Protecting nature
As we at DAITO KASEI developed our activities abroad, we received many enquiries from European cosmetic product manufacturers who requested natural origin cosmetic ingredients. Our response was to start the development of a spherical powder from natural wood cellulose. Production successfully started in 2004 and the ingredient was named CELLULOBEADS. CELLULOBEADS exhibits the moisturizing feel of natural wood cellulose and the gliding texture of spherical powder.
The launch of CELLULOBEADS coincided with the rise in civil society of environmental concerns such as climate change and environmental pollution.
In September 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their 169 associated targets as guidelines for action. An increase in the demand of cosmetic ingredients on par with the UN guidelines was consequently observed in the cosmetic industry.
Ocean pollution due to plastic microbeads (solid plastic particles measuring less than 5mm) was reported as a particularly grave safety and environmental issue. Microbeads discharged into the oceans do not degrade and are eventually mistaken for food by fish, birds and plankton. Some of these are used as foodstuff by humans who, in turn, ingest these microbeads causing potential health hazards. Many in the cosmetic industry have warned that plastic microbeads used in cosmetic products might contribute to this phenomenon.
CELLULOBEADS complies not only with the goals set by the SDG but with the EU standards as well because, contrary to plastic microbeads, they degrade in water. As such, CELLULOBEADS makes a perfect alternative to plastic microbeads in cosmetic products.
Our catalogue of microbeads offers a large variety of options from smaller particle sizes (<500μm) used to improve make-up texture and feel, to larger particle sizes used for scrubs and facewashes. We, at DAITO KASEI, are operating a shift in our product catalogue by gradually replacing ocean polluting plastic microbeads with CELLULOBEADS, a nature-friendly alternative. We hope that our humble efforts will contribute to achieving the SDGs.
≪Making first-of-a-kind products≫ and ≪developing completely new materials≫ are two challenges DAITO KASEI is ready to face and overcome in order to contribute to the building of a more sustainable world.
