HOW MUJI forms Its Sustainability Strategy with minimalism and supports the locals

Azra Bayraktar
22 hours ago
11 min read

MUJI MINIMAL PACKAGING — MUJI SUSTAINABILITY

In our previous blog ``Hara hachi bu* creating Brands with value``we started with an introduction to the Brand Essence, creating Brands with value. We had an introduction to our case ``MUJI``. The successful Japanese brand is characterized by simplicity and ``No brand strategy`` in its core.

Now I would like to go deeper and introduce you to the main principles of the brand and its sustainability strategies.

How MUJI uses its sustainability with minimalism, supporting the locals, using kapok denim for sustainable fashion, etc.

MUJI Brand Philosophy

MUJI has a brand essence centered around the philosophy of ``Hara Hachi bu, the Japanese practice of eating 80% full to benefit health.

The core of the brand is simplicity. (Miltenburg, pp 65-66). Another philosophy and a core value that they build their brand on is danshari, meaning keeping the right distance with the possessions we have, which represents the material world to have a healthy relationship with a sense of self-fulfillment (MUJI Principles).

Behind that, there is the Japanese minimalist style, and this idea is reflected in all their products, such as clothing, storage products, and office materials.

The counter brand of an overstimulated world with lots of impulses, Muji, created a serene environment with a few quality items that create better mental balance, no logo, very simple. Their products consist of kitchen materials, furniture, stationery, storage products, etc. I even know customers who order notebooks from their friends if they do not have a MUJI store in their countries😊.

MUJII BASIC Stationery — MUJI STATIONERY

MUJI in a couple of words (Miltenburg, 2018, p.65):

This brand is a very good example of translating the brand essence into the visible items of their brand strategy, from the products to the stores and employees.

This idea has been translated into all products

Products: Using the simplest possible form and the least possible amount of materials

Brand Identity: They never use any l\ MUJI labels on their products.

Communication: Kept to a minimum, Muji images and texts are in basic format

Place: (Stores) Functional and minimalist, and as a reflection of the Japanese culture, they pay attention to keeping their stores clean, tidy, and organized.

In Japan, as their houses are tiny, they should keep them very organized and clean; therefore, storage items, such as transparent boxes, are a main part of the collection

As a color palette, they have selected white as a material for wood and cotton. Trying to use recycled materials. They also specialized in travel gear, basic furniture, and accessories. To enable their customers to have a relaxed but functional trip.

Muji images and text are minimal and tranquil,

Stores are functional and minimalist,

The team is dedicated to keeping the stores clean and tidy.

MUJI BRAND PRINCIPLES:

In short, MUJI 無印良品. These kanji, Mujirushi Ryohin, are shortened to MUJI, literally meaning: “No brand, quality goods”. (MUJI Story of the Brand).

All the Brand Principles also consist of the underlying Sustainability Principles for Muji. I have created the table according to the article by Roll (2020) and Muji's website to show the overview of the sustainability approach and its underlying principles:

Muji Brand Meaning MUJI 無印良品 Mujirushi Ryohin	MUJI Principles	MUJI Manufacturing Standards (Roll, 2020)	MUJI 5 Pillars of CSR Program
Quality Goods	1) Selection of the Materials	Good Product Standards (quality)	1) Think Earth
No Branding	2) Manufacturing process	MUJI Code of Conduct for Business Partners – Environment, Labor, and Safety Management	2) Connect with Locals
	3) Simplification of the packaging	Prohibitions and Restrictions on the Use of Materials	3) Think as Consumers
			4) Prosper with Suppliers
			5) Respect Co-Workers

Muji Brand Principles

Quality Goods: They pay extra attention to optimize the production quality for their products by using sustainable raw materials, using timeless and minimalistic design in order to increase the durability and usage time, optimizing the items so they will serve their purpose perfectly while encouraging a simple Japanese lifestyle.

No Branding: In order to put their brands on every item, they would like to be known for their value and responsible consumption behavior. (MUJI Story of the Brand).

