Japan’s CO-OP brand, a part of the Japanese Consumers Co-operative Union (JCCU), is using circular raw materials for food packaging.

JCCU has partnered with Neste, Mitsui Chemicals, and Prime Polymer for this circular economy initiative.

The cooperation enables the packaging of seaweed snacks made from circular raw materials, with plans for additional applications.

The seaweed snack packaging, the first to receive a Japanese patent for using renewable plastics, bio-based or circular raw materials through mass balancing, reduces carbon footprint and replaces fossil materials. Plans are afoot to incorporate these materials into future products.

Neste offers renewable Neste RET a polymer feedstock derived solely from bio-based raw materials. The feedstock is converted into renewable polypropylene under the brand name Prasus by Mitsui Chemicals and the company’s subsidiary Prime Polymer. This is subsequently used in food packaging for JCCU. Packaging manufactured from renewable resources has the same quality and functionality as packaging made from fossil fuels, JCCU said in a statement.

“Change begins with small things. In this case, it’s slices of dried seaweed,” says Lilyana Budyanto, Head of Sustainable Partnerships APAC at Neste’s Renewable Polymers and Chemicals business unit. “However, the impact of renewable plastic packaging isn’t small at all. It’s a crucial contributor to the sustainability transformation of the plastics industry and reducing emissions along the value chain. We are looking forward to the cooperation with Mitsui Chemicals, Prime Polymer, and JCCU evolving.”

Japanese Consumers’ Co-operative Union (JCCU) was established in March 1951 as a national federation of consumer co-ops in Japan. Today, about 312 consumer co-ops and consumer co-op unions join JCCU and the total business turnover of the member co-ops is about 3.8 trillion JPY, with a total of 30 million members. JCCU is the largest consumer organization in Japan.