Approach

Recent years have seen the emergence of numerous new, unknown viruses that cause a variety of illnesses.
Since the 1890s, Lion has implemented educational activities aimed at spreading the practice of washing with soaps and detergents. Furthermore, since the 1990s, when group infections through food poisoning came to be seen as a social problem in Japan, Lion has advanced the unique concept that washing with antibacterial hand soap can be fun, promoting the formation of proper hand washing habits alongside its products.
Although hand washing and gargling may seem fundamental, it is vital that everyone—not just children, but adults too—makes sure to establish and reinforce them as important habits for health. Working together as a whole family, and as a whole community, to practice proper hand washing is an important way of keeping viruses and germs from disrupting our lives.
We can work together to keep germs and viruses off of us and keep from bringing them into the places we live, work and play. The first step is to wash our hands and gargle as soon as we get home.
To help realize healthy living for all, Lion seeks to help firmly establish basic habits like these. Lion has long carried out activities to this end in Japan and across Asia.

Activity Policy

To establish cleanliness and hygiene habits, Lion’s policy is to foster proper habits that can be practiced anywhere, anytime. Even when using soap to wash your hands, if the lather is too quickly rinsed away, grime will be left behind. In particular, only around 20% of children properly wash their hands all over.*
In addition to fostering proper cleanliness and hygiene habits in everyday life with a focus on children, Lion promotes hand cleanliness care that can be practiced when there is insufficient water for washing and the establishment of cleanliness and hygiene practices for food service professionals, such as those working at restaurants and hotels. In doing so, we seek to go to consumers where they are, partnering with local communities, including government bodies and schools, to advance employee-led activities together.

Initiatives

Establishing Proper Cleanliness and Hygiene Habits: Employee Participation

Lion implements activities to promote proper hand washing habits, mainly with the KireiKirei brand, aiming to realize everyday health and comfort for consumers. We carry out activities to promote proper hand washing habits as part of junior employee training. Every year, 80 to 90 junior employees work in teams to teach children at kindergartens and preschools around Japan the importance of hand washing.
Lion aims for 100% of current employees to have participated in activities to promote good hand washing habits by 2050. From 2012 to 2019, 1,222 employees participated (cumulative participation rate 42.8%). Over this period, approximately 35,000 preschoolers participated in these activities.
Furthermore, we are helping increase awareness among employees through activities in coordination with retailers and by incorporating activities to promote proper hand washing habits at kindergartens and preschools into the training of junior employees.

Cumulative total since 2012: Approx. 35,000

Establishing Proper Cleanliness and Hygiene Habits: Promotion through Our Businesses

The KireiKirei brand is implementing the Germ-Fighting Project as part of efforts to enable healthy living for all.
This project seeks to make everyday hand washing more fun. For example, one activity has participants create one-of-kind personalized KireiKirei hand soap bottles, and another involves promoting a week-long hand washing challenge for preschools and elementary schools. Through these and other activities, the project is promoting the formation of proper hand washing and gargling habits.
Washing for at least 30 seconds is fundamental to the effective removal of viruses and germs from the hands. We are implementing fun activities to help foster proper habits like this even among small children.

Establishing Proper Cleanliness and Hygiene Habits: Local Communities

We are promoting proper  hand washing habits at kindergartens, preschools and public facilities, mainly in areas across Japan where Lion facilities are located as well as in Ishinomaki City (Miyagi Prefecture), which was affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and an area closely connected to our founder, and Sakaide City (Kagawa Prefecture), where KireiKirei Hand Soap is manufactured.
Specifically, we have been promoting proper hand washing habits at kindergartens and preschools in Ishinomaki City as part of support for recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake since 2012. Since 2015, junior employees at Lion’s Sendai Office (also in Miyagi Prefecture) have taken part in these activities as part of their training.

The Lion Chemical Co., Ltd. Oleochemical Production Site, located in Sakaide City, is the main manufacturing site of KireiKirei hand soaps. In January 2014, to spread and establish cleanliness and hygiene habits among the citizens of Sakaide City, the city, Lion and the Oleochemical Production Site jointly established the KireiKirei City-Sakaide Project. This project undertakes a variety of activities aimed at spreading cleanliness and hygiene habits, including providing hand soap to kindergartens, preschools, elementary schools, junior high schools and public facilities, as well as offering hand washing checks at municipal events. As of 2019, these activities have reached a total of 10,740 citizens. In April 2019, the project commenced its second phase, targeting oral healthcare in addition to hand washing.

Lion began marketing KireiKirei hand soaps overseas in 2005. Today, in addition to Japan, the brand is sold in South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In each country and region, alongside the provision of products, Lion carries out activities to promote the formation of cleanliness and hygiene habits, aiming to increase awareness of cleanliness and hygiene.

Lion Group’s Social Contribution Activities

Hygiene and Health Care in Times of Disaster

In times of disaster, living in evacuation shelters, a limited water supply and other factors can increase hygiene-related risks in daily life, so keeping clean and taking care to stay healthy are extra important. In particular, maintaining oral hygiene and health—which is connected to one’s overall health—is crucial.
Lion has published a pamphlet covering oral and hand hygiene and health care in times of disaster as well as ways of preparing for such situations. In addition to providing information about hygiene and health in times of disaster, Lion participates in disaster readiness and other events around Japan to promote awareness and good practices.

The “Hygiene and Health Care in Times of Disaster” pamphlet is available for download here
(in English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese)

Hand Hygiene Management for Professionals

Professionals who handle food, be it in restaurants, hotels, food product factories or other industries, all want to provide the best service possible so that their customers will enjoy their food with peace of mind, have a good time, and make great memories.
Lion Hygiene Co., Ltd., as a comprehensive hygiene management company, helps create clean, safe and hygienic environments through products, hygiene assessments and other forms of support based on scientific insights in order to help food service professionals make their vision a reality. In particular, the foundation of hygiene management for professionals who handle food is thorough hand washing. As part of support efforts, Lion Hygiene provides hygiene management information that is important for such professionals, including not only hand washing techniques, but key points about hand washing timing and facilities, among other topics, through “Hygiene Tayori” fliers issued four times a year.

Supporting Hand Hygiene Management by Professionals
(Lion Hygiene Co., Ltd.) (Japanese)