business by JEPLAN Co., Ltd. While continuing to participate in this business, we are also planning to launch a campaign during the “MUJI Week” periods (held four times every year) for the collection of textile goods produced by our company.
Certain items made from water-repellent nylons are collected at the store to be chemically recycled by our contract manufacturer.
Removable diary covers that are made from vinyl chloride and from textiles are collected at the store. These types of covers will be recycled to manufacture products in the recycling system at each contract manufacturer (but not to be used in MUJI products).
Fairtrade aims to facilitate fair trade practices for the benefit of farm workers in developing countries. We commenced sales of Fairtrade coffee in October 2006.
In 2007, we replaced all the three types of regular tea bags with products carrying Fairtrade certification labels. In 2009, our Flower MUJI subsidiary commenced sales of Fairtrade flowers. Also, prior to World Fairtrade Day in spring 2010, we held a Fairtrade Exhibition at MUJI Yurakucho in an effort to improve public awareness of the fair trade cause.
*Fairtrade was initiated to support small and impoverished farmers in developing nations. For more information, please visit the relevant page on our website.
MUJI makes important contributions to society through its business. Ideas are generated within the company and activities are led mainly by staff in charge of product development. Our main activities are as follows.
In 2007, we started making contributions to the Pink Ribbon Campaign to raise awareness of early detection of breast cancer, donating one yen from the sale of each camisole with bra cups (not including certain items), which is one of our core products on sale from March through August every year. Also in March every year, our corporate website provides information to promote early detection of breast cancer.
Every October since 2008, we have supported the activities of an NPO called Kids Earth Fund by putting on sale bags featuring pictures drawn by children and owned by the NPO, so as to donate a part of our sales proceeds to the organization. Since 2009, at Café & Meal MUJI, we have installed a permanent exhibition of children's pictures rented from the NPO. In spring 2010, we embarked on a new endeavor through which we donated to the NPO pictures drawn at school by the children of cotton farmers, launched the sale of bags featuring those pictures, and then donated a part of the sales proceeds to Kids Earth Fund.
Mujirushi Ryohin Ikebukuro Seibu
To commemorate the reopening of Mujirushi Ryohin Ikebukuro Seibu on September 18, 2009, we launched a limited range of textile bags bearing original printed illustrations. The design of these bags involved a total of 34 prominent world-class product designers, architects, interior designers and illustrators. We donated the full sales proceeds of approximately 1.5 million yen to the Creative Conservation Club (CCC), a group of writers who volunteer to work for the protection and recovery of the natural environment because they enjoy their writing work in the natural environment and are strongly concerned about the issue of environmental destruction.
We operate three campsites (at Tsunan Town in Niigata Prefecture, Takayama City in Gifu Prefecture, and Tsumagoi Village in Gunma Prefecture) and manage 231 hectares of forest. We operate these campgrounds so that they take root in their local communities. For example, we run outdoor classrooms during the Golden Week holiday period and summer vacation, inviting lecturers from the local community. In addition, we support activities for children such as the popular "Kids' Summer Camp", and since 2008, staff volunteers have been recruited from within the company to participate.
We listed materials we would not want to use at home and then drew up a shortlist of those we should control most strictly, taking into consideration the quantity we use and social trends.
Vinyl chloride is easy to process and is very durable, but when burnt, may produce hazardous substances, particularly dioxins and hydrogen chloride. In addition, it is thought that phthalic acid esters, added to vinyl chloride to facilitate forming and processing, may be endocrine disruptors. We only use vinyl chloride for MUJI products if there is no substitute material to maintain the safety or functionality required of the products.
We only use wood with a JAS/JIS formaldehyde diffusion level of F☆☆☆ or F☆☆☆☆ for furniture.
Illegal felling threatens the lives of the people and the animals in the vicinity, alters the topography and affects global warming. We strive to ensure that the raw materials we use for MUJI wood and paper products are not derived from illegally felled timber. We check the origin of major parts and materials. However, we use recycled paper and laminated wood made of recycled wood, although we are unable to check the origin of the materials, because we consider that the effective use of wood resources through recycling is important.
Food additives are dealt with differently according to country. MUJI products are now sold in fifteen countries. We will stop using food additives that are prohibited overseas in MUJI products incrementally, for the peace of mind of all of our customers. We do not use 24 additives. These include the above, the artificial colorings food red no. 2, food blue no. 1, etc., and antioxidants including BHT.
We announced our intention to stop using fluorine for MUJI products, particularly of fluorine resin coating for cooking pans, because prolonged heating of an empty pan coated with fluorine resin may generate toxic gas. However, we decided to continue to use fluorine resin for the following two reasons: the strong demand for fluorine resin coated products (which prevent burning), and the fact that substitutes perform very badly, according to our research. We will devise and implement description standards for products with fluorine resin parts which will be heated, so that they bear a description clearly stating they have fluorine resin. We will continue our research into substitutes for fluorine and endeavor to replace fluorine as soon as possible.
