ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that ITOCHU and CIPS Advance Inc. (headquartered in Osaka-shi, Osaka; Yoshihiro Kawachi, President; hereinafter “CIPS Advance”) have launched the recycling business for flooring material together with the launch of DESSO, an eco-friendly flooring material produced by European construction material manufacturer Tarkett S.A. (headquartered in France; Fabrice Barthélémy, Chairman; hereinafter "Tarkett"), in the Japanese market through Lilycolor CO., LTD. (headquartered in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Toshiyuki Yamada, President and CEO; hereinafter "Lilycolor"), an Interior design and decorating wholesaler.

Recently, measures related to the disposal of plastics derived from fossil fuels have become more important as it is necessary to implement initiatives for the establishment of a recycling-oriented society. Among these plastic products, plastics for construction materials are approximately 11%*¹ of domestic plastic consumption. There is a growing need for the development of eco-friendly products and the construction of a recycling system.

Tarkett is a global construction material manufacturer with over 140 years of history and an established sales track record in over 100 countries. The company collaborates with ITOCHU in distribution in Japan, proactively developing eco-friendly products.

Its new DESSO is an environmentally friendly product based on recycling that enables the fiber surface part of the flooring material to be separated from the base material of the floor, making it possible to recycle the components. By offering DESSO on the Japanese market, ITOCHU and CIPS Advance aim to establish a flooring material recycling system. Lilycolor will sell and work with DESSO imported by ITOCHU and CIPS Advance and collect used DESSO, which will be returned to the Tarkett factory for recycling.

DESSO's fiber surface is ECONYL®-based. This is a recycled nylon produced by Aquafil S.p.A. ITOCHU began its capital participation*² in Aquafil S.p.A. in March 2022. The business also expects sales synergy with ECONYL.

ITOCHU's Brand-new Deal 2023, its medium-term management plan, includes "a continued contribution and commitment to the SDGs" in its Basic Policies. Through partnerships with the domestic and foreign companies, ITOCHU will contribute to the realization of a recycling-oriented society by expanding its construction material recycling businesses.

■CIPS Advance Inc.

■Lilycolor CO., LTD.

■Tarkett S.A.