Basic Policy
Sustainability Statement
Fashion Connects and Leads us to a Sustainable Future.
We at ZOZO envision a new era of fashion that will improve
our environment and society.
Harnessing the power of imagination, creativity and innovative technologies,
we will prioritize impact above individual gain.
We are committed to solving the challenges our planet faces
by connecting people, technology and fashion in new ways.
We believe in creating a world where fashion enriches our lives,
now and forever.
*Sustainability Statement is approved by the Board of Directors in April 19, 2021.
*We are committed to achieving the goals outlined in our Sustainability Statement by 2030.
Materiality
Identification of Materiality
In 2022, the ZOZO Group identified materiality together with internal and external stakeholders, and in 2024, materiality and Sustainability Four Key Actions were reviewed.
*Materiality is discussed by SDGs Promotion Committee and approved by the Board of Directors in August 16, 2024.
Identification Process
Step 1: Issue extraction
In alignment with our group's unique characteristics and contributions to growth, we meticulously extracted issues based on assessments from principal ESG evaluation entities (investors), along with demands from society, insights from various stakeholders such as shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees, municipalities, and NGOs.
*Insights were gathered from analyst reports, user interviews, business partner surveys, employee surveys, and NGO interviews.
Step 2: Analysis and evaluation of materiality
Materialities were preliminarily evaluated along two dimensions: their significance to the ZOZO Group and to our stakeholders, factoring in our group values and financial implications. This led to the provisional formulation of four strategic focuses for addressing these materialities.
Step 3: Validating materiality
The SDGs Promotion Committee, alongside our management team, reviewed the validity and strategic alignment of the provisionally assessed materiality and the "Sustainability Four Key Actions." This process ensures our efforts are in harmony with our growth strategy and commitments to sustainable development.
Step4: Approval
Following board approval, the ZOZO Group's materiality is identified and announced.
*The materiality will be reviewed as needed in response to changes in the social and business environment.
Materiality Map
Sustainability Four Key Actions
We have formulated four key actions to realize our Sustainability Statement, "Fashion Connects and Leads us to a Sustainable Future.," and to solve 19 materiality items.
1. Providing the sustainable and unexpected services through co-creation with our business partners
We aim to solve environmental and social issues by providing safe, secure, sustainable, and exciting services. To achieve this, we leverage technology and work in collaboration and co-creation with all stakeholders, including our business partners.
2. Creating workplaces and communities where everyone can live authentically with joy through the promotion of DE&I
We aim to create a fair and just world where everyone is respected, and can live with joy. To achieve this, we promote a diverse and inclusive work environment, contribute to local community revitalization and next-generation support through collaboration with stakeholders, especially those in industry, government, and academia.
3. Contributing to a vibrant and sustainable planet by reducing negative impacts on the environment
We aim to build a sustainable environment by working with stakeholders to address environmental issues and minimize the negative impact of our business on nature.
4. Maintaining and improving sound management and a strong administrative structure by strengthening governance
We strive to maintain and enhance a sound and flexible administrative structure. We also aim to ensure highly transparent, effective, and responsive management, by strengthening corporate governance, risk management, privacy protection, and other key functions.
Sustainability Four Key Actions and Materiality
Sustainability Management Structure
ZOZO Group has held twenty-six committee meetings since its establishment of SDGs Promotion Committee in November 2020 (as of April 1, 2025) chaired by the President and CEO, to promote SDGs management across the Group. In addition, the Communication Design Division, which serves as the secretariat, will work closely with each business division to implement measures, with the aim of achieving four key actions.
Reporting
Supervising
Chairman: President and CEO / SAWADA Kotaro
Members: Executive Vice President and CFO, Directors and COO, Executive Officers, other officers or employees deemed necessary by the chairman
Observer: Full-time Audit and Supervisory Committee Member, External Experts
Secretariat: Communication Design Division / Sustainability Promotion Sect.
Cooperation
Multi Stakeholder Policy
We will strive to appropriately work with multi-stakeholders, in the context in collaborative value creation not only with our shareholders, but also with our employees, business partners, customers, creditors, local communities and other various stakeholders have become important in our business management.
On that basis, we will proceed with the following efforts considering the importance of return to our employees, and respect and consideration for our business partners, from the perspective that appropriate distribution of the revenue and the outcome resulting from the collaborative value creation and productivity improvement to multi stakeholders will lead to the maintenance of the momentum for wage increases and the sustainable development of the economy.
1.Return to our Employees
We will focus on maximizing the added value while achieving sustainable growth and productivity improvement through priority allocation of management resources to growth sectors, and enhancement of our employees’ potentials and improvement of their skills.
Furthermore, based on the profits and achievements generated, we will raise wages in accordance with the "Major Principles for Determining Wages" and through appropriate methods that take into account the company's situation.
We will aim to provide sustainable returns to employees through proactive investment in human resources such as education and training, which will contribute to enhancing employee engagement and further improving productivity, even in other comprehensive improvements in compensation.
Specifically, with regard to wage increases, the Company takes into account social conditions and the business environment, including inflationary trends when determining the amount of year-end bonuses.
We have reformed our personnel system and decided to abolish the limitation on the scope of payment of housing allowances, which had previously been limited to a certain range of the neighborhood of the workplace, and pay all employees.
We are also working to raise wages by expanding the range of allowances, such as the introduction of the "Make a difference every day (additional monthly allowance)." Furthermore, we will strive to appropriately distribute and return profits by raising wages through personnel evaluations conducted under the new personnel system.
