Waste Reduction

Waste Reduction

In order to realize a sustainable society, we are working to reduce waste by recycling clothing through secondary distribution and reducing paper consumption.

ZOZOUSED

In the reuse business “ZOZOUSED", which we operate on ZOZOTOWN, we are committed to reduce waste by purchasing and selling fashion-related products that are no longer in use.  Furthermore, we have implemented reusable bags for collecting these items, which can be repeatedly used after being cleaned.
The Journey of ZOZOUSED and Its Commitment to Circular Fashion

Resale Process and Item Traceability for Pre-Owned Items
We minimize disposal by selling items purchased from customers which do not meet our resale standards, to some buyback companies that conduct appropriate processing of the items.

One of those companies, which receives a large volume of items from us, resells them through its own retail stores. Even for items that are difficult to resell, nearly 100% reuse and recycling is achieved through exports to overseas markets where there is demand, as well as through reuse as industrial wiping cloths and cushioning materials for car seats.

Exported items are primarily delivered to a facility in Malaysia, where they are sorted and processed locally before being shipped worldwide. Our company’s representative also visits the facility annually to review working conditions and reuse practices, ensuring item traceability.  

At “ZOZOUSED”, by redistributing items collected from customers, we have been able to prevent CO₂ emissions that would occur from the production to disposal and incineration of newly manufactured items. Assuming this, since the start of the service, we have cumulatively reduced CO₂ emissions by about 180,000 tons (※1). Furthermore, the amount of CO₂ emissions reduced in the fiscal year 2024, when converted to the amount absorbed by Japanese cedar trees, is equivalent to approximately 1.58 million trees (※2).

*From November 2012 to March 2025. This assumes the prevention of CO₂ emissions that would occur from the production process to the disposal and incineration of newly produced items. The number of collected items was converted to weight (source: Ministry of the Environment, “Sustainable Fashion – Fashion for the Future”), and the CO₂ emissions per kilogram of item were multiplied to calculate this (source: Ministry of the Environment, “Method of Calculation for 3R Unit Value”).
*Assuming that one Japanese cedar tree absorbs about 14 kg of CO₂ emissions (source: Kanto Regional Forest Office, Carbon Dioxide Absorption Capacity of Forests).

Moreover, the number of ZOZOUSED users (people with reuse experience) has reached approximately 4.99 million in total (※) since the service started. We continue to aim to establish a circular fashion by increasing the number of users with reuse experience, thereby expanding the cycle of circulation.

*From November 2012 to March 2025. The definition of a user with reuse experience includes purchasers of ZOZOUSED service products, users of the Replacement-discount service, and users of the regular purchasing service."

Packaging Materials

ZOZO Group uses a variety of packaging materials for a wide variety of products. Therefore, we view "Packaging Waste & Recycling" as one of the materialities. In order to create a recycling-oriented society, we will continue to promote environmentally-friendly initiatives, such as changing the plastic materials, adopting sustainable resources such as the use of corrugated cardboard that has obtained FSC certification ^(※1), and introducing a system that enables easy selection of appropriate-sized materials to prevent excessive packaging.

• Changed cushioning material used for product packaging from plastic materials to 100% recycled paper materials
• Use of corrugated containers with FSC certification(*1)
• Changed packaging materials from plastic to materials containing 25% biomass plastic
• Introduction of a system that enables easy selection of appropriate-size materials to prevent excessive packaging
• Use of 10 types of materials are always available and appropriate sizes are used to prevent excessive packaging.
• Use of reusable ZOZOTOWN original-made non-woven textile bags(*2)
• Digitizing delivery paper slips and receipts that was included in the product
• Announcement to brands to refrain as much as possible from plastic hangers that are not needed when products are transite

*1 FSC certification is an internationally recognized system for "appropriate forest management," which was created with the aim of sustainable forest use and conservation.
*2 When collecting trade-in products from customers through the "replacement discount" service, we recommend the use of ZOZOTOWN original non-woven fabric reused bags that can be used repeatedly. Currently, about 94% of reused bags used once have been cleaned, and the bags have been reused on average five to six times since then.Changed Packaging for Delivery to Environmentally Conscious Materials

Usage of Packaging Materials

		Fiscal 2022	Fiscal 2023	Fiscal 2024
Corrugated Containers	Usage of Packaging Materials (kg)	10,840,114	9,190,662	8,795,579
	Percentage of recycled content in packaging materials (%)	100	100	100
	Coverage (as a % of cost of goods sold)	22.6	18.8	17.3
Shipping Bag *Biomass-blended plastic material	Usage of Packaging Materials (kg)	757,363	1,106,101	1,213,225
	Percentage of recycled content within the company’s plastic packaging (as a % of the total weight of all plastic packaging)	25	25	25
Shipping Bag *Paper	Usage of Packaging Materials (kg)	247,376	218,411	244,952
	Percentage of recycled content within the company’s plastic packaging (as a % of the total weight of all plastic packaging)	0	0	0
	Coverage (as a % of cost of goods sold)	2.9	3.7	ー

*The ratio to cost of sales includes shipping bags in addition to cardboard packaging starting from fiscal year 2024.

Paperless operations

・ZOZOTOWN Electronic Invoices and Receipts

We have fully digitized the delivery and receipt documents provided to customers when they place orders on ZOZOTOWN since 2021. Based on the number of shipments in FY2024, this transition has led to the reduction of approximately 61 million sheets of paper annually. As a result, we estimate a reduction of about 354 tons of CO₂ emissions that would have been generated through printing and incineration.

Additionally, within the company, we have introduced the electronic contract service “CloudSign,” enabling web-based contract processing and contributing to further reduction of paper waste.
Improve Operational Efficiency and Reduce Paper Consumption by Introducing Electronic Contracts