Sony to use paper, bamboo materials in packaging

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:56 JST, November 27, 2022

Sony Corp. will focus on using eco-friendly materials for product packaging instead of plastics from April 2023.

The company will begin introducing the new packaging, made from recycled paper and bamboo, to smaller products sold worldwide, such as smartphones and headphones. Sony will also look at repackaging larger products, such as TV’s, aiming to eliminate the use of plastics completely in the future.

The new packaging will be used for products that weigh less than one kilogram. Some products, such as Sony’s Xperia smartphone, and some wireless earphones, are already using the plastic-free packaging. Products sold by parent company Sony Group Corp. and all its subsidiaries used 94,000 tons of packaging materials in fiscal 2021.

Since the Plastic Resource Circulation Law came into effect in April, the government has been requiring companies to reduce the use of plastic products. Convenience stores and restaurants have already begun switching from plastic cutlery to other materials, or are charging fees.