Privacy Policy

At Kao Canada Inc. ("Kao"), we respect your privacy. It is Kao’s policy to take reasonable measures to respect your privacy. We’ve structured our web site so that, in general, you can visit Kao on the web without identifying yourself or revealing any personal information (i.e., information by which you can be identified and/or contacted, such as name, mailing address, telephone number, or email address or any similar information you submit to us). Once you choose to provide us personal information, you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with the principles set forth below.

We respect the privacy rights of individuals

Kao will respect the legal requirements that exist regarding the privacy of personal information as is committed to complying with all applicable law. Kao will, from time to time, review its personal information collection, use, and disclosure practices in order to assure compliance with laws and regulations.

What personal information we collect

On some Kao web pages, you can contact us or enter our guestbook. The types of personal information collected at these pages may include name, mailing address and email address. In order to tailor our subsequent communications to you and continuously improve our products and services, we may also ask you to voluntarily provide us with information, including information regarding your personal or professional interests, demographics, experience with our products, and contact preferences.

We do not collect any personal information about you unless you provide it to us. If you email us or answer questions we have placed on this web site, you are voluntarily releasing that information to us. Please do not submit personal information to us if you do not want us to have this information in our database.

The web site you entered may also collect Personal Information from you about a third party (e.g., the site might allow you to send an email or message to a friend, in which case we will need that person’s name and email address). Please note that we use such information only for the specified purpose (e.g., to deliver the email message) and we will not contact the third party again by email unless and until the third party contacts us or provides permission to do so.

How we use personal information

Kao uses your personal information to better understand your needs and provide you with better products and service. Specifically, we use your information to communicate back to you, to update you on products, services and benefits, and to personalize our web site for you.

Occasionally, Kao may also use your information to contact you for market research or to provide you with marketing information we think would be of particular interest. We will always give you the opportunity to opt out of receiving such contacts.

Kao may share the personal information you provide online with other Kao divisions or affiliates and/or business partners, who are acting on our behalf or who offer products or services that we believe may be of interest to you, which may include transferring the personal information to other countries. Whenever any personal information is transferred to a third party as described above, that party will be contractually bound to abide by the terms of the Kao privacy policy and the notice provided to you when the information was collected. When permitted or required by law or court order, Kao reserves the right to collect, use and/or disclose your personal information pursuant to procedures that do not require giving notice or conducting related activities (for example, in connection with law enforcement investigations).

In the event of a sale, merger, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or acquisition of Kao, or a Kao business unit, information Kao has collected about you may be sold or otherwise transferred. However, this will only happen if the party acquiring the information agrees to be bound by the terms of the Kao privacy policy and the notice provided to you when the information was collected.

Your choice

Kao will not use or share the personal information provided to us online in ways unrelated to the ones described above without letting you know and offering you a choice. We will also provide you the opportunity to let us know if you do not wish to receive unsolicited direct marketing materials from us and we will make all reasonable efforts to honor such requests. We are not responsible for removing your personal information from the lists of any third party who has been provided your information in accordance with this policy, such as a business partner.

What aggregate information we collect

We may also collect non-personal information and may aggregate any information collected in a manner which does not identify any specific individual.

"Cookies" are pieces of information that may be placed on your computer by a web site for the purpose of facilitating and enhancing your communication and interaction with that web site. Many web sites, including ours, use cookies for these purposes. You may stop or restrict the placement of cookies on your computer or flush them from your browser by adjusting your web browser preferences, in which case you may still use our web site, but it may interfere with some of its functionality.

As you use the Internet, a trail of electronic information is left at each web site you visit. This information, which is sometimes referred to as "clickstream data," may be collected and stored by a web site’s server such as ours. Clickstream data can tell us the type of computer and browsing software you use and the address of the web site from which you linked to the Site.

How we use aggregate information

We may use cookies to customize your visit to our web site and for other purposes to make your visit more convenient or to enable us to enhance our service. We do not use cookies to retrieve personal information from your computer for purposes that are unrelated to the web site or your interaction with the Site.

We may collect and use clickstream data as a form of aggregate information to anonymously determine how much time visitors spend on each page of our web site, how visitors navigate throughout the web site and how we may tailor our web pages to better meet the needs of visitors. We may use this information to improve our web site and our services. Any collection or use of clickstream data will be anonymous and aggregate, and will not intentionally contain any personal information.

Security

Kao is committed to taking reasonable steps to ensure the security of your personal information.

To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the appropriate use of personal information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the personal information we collect online.

Collection of Information from Children

Kao has no intention of collecting personal information from children (i.e., individuals under the age of 13). Kao will maintain procedures to assure that information about children is only collected with explicit consent and is protected against improper use, consistent with applicable law. If a child has provided Kao with personal information, Kao asks that a parent or guardian of the child contact Kao using our Contact Us page to inform us of that fact. Kao will use reasonable efforts to delete such information from its database.

Your Consent

By using this web site, you consent to our use of your personal information as specified above. If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will post those changes on this page, so you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances we disclose it.

Non-confidential

Any communication or material you transmit to us by email or otherwise, including any data, questions, comments, suggestions, or the like is, and will be treated as, nonconfidential and nonproprietary. Except to the extent expressly covered by this policy, anything you transmit or post may be used by us for any purpose, including but not limited to, reproduction, disclosure, transmission, publication, broadcast and posting. Furthermore, you expressly agree that we are free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how, or techniques contained in any communication you send to us without compensation and for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to, developing, manufacturing and marketing products and services using such information.

Access to and Correction of Information

Kao will maintain procedures consistent with applicable law for individuals to gain access to their collected personal information and, when appropriate, correct any information that is inaccurate or incomplete, change their individual consent level, or have their personal information deleted.

Length of Time Information is Retained

We will retain your personal information as long as we consider that it might be properly used for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.

Destruction of Information

When we no longer are using your personal information for purposes described in this Privacy Policy or when you have asked us to do so, we will take reasonable steps to erase or destroy such personal information.

Comment and Questions

If you have comments or questions about our privacy policy or your personal information, would like to review or correct your personal information, or would like us to delete your personal information from our database, please contact us using our Contact Us page.

Changes to Privacy Policy

Kao will, and reserves the right to, modify and update this policy or its related business practices at any time. Kao will NOT apply changes to this policy retroactively to information Kao has previously collected.

Effective Date

This Privacy Policy is effective and was last updated on September 1st, 2008.