Muji's Branding Strategy — MUJII PRODUCTS ``NO BRANDING``

“A little of everything and never too much of it all.”

They customized 3 MUJI Principles under this motto (MUJI Principles):

1) Selection of the Materials

2) Manufacturing process

3) Simplification of the packaging

1) Selection of the Materials: MUJI selects raw materials like organic cotton, hemp, or kapok to ensure minimal impact on the environment while enhancing the quality of the garments. They use the Japanese concept of SU, meaning plain or unadorned, promoting simplicity while offering beauty, living a simple and modest life.

Kapok Denim Collection of MUJI — MUJI`KAPOK DENIM``

This is also the same as the manufacturing principle :

Good Product Standards (quality): By producing high-quality goods, Muji guarantees a longer product life and tries to reduce the frequency of product replacement (Roll, 2020).

2) Manufacturing process: Muji follows 3 manufacturing standards in its product development, which also resemble the main Principles. One of their 3 main pillars was using raw materials like organic cotton or kapok, reducing waste by standardizing the module in order to reduce the waste, facilitating disability, and reducing the packaging. This is also the main strategy of selecting materials (Roll, 2020).

Here, MUJI tries to minimize some of the unnecessary steps of the production, like the pulp bleaching process for packaging, labels, and notebooks, omitting the shape and size of the sweets, etc. The glaze flows on porcelain tableware is being checked to reduce product disposal, etc. The goal is to offer products with higher quality at affordable prices, but also to celebrate the imperfection " wabi-sabi "Japan perceives as aesthetic in the essential and authenticity. They design on paper and focus on the product usage, mainly how people are using these products at home, which influences the manufacturing process. Finishes, lines, and forms are minimized for streamlining the production process (Roll, 2020). This is also the second manufacturing principle mentioned by Roll 2020, Prohibitions and Restrictions on the Use of Materials: Muji seeks to restrict the use of substances that are known to have a significant impact on people or the environment and reduce waste by standardizing modules, facilitating disassembly, and reducing packaging (Roll, 2020).

3) Simplification of Packaging: They focused on simple and uniform packaging to conserve resources and reduce waste, bearing only minimal product information. They use FSC-certified paper, using plastic as much as possible. Clothes and linen are sold only with their tags, without packaging, to avoid material waste.

Simple Packaging of MUJI — MUJI SIMPLE PACKAGING

Also, through ethnographic research, MUJI found out that product packages create visual clutter in the bathrooms. To prevent this, they created refillable dispensers for soap, shampoo, and other products (Roll, 2020).

But even in all these standardized systems, MUJI found a way to make customized products through embroidery (Muji Personalization).

Customization and Embroidery of MUJI — Muji Embroideries and Customization

Using these strategies also in today’s digital environment by offering their MUJI app in 2013 enabled MUJI to track more accurate data and increase in-store shopping experience in more than 11 countries where you can use the app. They also eliminated the costs for printing the catalogues. The app connects data with the clickstream so MUJI can follow the purchasing trends, comparing them with in-store data, offering well-targeted, specific location-based in-push notifications and personalized coupons. After the launch, there was a 46% increase in in-store spending, but in 2026, they will remove the App from their strategy (Roll, 2020; Muji App.).

SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY FOR MUJI

Roll mentioned also the 5 Pillars of their CSR Program, which consists of 5 Pillars (Roll, 2020; Globis 2025): In terms of sustainability and supply chain management, MUJI also pays attention to Human Rights with their ESG committee (MUJI Social). In terms of the relationship with their partners, MUJI follows the Code of Conduct to ensure that

Roll mentioned also the 5 Pillars of their CSR Program, which consists of 5 Pillars (Roll, 2020; Globis, 2025):

1) Think Earth: Like using used wool to produce their sweaters, recycling textiles, or installing panels on their roof.

