Sumitomo Chemical Collaborates with Star Jewelry to Create New Value with Its Sustainable Acrylic Material Meguri^®

Apr. 12, 2024

Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. provides a sustainable acrylic material Meguri^® produced by using its chemical recycling technology, for a new acrylic jewelry collection of Star Jewelry Co., Ltd., headquartered in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The collection is now available in Star Jewelry’s stores nationwide in Japan* as well as the brand’s online store. This collaboration marks the first time that 100% recycled acrylic material has been used for jewelry in Japan.
*Excluding the Gotemba Premium Outlets store.

Star Jewelry was founded in Motomachi, Yokohama, in 1946, and is known as the first brand to offer a full line of earrings in Japan. In the spirit of brightening customers’ lives and delivering happiness, the company has created a multitude of unique and high-quality items with a commitment to exquisite craftmanship. Star Jewelry is also engaged in corporate social responsibility activities that contribute to enriching society through the development and sale of jewelry. The collaboration with Sumitomo Chemical to develop jewelry using sustainable material is part of the efforts.

Sumitomo Chemical has been working to develop chemical recycling technology for plastics. The company constructed a pilot facility for the chemical recycling of acrylic resin (polymethyl methacrylate or PMMA) at its Ehime Works in Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture, Japan, in December 2022, and is now stepping up technical verification and marketing efforts, with the aim of bringing the chemically recycled PMMA SUMIPEX^® Meguri^® to market at scale in fiscal year 2025. This sustainable material, using raw material obtained by breaking down used acrylic resin by chemical recycling technology, provides the same level of high transparency as acrylic resin using raw material made from fossil fuel, and contributes to reducing CO₂ emissions and mitigating environmental impact throughout its product life cycle.

The Sumitomo Chemical Group has made contributing to reducing environmental impact one of the material issues that it addresses as management priorities, and has been working on plastics recycling, including chemical recycling. The Group will expand the lineup of Meguri^®, its brand for plastic products obtained through recycling technology, and continue striving to help achieve a circular economy.

Kumi Nagai, Managing Director of Star Jewelry, made the following statement.

“Our acrylic jewelry collection is a special series among our products that particularly emphasizes craftmanship. What makes Sumitomo Chemical’s sustainable acrylic material attractive to us is that it is made from 100% recycled raw material and at the same time it is as high-quality as standard acrylic materials for jewelry, in terms of both transparency and durability. These features that Meguri^® offers exactly match Star Jewelry’s philosophy of uncompromising commitment to excellence in manufacturing. Additionally, this is the first time that 100% recycled acrylic material has been used in jewelry in Japan. We have always been at the forefront of proposing the latest trends, designs and technologies in this industry, and are extremely pleased about this collaboration with Sumitomo Chemical.”

Reference

1. Meguri^®
Meguri^® is Sumitomo Chemical’s brand for plastic products, including polyethylene, polypropylene, and acrylic resin, that are produced using the company’s chemical recycling or material recycling technologies.

 

2. Chemically recycled PMMA SUMIPEX^® Meguri^®
Sumitomo Chemical has, in collaboration with The Japan Steel Works, developed a technology that chemically breaks down used acrylic resin and recycles it back to acrylic resin. SUMIPEX^® Meguri^®, which is produced using this technology, is the first Meguri^® brand product.

Related webpages:
Sumitomo Chemical’s website about plastic recycling
Sumitomo Chemical’s website about the chemical recycling of PMMA (AUTOMOTIVE SITE)

Related press releases:
“Sumitomo Chemical to Launch Meguri^TM, a New Brand for Recycled Plastic Products,” September 8, 2021
“Sumitomo Chemical Completes Construction of Pilot Facility for Acrylic Resin Chemical Recycling
Accelerating the development of a circular system for plastics through cross-industry collaboration,” December 23, 2022

Contact

Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
Corporate Communications Dept.
https://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/contact/public/