[Edaily Reporter Kim Ji-woo] In observance of World Environment Day (June 5), the retail, lifestyle, and fashion industries are launching a series of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) campaigns that directly involve employees and customers. Moving beyond simple donations or one-off eco-friendly activities, these initiatives aim to spread the values of resource circulation and sharing through everyday practices, such as reusing unused items and reducing unnecessary digital data.

World Environment Day, observed annually on June 5, is a commemorative day established by the United Nations (UN) to raise awareness of the value of environmental conservation, and various environmental protection activities are taking place around the world. Recently, as social concern over climate change, wildfires, and air pollution has grown, the importance of preserving urban green spaces and forests has also increased.

On the 5th, Lotte Home Shopping announced that it will conduct the “Return (RE) Resource Recycling Campaign” with its employees at its headquarters in Yangpyeong-dong, Seoul, from today until the 19th. Under this initiative, employees donate reusable household items such as clothing, miscellaneous goods, and books, which will then be sold at a charity bazaar held next month in collaboration with the Beautiful Store Foundation. The proceeds from the sales will be used to support vulnerable groups and fund community outreach projects.

The campaign name combines “RE,” meaning reuse, with “TURN,” signifying the act of adding value to items and returning them to society. Kim Jae-gyeom, CEO of Lotte Home Shopping, also participated in donating items on the first day of the campaign. Lotte Home Shopping plans to operate this campaign as a regular program rather than a one-time event, aiming to put its ESG management slogan—“A different tomorrow through today’s actions”—into practice in the daily lives of its employees.

In the beauty industry, #Aekyung Industries launched the “Ae·Tan·Da” campaign to mark Environment Day. The acronym stands for “Aekyung Industries Carbon Diet,” and the company explained that it has organized activities that employees can easily participate in during their work to help the Earth, which is suffering from rising carbon emissions.

Aekyung Industries operated an “Environmental Protection Action Week” from the 26th of last month to the 1st of this month and implemented a “Digital Carbon Diet” to delete unnecessary emails. With a goal of deleting more than 65 emails per employee, the company cleared a total of 613,361 emails, achieving a reduction in carbon emissions of approximately 2,453 kg. It is known that storing a single email generates 4g of carbon dioxide.

NeoPharm’s Atopalm, a skincare brand specializing in sensitive skin, donated 20 million won to Green Umbrella to support forest restoration in celebration of World Environment Day. Atofarm held an eco-friendly “Green Drawing Contest” for children last April and accumulated donations based on the number of participants; these funds are scheduled to be used for purchasing and planting trees, as well as forest maintenance activities, at Noeul Park and Haneul Park in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

In the fashion industry, #Hyungji I&C’s women’s apparel brand Caris Note has concluded its clothing donation campaign, “Re:Caris.” Run for 45 days starting on Earth Day, April 22, the campaign offered customers benefits toward new purchases when they donated Caris Note clothing they no longer wore to stores.

The collected clothing is delivered to the social enterprise Goodwill Store, where it undergoes a commercialization process before being sold. The company explains that this initiative goes beyond simple clothing recycling to contribute to job creation for people with disabilities and support their self-reliance. Hyungji I&C has been continuing this campaign since 2024, developing it into a brand ESG activity that combines resource circulation with social value.

Environmental campaigns in the industry are expanding from corporate-led donation activities of the past to lifestyle-oriented ESG initiatives in which employees and customers participate directly. An industry insider stated, “There is a growing trend toward more concrete corporate sustainability management activities, where small actions initiated on the occasion of Environment Day lead to resource circulation, carbon reduction, and community giving.”