With regard to education and training, we are actively working to develop human resources that can respond to changes in the internal and external environment.
As part of investment in human capital, We provide opportunities for employees to learn on their own as well as training and education tailored to each employee’s career stage.
Specifically, we have introduced a subsidy system for cloud training expenses, a doctoral program for working people, etc.
We will respect the diversity of each employee and aim to improve employee engagement by building a rewarding and pleasant work environment where everyone working at us can demonstrate their abilities to the fullest and play an active role.
2.Consideration for Our Business Partners
We will continue to comply with the Declaration of Partnership Building. In the event that the Declaration of Partnership Building is withdrawn from the official portal site, we will voluntarily remove the disclosure of our Multi Stakeholder Policy.
Declaration of Partnership Building
https://corp.zozo.com/en/sustainability/declarationofpartnership_en.pdf
In addition, with regard to business relationships with tax-exempt businesses, we will refer to the government's published approach to the invoice system for tax-exempt businesses and their business partners, and work to build appropriate relationships. With regard to these items, we will proceed steadily while checking the status of initiatives.
April 1, 2024
SAWADA Kotaro
Representative Director, President and CEO
ZOZO, Inc.
Communication with Stakeholders
We aim to increase our corporate value through promoting four key actions, by closely communicating with our stakeholders to address issues and reflect them in our business operation.
| Stakeholders | Our Relations | Means of communication |
|---|---|---|
| Customers | Our Customer Support Center has a central philosophy of "becoming a friend with our customers." We strive daily to support and make our customers smile as if we help out friends. |
|
| Shareholders and Investors | Aiming to be a company trusted by the shareholders and investors, we strive to practice corporate management that meets their expectations and to disclose corporate information in a timely and appropriate manner. |
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| Business partners | Encouraging mutual development by building good and healthy relationships with our business partners through fair and equitable transactions. |
|
| Employees | Creating and offering a workplace where motivates each employee to demonstrate his or her individuality, and demonstrate his or her power of creativitity and imagination. |
|
| Local communities | Contributing to the vitalization of local communities and the realization of sustainable communities by working to resolve environmental and social issues, mainly in regions where we have bases. |
|
Relationship with the brands
We evaluate the various conditions such as brand image, product lineup, revenue size etc. fairly to select business partners. At the time of starting business transaction, we require brands to make the representations and warranty for products to be supplied are appropriately manufactured in accordance with the relevant laws, no risk of unfairly harming the rights of the third party, and brands have no relation with any antisocial forces.
In addition, we prohibit any products that may violate human rights, disrupt social order, or use other people's nominations, photographs, portraits, trademarks, works, etc., without permission.
Production
Made by ZOZO
Made by ZOZO proposes product planning to brands based on the data and know-how we own. In addition, by digitizing work at the factory, which had previously been done by hand, and developing our own system that enables the production of products with multiple different designs at the same time, we produce from at least one unit and ship the product in at least 10 days after the order is received.
*Offered to 8 brands, covering a total of 461 production types. This service is available to approximately 0.1% of the brands we handle.
Multi-size (MS)
Our exclusive service ”Multi-size“ offers a variety of sizes of clothings based on measurement data supported by brands, and helps customers to find an ideal size for you. We incorporate an eco-friendly business model to suppress an excess inventory, and many products are produced by made-to-order production.
Logistics
YAMATO TRANSPORT Co., Ltd.
We completely outsource the last mile delivery operations, which are essential to our e-commerce business. In recent years, the transportation industry has faced issues such as labor shortages and an increase in a number of requests for re-delivery of parcels. We have been working with delivery companies to improve customer service and reduce a number of re-delivery. In August 2017, we launched the first service in the e-commerce industry to select an option of "locker pick-up," which allows customers to pick up their order from ZOZOTOWN from express delivery lockers. In June 2020, we launched "package drop service" that allows customers to select preferred locations and dates for each delivery, for carriers to drop a package which enables customers to receive products on a non-face-to-face basis. However this non-face-to-face "package drop service" used to be concerned by some customers from a security point of view since packages with an attached slip of personal information written to be left outside. In June 2021, we introduced a method to reduce the risk of personal information leaks by issuing two-dimensional coding of the slip so that it makes it more convenient and safe for customers to use "package drop service."
- Introduced EAZY, which allows customers to choose a non-face-to-face merchandise receiving method, with the aim of reducing redelivery (frequency)
- Utilizing Yamato transport’s relation center to improve delivery efficiency (reduce the number of transportations)
Prologis, Inc.
We lease the majority of our logistics centers "ZOZOBASE" (total floor space of approximately 320,000 square meters) with a logistics facility from Prologis. We currently have several centers located in Narashino City, Chiba Prefecture, and Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture. Sites contracted after 2017 are equipped with LED lighting and human sensors, which are also environmentally conscious. In addition, the air conditioners are fully equipped in each floor to make a comfortable working environment for the employees. We will continue to maintain even better relationships and ensure to keep the logistics centers secure and safe.
- Introduced 100% renewable energy-derived electricity to each logistics centers
- Introduced LED lights at all logistics centers
- Introduced human sensors that detect people and automatically turn lights on and off at some centers
Packaging
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 (kg) | 10,840,114 | 9,190,662 | 8,795,579 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shipping Bag (kg) | 774,084 | 1,121,927 | 1,231,499 |