Launched last year by e’quipe, athletia is a Japan-based brand that provides support for a beautiful and active lifestyle.
People’s desire of living in wellness both physically and mentally has been increasing as of late. At the same time, the increased focus on environmental issues has become more consideration towards our daily life.
“Opportunities for clean beauty are growing around the world and people’s views are changing,” says Miki Matsuoka, marketing manager of athletia. “For example, beauty as a concept is being described not just in terms of skin and other external factors. But also in terms of how to live. There’s also an increase in people improving their diets and becoming more environmentally aware. And I believe this kind of ‘clean’ lifestyle can lead to more radiant and beautiful life. athletia began with the purpose of providing solutions for this trend.”
athletia’s concept and commitment to sustainability
Targeting a variety of generations including the beyond gender with an active lifestyle. Their modern core values include a balance between movement, inner beauty, and compassion for the environment. All the materials they used are selected and sourced with an eco-friendly mindset.
The purpose of athletia is to control the balance between the active states and the relaxation and calmness. As a clean beauty brand, they will focus on using naturally derived and carefully researched, and found ingredients. For example, perilla ocymoldes leaves and angelica keiskei is grown from the plants in sustainable, recycling-oriented farms. And these farms don’t use agricultural chemicals.
Additionally, they clarified the composition and traceability of each used ingredient. For the package, the glass bottles they use are more than 90% recycled glass instead of using plastic containers. Furthermore, they commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by using bio-polyethylene that is made of sugar cane-derived ingredients to replace plastics.
These mindsets are applied to their flagship store as well. For the floor, they use natural materials that can be decomposed back into the soil. Their gift boxes used biodegradable moulded pulp which is made from 100% recycled paper. Their limited edition pouch also uses low-carbon, eco-friendly washable paper.
Engaging with customers
Getting customers involved is a new way to make a community. It will bring curiosity to those consumers who are new to the sustainable movement. Additionally, the community will be the key to spreading the knowledge among many other people by educating.
atheltia created a program that customers can recycle the used glass bottles. The brand itself has the goal of environmental justice. Which is to track the waste from the used products of athletia and properly use them as resources by recycling. To achieve this mission, they ask consumers to bring their used products bottles. For each bottle, atheltia will donate 1$ to The Nature Conservation Society of Japan(NACS-J). And the customers can choose which movement of NACS-J they’d like to support.
For athletia, clean beauty means the care for nature, the environment, and society. This program is especially focusing on the environment by committing to reuse, recycle, reduce.
A breath of fresh air to the Japanese beauty industry
The increasing demand for sustainable behaviour in consumers became mainstream globally. Especially, among the Gen-Z and Millenial generations. Additionally, the impact of the pandemic caused people to re-think what to spend. Consumers are more concerned about purchases. And their impact on not only themselves but also on society.
People will more likely to choose the brands if they show the cleanness of sustainability. However, it is yet to spread widely in Japan. athletia is a newborn brand that will bring a breath of fresh air to the Japanese beauty industry.
All images in this article are courtesy of athletia.
