Mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal have brought about a range of negative externalities, including climate change. To overcome these issues and build a sustainable society, we must make the transition to a recycling-oriented society. In addition, these issues are attracting increasing interest from customers and other stakeholders. The Isetan Mitsukoshi Group is working to reduce its environmental impact, create new opportunities for services, and reduce costs through initiatives aimed at creating a recycling-oriented society.
We are committed to addressing the 4Rs in a way that is unique to our Group, centering on the department store business.
*4Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
We provide customers with choices that have been tailored to their individual purpose. Reduce total packaging materials by refusing shopping bags, opting for smart wrapping and online receipts, etc.
Wrapping that captures the hearts of customers is one of the most important values that a department store can offer. We are promoting smart wrapping as a form of gift wrapping that is kinder to the environment while respecting Japan’s culture of gift-giving. In particular, the use of eco-friendly wrapping for mid-year and year-end gifts is a way to reduce the amount of packaging materials used by not wrapping the box completely, but covering the surface with film instead. This initiative, which we have continued for more than 20 years, has been well received by many customers, and in 2023, customers chose to use eco-wrapping for approximately 67% of gifts purchases from all of the Group’s department stores. In order to further reduce environmental impact, our Mitsukoshi and Isetan brands have adopted a film containing biomass material derived from sugarcane, and have gradually switched over to this material since the year-end gift-giving season of 2021.
Obtained the Biomass Mark under the Japan Organics Recycling Association (JORA)’s labeling system which certifies products using biomassOn July 1, 2020, Group stores in Japan started gradually phasing out in-house manufactured plastic bags in response to the new requirement to charge for plastic bags in accordance with the revision of the Ministerial Orders related to the Act on the Promotion of Sorted Collection and Recycling of Containers and Packaging.
We have also strengthened efforts to reduce the use of not only plastic bags but also paper bags by asking customers if they have their own shopping bags. Through these activities, we have been striving to habitualize the use of personal reusable plastic bags and make it a part of the standard lifestyle. Thanks to customers’ understanding and cooperation, we have greatly reduced plastic bag use.
In addition to recommending the use of reusable bags, we also sell bags available only at our stores that are made from recycled fibers from plastic bottles and other waste.We reduce the amount of waste by reviewing production and ordering processes.
Achieving appropriate inventory through sales on orders, reducing the amount of plastic items, etc.
We are working to reduce the amount of single-use plastics in response to the Act on Promotion of Resource Circulation for Plastics, which came into effect in April 2022. Clothing coverings account for the largest portion of the total amount of plastic used by our Group’s department stores. We have reduced amount of plastic used in tourist bags for our Mitsukoshi and Isetan brands has by about 30% through the use of thinner non-woven fabrics. This not only reduces the impact on the environment, but also helps to keep costs down.
Tourist bag (clothing cover) used by our Isetan brand
Food loss is a common social issue around the world. Food loss occurs in the food manufacturing process for a variety of reasons, such as foods that do not meet specifications, issues with the balance in the procurement of raw materials, and poor filling. As such, MI Food Style Co., Ltd.’s own factories are taking the following steps to reduce food loss in the manufacturing process.
(1) Detailed records are kept of food loss items/quantities occurring on work lines and the factors behind the loss.
(2) Each week, the person in charge of production control examines measures for improvement from various perspectives.
(3) Problems are shared with line managers, and improvements and trials are conducted repeatedly.
(4) Each quarter, a verification of the effectiveness of measures is conducted for each product category.
Through the above efforts, we are steadily reducing food loss by utilizing purchased raw materials without waste, while also reducing wasteful procurement costs and disposal costs.
MI Food Style Co., Ltd.’s Sowa PlantWe propose lifestyles that use products carefully over a long period of time.
