Japanese companies develop eucommia gum elastomers as raw materials for cosmetic

Japanese cosmetics company Pola Orbis cooperates with Japanese enterprise, a comprehensive heavy industry, to develop eucommia gum elastomer as a raw material for cosmetics (Hitachi Zosen), and jointly develop 100% plant-based biopolymers as cosmetic ingredients and packaging material.

This cooperation aims to develop plant-based ingredients for the production of environmentally friendly products.

Hitachi Shipbuilding is a Japanese industrial and engineering company that conducts business in the fields of environment, energy and water.

Since 1986, the company has been developing a plant-based polymer called Eucommia Elastomer, hoping to use it as a new functional material in a wide range of fields.

Eucommia gum elastomer is a trans-polyisoprene biopolymer with a molecular weight of more than 1 million Daltons. It has been used as a material for 3D printers and golf balls.

Eucommia ulmoides

Eucommia gum elastomer is extracted from Eucommia ulmoides fruit. Eucommia ulmoides is native to China and widely cultivated for its use in traditional Chinese medicine.

According to a spokesperson of Polyo Misi, the leaves, peels, and bark of Eucommia ulmoides contain a large amount of high molecular weight trans-polyisoprene rubber.

As a biopolymer, eucommia gum elastomer has good flexibility, impact resistance and water resistance. Therefore, it can enhance the impact resistance of biodegradable plant-derived plastics.

In addition, in view of the good flexibility of this ingredient, it can also be used in cosmetics to give the product a better look and feel, and a pleasant enjoyment to the skin.

This material will solve environmental problems such as carbon dioxide emissions and plastic pollution, so it is in line with the sustainable development goals proposed by the United Nations in 2015.

The spokesperson emphasized that the collection of these raw materials is ethical and has little impact on the environment.

She said: "We hardly cut down trees. We only get raw materials from the fruits, which can be harvested every year, without cutting down trees."