2) Muji Supporting the Locals

Here, MUJI offers its customers extra values like a crib rental program for mothers, `` A Child Chemo House`` as a treatment center for children designed with the children`s quality of life in mind (Roll, 2020). They also focus on customer health, especially for food. They implement food safety and quality control, and also pay attention to the nutritional level of their food offerings.

Connecting with Locals: MUJI also encourages local businesses in Japan, and global local businesses also, with social backgrounds like ``New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, or Time to Gold, which support the elderly people or people with vocational training opportunities for individuals in mental health recovery, with their products like nostalgic pastries (Muji Local).

Supporting of Locals — Supporting the Locals

Implementing responsible marketing where they give the proper information about ingredients, giving in-house training for their employees, including product background, cooking methods, and labeling (MUJI sustainability foods). They also co-create some products with their customers (MUJI Customer Relations)

Customer Ideas of MUJI — Sunscreen Gel and Sunscreen Milk were created from customer ideas (2025)

3 ) Think as a Consumer:

They also offered a new App called MUJI Good Program to collect points in several ways, like shopping, reading the articles sent by MUJI about disaster preparations, food health, etc., sharing posts about MUJI online, or using their reusable bags.

Bring your used clothes back to MUJI. These points can be used afterward as a donation for different organizations selected by MUJI, which are aligned with their brand purpose, like 1. Disaster Prevention & Emergency Humanitarian Assistance, 2. Food, Health: Supporting Life, 3. Building Communities and the Future, and 4. Supporting Daily Life and Culture. Since November, after the launch of the MUJI GOOD Program, over 2700 members have joined that program. This is also a very good example to combine online and offline customer journey for a good purpose (Muji Good Program).

3) Prosperity with Suppliers:

As mentioned earlier, MUJI has a strong relationship with its suppliers, supporting the use of organic cotton also for the health of their suppliers' employees, because it is fertilizer and chemical-free. In 2016, the Ryohin Keikaku Group became a partner of the Better Work Program, a collaboration between the ILO and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). More can be found under their sustainability link, where they explained everything in detail (Roll, 2020).

This is also a part of their manufacturing principles, as Roll mentioned

MUJI Code of Conduct for Business Partners – Environment, Labor, and Safety Management (Roll 2020):

All the partners are held responsible for human rights issues, harassment, discrimination, modern slavery, and human trafficking. Their Code of Conduct is based on the 10 Principles of the UN Global Compact and the Core Labor Standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO) (Roll, 2020: UN 10 Principles).

4) Respect Co-Workers:

MUJI also pays a lot of attention to the coworkers’ ideas or support. The Baumkuchen Project was an idea of a store employee where they appreciate ideas from them and bring it to the market. In 2025, the ideas of MUJI store staff members and customers were co-created products that were voted on by customers. The staff of MUJI stores nationwide proposed ideas for Baumkuchen flavors they would like to try, and eight varieties with the theme of “regional food favorites” were selected from approximately 250 ideas.

According to Roll, keeping its employees as internal customers is also very important to them. Under this policy, they introduced the "no overtime" policy in 2007. Besides that, hiring disabled individuals and assisting them with coaching, etc. And the Heartful Project, since 2009, is one of their initiatives (Roll, 2020).

More can be found under their Human Capital Strategy, where you can see all the important Six Pillars of their Human Resource Development and more in their ESG Data. What was very interesting for me was the variety of their training programs that they offer their coworkers, like Training the Store Managers, Training the future Leaders, Quality Control and Industrial Engineering training, Overseas Training, Support for Business Skills, etc.

HR Training of MUJI — Training Program of MUJI

MUJI Collaborations and Branding Strategies:

But the main goal and maybe the brand philosophy of the brand was to fight against overconsumption by proposing no artificial collections rather than aiming for modest satisfaction. The idea is not to buy extras but lighting and simplifying everyday life, offering products that function seamlessly, products that do what they say and what they do. Offering pragmatic solutions for our homes and decluttering them. Offering clothes that last longer, supporting different visions of design of imperfection and simplicity.