Repair and remake, repurchase and redistribute clothing, etc.; collect and reuse of hangers, etc.
i’m green is a business that sends things that have outlived their use to places where they can be brought to new use in the future, with the aim of helping to materialize a society that does not throw things away or create more than it needs to. We accept a variety of items, including clothing, bags, watches, jewelry, antiques, and artworks. Once items have been brought into the store, an Isetan Mitsukoshi stylist (sales staff) will carefully consult with you and suggest the best method for you.
Since its launch in October 2021, we have received many comments from customers expressing their trust in our service, such as that they can feel reassured because it is Isetan Mitsukoshi they are dealing with, and that they had been waiting for such a service. This business is in the process of growing. In FY2021, it had become profitable in a single fiscal year, and in FY2022, underwent an expansion in scale.
Specifically, following on from the Mitsukoshi Nihombashi Main Store and Isetan Shinjuku Main Store, a permanent service counter opened at the Isetan Urawa Store in April 2023. Furthermore, by holding time-limited events at Group department stores outside the Tokyo metropolitan area and strengthening cooperation with out-of-store sales staff, we are expanding our business to bring more customers into contact with our services and achieve our vision for the kind of society we aspire to create.
i’m green at Mitsukoshi Nihombashi Main Store, which reopened following refurbishment in September 2023Plexiglass panels were used in various places as part of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as storefronts and back offices. Most of these panels were removed once the Japanese government had reclassified COVID-19 as a Class 5 disease in May 2023, and methods for their disposal and recycling have become a challenge for society. The Isetan Shinjuku Main Store has repurposed some of its plexiglass panels as show-window decorations. The first step was to find a use for them within the company and breathe new life into them. We are currently considering ways to recycle the panels after they are no longer used in show windows.
Isetan Shinjuku Main Store’s WATCH COLLECTOR’S WEEK show windowInstead of burning waste, we turn it into new resources. In addition to converting left-over food from stores into feed, fertilizer, and fuel, we are also involved in the material recycling of flexible films, collect secondhand clothing from customers, make original bags from recycled fiber, etc.
Of all industries, the apparel industry is said to have one of the most significant impacts on the environment. As a department store with a high proportion of apparel sales by category, some of our regional department stores provide clothing collection services designed to reduce the amount of clothing that is discarded after it has served its purpose. After collection, clothing is recycled into board, yarn, or paper through our recycling partner, Amiaz Co., Ltd.
Examples of clothing after being recycled and rebornOne of the major challenges in the recycling flow is sorting clothing by material and removing accessories (buttons, fasteners, etc.), a task that is difficult to mechanize. In this process, which involves meticulous manual work and requires a high level of concentration, we collaborate with workplaces where people with disabilities are employed to classify and sort the materials, after which they are recycled at sites in Japan. In FY2023, collections were held at Shizuoka Isetan and Niigata Isetan (as of the end of October). Recycled items are also contributing to the generation of new economic value as customers who bring in their items can enjoy a spot of shopping in the store.
As part of its “think good” initiative, the Isetan Mitsukoshi Group promotes 4R activities under the theme “enjoy using and cherishing things for a long time.”
As part of this initiative, in March 2021, a shop named “ReStyle” in Isetan Shinjuku Main Store and Mitsukoshi Isetan Online Store launched a new dyeing black service KUROZOME REWEAR. This service is offered through collaboration with Kyoto Montsuki Co., Ltd., a company which has been dyeing traditional Japanese black crested kimono for over a century. They bring new life to customers’ beloved clothes by re-dyeing them deep black using their unique shinkuro dyeing process.
In line with their philosophy to “achieve a sustainable society by extending the useful lives of cherished clothes,” Kyoto Montsuki uses carefully selected dyes in the dying process, which includes using a dye that has obtained OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 Class 2 certification, and also works to develop environmentally friendly processing techniques.
With a cumulative total of more than 330 orders for the dyeing service to date, we are getting a greater response than we first anticipated.
We will continue offering opportunities to enjoy extended life of long cherished clothes and to take an interest in finite resources through KUROZOME REWEAR.
