Working toward a world without displacement, UNIQLO is providing four kinds of support.
~ The Power of Clothing No.28 ~
Jun 13, 2025
LifeWear
Working with partners to provide emergency aid.
Over 120 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to violent conflict or oppression. Since 2006, UNIQLO has been working with UNHCR to support the increasing number of people forced to flee worldwide.
Our global partnership with UNHCR was formalized in 2011. What follows are two examples of winter aid efforts conducted alongside UNHCR.
In 2021, large numbers of refugees and displaced people were forced out of their homes in Afghanistan and the surrounding region. During winter, these people were severely affected by below-freezing temperatures. To help them through winter, we donated USD 800,000 (about JPY 92 million) to UNHCR for emergency aid. These funds provided refugees, particularly women and children, with warm blankets to stave off below-freezing temperatures, solar lanterns, and insulating kits for their tents.
Fast Retailing and UNIQLO US also worked with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to distribute around 42,000 pieces of fleece and HEATTECH innerwear to those seeking refuge from Afghanistan in the United States.
After war erupted in Ukraine in February 2022, Fast Retailing donated USD 10 million (about JPY 1.15 billion) to UNHCR.
These funds were used to respond to emergency health and safety needs through setting up shelters, transporting relief supplies, and providing emotional support for children. Around 100,000 HEATTECH blankets and pieces of innerwear were sent to those living in shelters in Ukraine and surrounding territories.
UNIQLO clothes can find a new purpose helping refugees in need.
Working with UNHCR and other global NGOs and NPOs, we’re redistributing a portion of items collected at in-store recycling boxes as well as new items like HEATTECH, focusing on target areas and sending what is needed most.
In winter 2024, UNIQLO launched The Heart of LifeWear, a program for distributing 1 million HEATTECH items to those in need throughout the world that continues today.
In February 2025, at the request of UNHCR, 530,000 HEATTECH items were delivered to refugee camps in Jordan, accompanied by staff from UNIQLO.
About 560,000 Syrian refugees have sought shelter in Jordan, but often find difficulty obtaining employment. To work toward a solution, UNHCR has created opportunities at camp warehouses for workers (paid volunteers) to help receive and distribute HEATTECH deliveries, enabling economic opportunities for refugees. Once all 530,000 HEATTECH items are sorted by size and product, they’re distributed to three refugee camps, including the world’s largest refugee camp in Jordan.
UNHCR gathers information on the composition of each household, including the size and number of required items, to ensure each household receives the appropriate clothing based on their needs.
This round of donations is part of The Heart of LifeWear program. Refugees and UNIQLO staff had a chance to interact during the delivery and distribution. Reading the text for The Heart of LifeWear program, one of the refugees smiled and exclaimed, “Jamil! (Good!)” in delight.
In urban areas of Jordan, the living situation is sometimes harsher than that in the refugee camps. On a visit to one household during bitterly cold weather, workers gave a family HEATTECH and fleece. “They’re so warm,” the family said, smiling with relief. “Please let us make you coffee,” the mother said, standing up to hug the UNIQLO staff. When they left, she waved goodbye until the crew was out of sight.
The goal is to empower refugees to attain economic stability.
Working with UNHCR, we’ve set up training facilities for textile and computer skills in six countries in Asia and provided instruction in entrepreneurship.
How can we empower refugees to attain economic stability and self-reliance? On this front, UNIQLO has partnered with UNHCR on the Self-Reliance and Livelihood Project in India, Iran, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Aiming to help refugees attain economic independence, the program offers a wide range of professional training.
As a way of launching training programs aimed at developing sewing skills, in 2022 we partnered with UNHCR on a project at the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh, where women refugees can gain sewing experience by producing cloth sanitary napkins and shorts needed in the camp. Many of the women there are single parents. Our hope is that by providing steady work and a stipend for the volunteers, we can help these women overcome some of the many challenges they face.
The project also creates a safe space in the camp for women to discuss their concerns among a group of peers. In 2023, 3.4 million sanitary napkins and shorts were produced and distributed free of charge to more than 110,000 women in 14 refugee camps managed by UNHCR. As of the end of December 2024, 773 refugee women have participated in sewing training programs.
As a global apparel brand, we’re working to help refugees take skills learned in their home countries and share them with the world.
The official uniforms for Expo 2025 in Osaka are decorated with emblems crafted by MADE51, a crafts brand founded by UNHCR in 2021 to help refugee women achieve independence. These emblems are made by refugees, many of whom come from Afghanistan.
Fostering employment to increase stability among the displaced.
The RISE Program (Refugee Inclusion Supporting and Empowerment) was launched to create opportunities in our stores. Language instruction and on-site training help to ensure the workplace works for them.
For refugees to find a stable way of life in the places where they’ve sought shelter, it’s vital for businesses to provide employment opportunities.
Since 2011, UNIQLO has partnered with organizations like Refugee Assistance Headquarters (RHQ) to employ individuals in Japan who have a refugee background. The list of stores hiring refugees has extended beyond Japan, taking the program worldwide.
Part of this is the RISE Program, which aims to increase the number of refugee hires and foster long-term employment. Through language instruction and on-site training, we’re helping to ensure their workplace works for them. We’re also organizing programs that cultivate staff members for store manager and training positions.
Bringing displaced individuals onto the team at UNIQLO is a way of making the concept of diversity an everyday reality. At present, refugees have been employed at our stores in Japan, the US, and Germany, and other countries.
As of April 2025, there are 42 refugees employed at 31 UNIQLO stores throughout Japan.
Out of the 320 employees at the UNIQLO Ginza store, 110 come from overseas. That’s nearly 30% as of March 2024.
One of these employees is Masamba, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he taught geography and math. Seventeen years ago, armed conflict and unrest in his home nation prompted him to seek asylum in Japan. Nine years ago, with help from RHQ and other refugee supporters, he started working at UNIQLO. Though he’s raised a family in Japan, someday Masamba hopes to move back to the Congo with his children.
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