Fast Retailing : Donates One Million Items of Winter Clothing for Refugees and Internally Displaced People - Donation Includes HEATTECH, Outerwear, and Monetary Support to Protect Forcibly Displaced Persons This Winter

Last Updated: 2021.11.24

FAST RETAILING CO., LTD.
to Japanese page

Fast Retailing will donate a total of one million items of UNIQLO HEATTECH and outerwear (worth around ¥1 billion yen) to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. The donation will provide support to refugees and internally displaced persons during the winter months.

In addition, in response to an appeal from UNHCR, Fast Retailing will donate US$800,000 to UNHCR, to help displaced persons in Afghanistan and the region this winter. Even before the full-fledged onset of winter, when temperatures can fall below freezing, many displaced persons in Afghanistan and surrounding regions have been subject to drought and other natural disasters, as well as food shortages. All this in addition to the risk of COVID-19. This donation will be used to provide relief supplies, such as blankets, solar lanterns, and tent insulation kits, to allow people forced to flee, especially women and children in particularly vulnerable situations, to protect themselves from sub-zero temperatures.

Speaking of the donation, Tadashi Yanai, Chairman, President & CEO of Fast Retailing, said, "Through our decade-long partnership with UNHCR, we believe that supporting refugees is a major responsibility of a global company. It is essential for sustainable development that people who have been forced to flee their homes are able to rebuild their lives. We hope that the clothing and relief we deliver together with the UNHCR will help protect the lives and health of displaced people preparing to face a harsh winter."

Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, also commented: "Today there are more than 84 million refugees and displaced people who have fled war, conflict, violence, discrimination, or persecution. Many of them are preparing to face winter struggling to keep their families warm while also facing the threat of COVID-19. Thanks to support from amazing partners like Fast Retailing and their customers, this winter we can help keep refugees safe and warm."

Fast Retailing launched its refugee assistance program in 2001. In 2006, Fast Retailing partnered with UNHCR to provide clothing support for refugees and internally displaced persons around the world. To date, the company has sent more than 46.1 million items of new and recycled clothing through UNHCR and other organizations to refugees and internally displaced persons in 79 countries and regions worldwide. Going forward, Fast Retailing will continue to support a long-term resolution to the global refugee crisis through its clothing businesses.

More information

Fast Retailing's global partnership with UNHCR

Fast Retailing began working with UNHCR in 2006, providing clothing assistance to refugees around the world. In 2011, to give more comprehensive support to help solve the refugee crisis, Fast Retailing became the first company based in Asia to enter into a global partnership with the UNHCR. Along with long-standing activities such as sending UNIQLO and GU items collected through its product recycling initiative to refugee camps, Fast Retailing provides a wide range of assistance, including emergency support, refugee self-reliance programs, employing refugees in UNIQLO stores, conducting refugee awareness campaigns, and dispatching employees to the UNHCR.

More information is available at:

Current refugee assistance programs at Fast Retailing

UNIQLO:
UNIQLO stores in 10 countries, including Europe and the US, will conduct an Every Giving Tuesday campaign between November 30 and December 21 to raise awareness of refugee issues among customers, encouraging them to join support efforts. During the campaign, UNIQLO will donate one HEATTECH item to refugees through UNHCR for each HEATTECH item purchased by customers.

More information on UNIQLO's sustainability program, including "RE.UNIQLO", its circular sustainability program, is available at: www.uniqlo.com/jp/en/contents/sustainability/

GU:
GU collects items from customers that they no longer use and sends these to people around the world in need of clothing. Also, customers who purchase items at GU, and participants in the recycling program, receive GU Miles. In addition to standard loyalty-program benefits, customers can also elect to convert their GU Miles into monetary donations for preferred partner organizations engaged in sustainability activities.

Theory:
Customers spending 10,000 yen or more at select Theory locations receive an ornament from the MADE51 Holiday Collection as a gift. The MADE51 program established by UNHCR supports self-reliance for refugees by selling handicraft items made by refugees in Afghanistan and countries around the world, helping to raise awareness.

About UNHCR

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads international action to protect people forced to flee because of conflict and persecution. We deliver life-saving assistance like shelter, food and water; help safeguard fundamental human rights; and develop solutions that ensure people have a safe place to call home where they can build a better future.

More information about UNHCR's Winter Appeal is available at:
https://donate.unhcr.org/int/en/winter-2021

Top of page