Lion Corporation Joins METI's Demonstration Project for Expanding Recycled Material Use in Plastic Packaging

Lion Corporation (President and CEO: Masayuki Takemori) will participate in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's (METI) 'Fiscal 2026 Project for Accelerating Industry-Government-Academia Collaboration to Establish a Resource-Autonomous Economy (Demonstration Project for Building Resource Circulation Systems in Wide-Area Municipalities).' In this project, as a consumer goods manufacturer, Lion will comprehensively verify consumer acceptance, quality evaluation, and cost structures to address structural issues hindering the expansion of recycled material use in plastic packaging. Through this, the company aims to generate implementable insights that contribute to the sophistication of resource circulation and the transformation of industrial structures. Lion remains committed to contributing to a sustainable circular society through cross-industry collaboration.

1. Background Lion positions 'promoting initiatives for a sustainable global environment' as a top priority, advancing plastic reduction, reuse, and the use of recycled plastics and biomass materials in product packaging. Under its new medium-term management plan, 'Vision2030 2nd STAGE,' the company aims to provide an 'earth-friendly lifestyle' by fostering 'eco-habits' created together with customers.

While plastic packaging is a key area of domestic plastic demand, and recycling efforts for PET bottles are progressing, the use of recycled materials remains limited to specific products and has not yet reached a standard level of adoption. Structural challenges, such as the variability in color, foreign matter, and physical properties of recycled materials compared to virgin materials, as well as high raw material costs and manufacturing expenses, hinder wider adoption. Furthermore, the lack of visibility into consumer acceptance levels may lead to overly conservative quality standards and increased costs.

2. Overview of the Demonstration Project In this project, Lion will work with stakeholders in the 'arterial' (manufacturing/distribution) and 'venous' (recycling/waste management) industries to visualize consumer acceptance and quantitatively analyze the potential for revising quality standards and increasing recycled material usage. Mitsubishi Research Institute (MRI) has been commissioned to lead this project.

As a brand owner of toothpaste, detergents, and other products, Lion will play a core role in product design and market implementation. Specifically, the company will provide insights on demonstration samples, evaluate quality, and examine cost impacts based on consumer research to contribute to building a model for expanding recycled material use.

3. Future Outlook Lion views this project as a critical step toward social implementation and widespread adoption of recycled materials. The company remains committed to promoting the use of recycled plastics with the goal of achieving a circular plastic economy by 2050.