Shiseido’s Anessa promotes safe sun time for children in Asia with Sunshine Project

16 May 2024 --- Shiseido brand Anessa unveils the Sunshine Project, an initiative to provide children with “holistic well-being” by promoting being outside with the proper sun protection.

The project will begin in Japan and eventually reach 12 Asian countries and regions where Anessa products are sold: China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The project aims to reach over 300,000 children cumulatively, including related initiatives, by 2030. Anessa says it is “the number one suncare brand in Asia.”

Safe sun time
Anessa will host events to encourage children to play outside spontaneously and provide opportunities for schools, children and their parents to learn about UV protection.

The sun care brand will continue offering sunscreen products and financial support to patients suffering from XP, an incurable genetic disease that prevents exposure to UV rays.

Chiaki Tomita, chief brand officer of Global Premium Brands at Shiseido, says: “Under Anessa’s ‘Free to Shine: Let people shine infinitely under the sun’ brand purpose, we began providing special support for Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP) patients in 2004, and then from 2018 we initiated education about UV rays and the importance of sunscreen in collaboration with preschools and elementary schools in Japan. We look forward to expanding these efforts through the Anessa Sunshine Project to encourage children to play outdoors and enjoy the many holistic benefits.”

Sun care brand Anessa advocated for the importance of children in Asian countries playing outside.The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently released its 2024 Guide to Sunscreens, revealing that three-quarters of approximately 1,700 evaluated SPF products fell short of “adequate” sun protection, with many containing ingredients that pose health risks.

“Many of the products we reviewed don’t offer balanced UVA and UVB protection. Some ingredients commonly found in sunscreens have been linked to human and environmental concerns,” said Emily Spilman, a program manager for Healthy Living Science at EWG.

Promoting play
Shiseido’s YouTube channel launched a video on the health benefits of children playing outside. The video features parents in urban areas of China, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam talking about the limited outdoor play time of today’s children and an expert on children’s wellness, professor Akira Maehash of the Faculty of Human Sciences at Waseda University, talking about how playing outside helps children develop more fully.

The WHO recommends that children and adolescents between the ages of five and 17 get at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily. However, Anessa highlights that the amount of time spent outdoors is declining in modern society.

A company survey found that less than 50% of children play outdoors at least seven hours per week in urban areas of China, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam.

According to Professor Akira Maehashi, playing outdoors promotes “balanced physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual growth, strengthens the autonomic nervous system, and stimulates inspiration and spontaneity, all of which are essential for health throughout human life.”

The Sunshine Project aims to address children’s growing need for sun time by helping children across Asia build a foundation for lifelong “holistic well-being” through “nurturing” experiences under the sun.

By Sabine Waldeck

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