Starting from 'Knowing': A Society Where Anyone Can Participate in Support, from Household Paper

Our company supports April Dream, which aims to make April 1st a day to express dreams.

This press release is the dream of "AST Co., Ltd."

"Support is not something special that only certain people do, but something found in everyday life."

AST Co., Ltd., a company that handles household paper such as toilet paper and tissue paper (Osaka Head Office: Chuo-ku, Osaka City), aims to realize a society where women's and children's support is a "normal option."

As a first step, the total number of participants in free events has reached 551.

Through products, experiences, and learning, a circle of support starting from "knowing" is beginning to spread.

■Background of the Dream: From "Selling" to "Connecting"

Previously, in times of disaster, we provided paper diaper support to disaster-stricken areas through the international cooperation NGO JOICFP.

However, we realized:

### "Is it enough to provide support only in emergencies?"

From this question, and given that 80% of our household paper customers are women, we launched the "Circle of Support from Household Paper Project" in FY2021 and began women's support.

Initially, we started by selling toilet paper and tissue paper with donations attached, in order to donate to the White Ribbon Movement. However, we gradually arrived at another answer:

### "Is support not just about donating, but about starting from 'knowing'?"

Therefore, we created opportunities for anyone to easily get involved in support and "learn," by holding free events that participants could easily engage in, such as yoga, boxercise, walking, and running events, to first raise awareness of the lesser-known White Ribbon Movement.

■From "Another Reality" Learned on Site, to Children's Support

What emerged while continuing women's support were the challenges faced by children.

Learning about poverty and solitary eating, we decided to start children's support in addition to women's support, and began donating to the Certified NPO National Children's Cafeteria Support Center Musubie from FY2024.

As we regularly volunteered at three children's cafeterias in Osaka City, we faced a significant gap. That was:

### "Children's cafeterias = places only for impoverished households and children."

However, actual children's cafeterias are communities that play diverse roles, allowing non-children to participate for community exchange, serving as learning spaces for children, and enabling retirees to participate in local initiatives as volunteers.

Feeling that the "gap in perception" between public perception and reality was a major issue, we launched the parent-child event activity "Ladybugs and Friends."

The "Ladybugs and Friends" activities focus on food education, intellectual education, and physical education, providing opportunities for parents and children to enjoy "learning about support" five times a year.

■"Gateway to Support" Experienced by 551 People

The total number of participants in women's and children's support events has reached 551.

For women's support, we have held events aligned with the White Ribbon theme of "women's health" through activities such as yoga, boxercise, walking, and running events.

Furthermore, in collaboration with Cuore Co., Ltd. (cosmetics wholesaler, Head Office: Suita City, Osaka Prefecture), which also works on the White Ribbon Movement and sympathizes with our activities, we have held events combining makeup classes with health topics.

At each event, we also provide talks and mini-games about the White Ribbon Movement and health.

In FY2025, participants watched a video compiled from actual stories of cervical cancer patients. We prioritize planning events that encourage participants to reflect on their own health and consider the importance of cervical cancer screenings, thereby making it a "personal" issue for them.

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For children's support, we held food education, intellectual education, and physical education events, providing all participants with opportunities to "learn."

We talked about children's cafeterias, discussed with children's cafeteria operators about what kind of children's cafeterias would be easy to use, gave talks about the "terrible twos," exchanged ideas on practical measures among participants, performed plays conveying the nutritional benefits of seaweed, and used a body apron to explain gut health and poop in an easy-to-understand way. We valued not just fun, but also time for "knowing" and "learning."

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### [We want to deliver food education opportunities beyond event participants]

In the children's support activity "Ladybugs and Friends," we created a picture book summarizing the food education content from the events and presented it to participants.

On September 20, 2025, in cooperation with Mephos Co., Ltd., we held a food education event where we learned about the nutritional benefits of seaweed using paper puppets and made rice flour crackers and dashi soup. The picture book includes recipes and photos from the event day at the end. We are planning to deliver the picture book to non-event participants in the future.

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■Participant Voices

[Women's Support Event Participants]