According to a recent report in the Japan Times, Lush Japan has reworked its parental leave system to allow same-sex partners to take leave for childcare, and Shiseido has participated in an LGBT photography project run by nonprofit group, ‘good aging yells’.
The beauty brands join a host of other companies across FMCG industries making moves to assert their public profile on the issue of inclusivity for minorities.
“Public attention on companies’ responses to LGBT people is expected to increase at a time when Japanese society is showing greater understanding toward them,” the national newspaper reports.
Lush parental leave
Lush Japan is an affiliate cosmetics brand to Lush UK, a company already well-recognised for its championing of an ethical corporate identity.
The brand “partially overhauled its personnel management system” in Japan last year, according to the Japan Times, so that it now allows its LGBT employees the same access to parental leave as heterosexual employees.
“We made the decision because it is important to try,” a rep from the brand is reported to have said.
Out In Japan
Shiseido’s efforts to improve its profile among LGBT consumers centre around the brand’s involvement in the photo project run by NGO good aging yells, Out In Japan, which features LGBT people.
According to the Huffington Post, the project aims to show ‘the true face’ of the community in the country, by “highlighting the presence of LGBT people in daily life”.
Shiseido provided cosmetics products to the project, putting its name to the high profile photography project alongside other major brands, including Gap Japan.
“An increasing number of companies are assisting LGBT events,” the Japan Times confrims.