Wacoal’s CSR is based on the philosophy of mutual trust
Wacoal was founded with the founder’s noble aim of dedicating his own life to benefitting people and society. Under the belief that a peaceful society is one where women can express their beauty, our founder started a women’s innerwear business in 1946, not long after the end of World War II. Since then, in keeping with our founding spirit of serving all women in the world, Wacoal has always strived to provide products and services that help women look and feel beautiful, and has grown into a leading women’s innerwear manufacturer. It may be said that Wacoal’s history is synchronous with the improvement in the status of women after the war.
It has been more than 60 years since our company was founded. No matter how times change, our core values and principles never change—that is mutual trust. At the heart of our CSR lies a commitment to mutual trust with society. The philosophy of mutual trust is embraced by each and every employee at Wacoal, leading to their responsible behavior both within and outside the workplace, thereby shaping the direction of our CSR activities.
As a company empathetic to women, we wish to capture the essence of female beauty.
Wacoal is a manufacturer. Through manufacturing, helping women realize their wish to become more beautiful—this is not merely our business purpose, but rather the very value of our existence. Therefore, what is most important for us is to create products loved by women. We seek to be a company that evokes trust and empathy among all women—not only our customers and employees, but also those who are not using our products. Every woman plays multiple roles. For instance, a woman working at Wacoal is an employee of Wacoal, and at the same time she is a member of the community and also a consumer. We desire to support the beauty of each individual woman—such a passionate desire has driven us to develop and manufacture “products good for the body” and “products that make wearers feel happy and that are comfortable to wear,” in other words, “products that promote and support beauty from within.”
We have always tried to meet the needs of people rather than market—the Human Science Research Center’s unique research is the starting point of our manufacturing.
Wacoal keeps on asking “what is the ideal way of living for women.”
One of the many examples that attest to this attitude is the Human Science Research Center, which was established to scientifically research and analyze female beauty (established in 1964). Since its establishment, the Center has accumulated data on a total of 40,000 women, including valuable data collected through continuous survey of the same women over a period of 30 years. In April 2010, as the culmination of its data collection and research activities, the Center announced the “Principles of Physical Aging and Beauty.” Based on the findings of analysis aimed at determining how women’s body shapes change with age, Wacoal began presenting concrete proposals to help women realize their wish to keep in shape and stay beautiful. We offer our customers personalized advice not only on innerwear, but also on all aspects of lifestyle, such as exercise and eating, in other words, we make suggestions for “beautiful ways of living.”
Our earnest research efforts has resulted in various innovative products, including products for addressing body aging (bust and hip), and sport and health support products such as Cross Walker and CW-X.
Supporting all woman—this is our mission, as a company empathetic to women
To meet various needs and demands, Wacoal has been engaged in social business projects, such as the Remamma Project, which caters to women who have undergone breast cancer operations; Dublevé Business, which provides semi-order made innerwear; and Good Age Business, which develops products for seniors. The results of the Center’s research are also used in these projects. In keeping with our founding spirit, we at the Wacoal Group will strive to contribute to society at large, as a company empathetic to women. We believe that contributing to improving the quality of life of women and society at large through our business activities is our important social mission.
Contributing to the recovery from the devastating earthquake, and toward development of a more sustainable economic model
It has always been our mission to contribute to society by helping women express their beauty. No matter how times change, this will never change. However, social problems and people’s values change with the times.
Amid mounting social issues—rapid globalization due to rapid advances in information technology, declining birthrate and an aging population, environmental destruction, widening disparities, and ethnic conflicts, that unprecedented disaster happened—the Great East Japan Earthquake. The March 11 disaster has brought Japanese society to a major crossroads. Since immediately after the disaster, Wacoal has provided supplies and funding to aid the recovery of the affected communities. We are determined to go all out in our efforts to help the affected areas and people recover as quickly as possible, though it will take long time.
Public awareness of fair business practices has never been higher. Consumers no longer accept unfair business practices, even if they are offered low prices. In order to achieve fair labor practices, fair prices and fair dealing, we will remain firmly committed to excellence in manufacturing. We will seek to remain a manufacturer that contributes to society at large.
