- CJ Olive Young to use polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and polylactic acid (PLA) to make cushion container for popular “WAKEMAKE” brand in collaboration with CJ CheilJedang
- Company enters beauty market with alternative packaging solution to ABS
Woburn, MA – 22 December 2022 – CJ Biomaterials, Inc., a division of South Korea-based CJ CheilJedang and a primary producer of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), has successfully developed cosmetic packaging for CJ Olive Young, a market-leading health and beauty retail chain in Korea. This new cosmetic case uses CJ Biomaterials’ amorphous PHA technology in combination with polylactic acid (PLA) and will be sold under Olive Young’s popular private brand, WAKEMAKE. Launched in Korea on December 21st, the ‘WAKEMAKE Water Velvet Vegan Cushion’ uses vegan cosmetic ingredients and eco-friendly bio-based packaging. CJ Olive Young has 1,200 stores across Korea and a global network in 150 countries.
PLA has experienced significant growth as a bio-based material in a broad range of finished product applications and is currently the most widely used industrial compostable material in the world, but it has certain limitations. Blending amorphous PHA in PLA leads to significant improvements in the mechanical properties of PLA, such as toughness and ductility leading to improved impact resistance and the creation of elegant shapes. CJ Biomaterials’ amorphous PHA is a softer, more rubbery version of PHA that offers fundamentally different performance characteristics than the crystalline or semi-crystalline forms that currently dominate the PHA market.
The 100% bio-sourced solution of amorphous PHA and PLA materials were applied to the entire outside of the WAKEMAKE container, replacing acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Some developed countries and leading cosmetic brands are actively making efforts to replace ABS, a petroleum-based, non-biodegradable plastic that is currently widely used in cosmetic containers. This is the right time to introduce an eco-friendlier package.
“This is an important milestone for CJ Biomaterials, and we expect that the application of bio-based materials in the consumer goods market will expand beyond the release of the WAKEMAKE cushion,” says Seung-Jin Lee, Head of the Biomaterials business from CJ CheilJedang. “We will widely promote the use of PHA in various markets, as it is an eco-friendly material that is effective for industrial-scale use. We are proud that our PHA products—which are derived from nature and return to nature—are helping to meet the growing demands from brands and consumers for more environmentally friendly products.”
Today’s announcement caps the end of a successful year for CJ Biomaterials. Earlier this year, the company announced commercial-scale production of PHA following the inauguration of its production facility in Pasuruan, Indonesia, becoming the only company in the world that can produce aPHA at scale, which includes CJ Biomaterials’ first product under its new PHACT™ brand, named PHACT A1000P. The company also expanded its biomaterials business by establishing relationships with global organizations, including NatureWorks, Yuhan-Kimberly, the ACCOR hotel chain, and the makeup brand Banilla Co., which plans to launch cosmetics with containers made from bio-sourced materials in early 2023.
About CJ BIOMATERIALS
CJ Biomaterials, a business unit of CJ BIO, is a part of CJ CheilJedang, a global lifestyle company with a vision to inspire a new life filled with health, happiness and convenience. CJ Group has organized its business portfolio into four core sectors: Food & Food Service, Bio & Pharma, Entertainment & Media, and Retail & Logistics. CJ BIO is the world’s leading supplier of fermentation-based bioproducts for animal nutrition, human nutrition, and biomaterials at its thirteen manufacturing facilities worldwide. It is the mission of CJ Biomaterials to develop meaningful solutions to the global problem of plastic waste and other sustainability challenges at scale. CJ Biomaterials has been working toward bio-based chemicals and biopolymers as part of a long-term vision to expand into technologies that can help create a more sustainable future. CJ Biomaterials is a leader in the manufacture of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) – both polymers and related chemistries. We have the core technology platforms necessary to implement PHA-based solutions at scale including bioscience, chemical engineering, materials innovation and applications development. We have the technology, expertise and capacity to make an impact with PHA in global markets and important applications, ranging from flexible and rigid packaging, 3D printing and agricultural films to coatings, personal care, and healthcare.
As a socially responsible company, CJ Biomaterials strives toward practicing carbon-neutral manufacturing operations by utilizing renewable raw materials and developing value-added coproducts to minimize environmental waste. Learn more about our amorphous PHA technology at: https://www.cjbio.net.
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