The main success of MUJI, according to Roll, is to stay true and loyal to their origin and brand while expanding in different sectors like MUJI Cafés, MUJI Hotels and Camps, where you can discover the local tastes, ingredients, and culture, even by harvesting in the fields with MUJI Food and Farming facilities.

MUJI Farming Experience — Muji Farming Experience

6 Floor Flagship Store in Ginza, which opened in 2020 and has been visited by 3 million people all over the world, to offer a unique experience

Muji Flagship store Ginza — Muji Flagship Store in Ginza

Their collaborations with different brands like Lego or Nissan (as a basic car without a name, sold 1000 pieces in 2001, V. Bruno 2023 Roll 2020).

We can maybe learn the most important lesson from creating a clear brand vision, strong brand essence, and teaching all the important pillars as a brand mission to all their employees at the front line to compete globally in many countries. How they created the right brand identity (where I will deal in more detail in the Brand Identity Post in coming weeks😊) to protect their brands against the copycat brands by setting strong rules for the store design, train all their frontline employees to make their service as differentiating point and keep the strategy consistent have a clear image for MUJI among customers and staying true to their roots and brand core.

As Roll mentioned in his closing words: `` Brands that successfully withstand economic cycles stay true to their core. Although Muji has been innovative in the design of its home products and lifestyle experiences, it needs to continuously invest in innovation to

maintain the focus on its superior design` `And sp far we can see that the company is on the right way and proving the Success of MUJI way the silent branding without showing off and staying true to their simple way of living with exclusive, affordable design. This makes MUJI so unique with its depth of thinking, which makes MUJI’s “emptiness” feel so full of meaning. (Globis, 202) With all these strategies that we saw on their sustainability report and company strategies that fit perfectly to MA (間), having a meaningful space filled with deep underthinking…

After explaining the brand essence, we are going to focus on Brand Vision, Mission, Values, and Brand Promises to complete the BRAND CORE.

Azra Bayraktar April 2026.

References

Bruno, V.: ``The car with no names``, https://driventowrite.com/2023/06/27/the-car-with-no-name-muji-car-1000/, 27 June 2023.

Collidu: Brand Onion: https://www.collidu.com/presentation-brand-onion

Globis:`` The MUJI Way: When Nothing Becomes Everything in Retail''January 25, 2025; https://globis.eu/the-muji-way/

Investing.com: ' Ryohin Keikaku FY25/8 presentation: Record profits as China sales surge ', https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/ryohin-keikaku-fy258-presentation-record-profits-as-china-sales-surge-93CH-4280874

Macias, Patrick: Why Muji Is Booming Again: The Strategic Revival Behind Japan’s Minimalist Brand, www.tokyoscope.blog/p/why-muji-is-booming-again-the-strategic

Miltenburg, Anne: ``The Brand Change``, BIS Publishers, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2017, ISBN: 978-90-63947-8-4.

Muji: https://globis.eu/the-muji-way/

MUJI About: https://www.ryohin-keikaku.jp/en/about-muji

MUJI App: https://www.muji.com/hk-en/campaign/mujiapp/

MUJI Customer Relations: https://www.ryohin-keikaku.jp/en/sustainability/customer/voc

MUJI Company Profile: www.ryohin-keikaku.jp

MUJI Environment: https://www.ryohin-keikaku.jp/en/sustainability/environment

Muji Education: https://www.ryohin-keikaku.jp/en/sustainabilito-worker/education

MUJI ESG Data: https://www.ryohin-keikaku.jp/en/sustainability/muji-sustainability/esg-data

MUJI Farming Experience: https://stay.muji.com/en/base/kamogawa/

MUJI Financial Results: https://www.ryohin-keikaku.jp/en/ir/results

MUJI Good Program: https://www.ryohin-keikaku.jp/en/corporate/articles/esg_mujigoodprogram_202509