UNIQLO’s commitment to the community is both global in scope and local in relevance. Our All Product Recycling initiative has touched millions of people in over 40 countries world wide. Our “A Warm Gesture” program has grown from two to eight locations in the US and now, with UNIQLO Service Month, UNIQLO is touching even more local communities with the support of its stores and what we like to call the “power of clothing.” This spring, for the first time, UNIQLO’s USA stores had the opportunity to support their local communities by executing their own community engagement activities. The ground rules for these activities were simple: be meaningful to local community and staff, use the power of clothing and staff, align with UNIQLO’s mission to make the world a better place. Here are some of various activities which over 150 volunteers from 24 UNIQLO stores participated in.

Philadelphia: UTMe event at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, to give kids a fun and mind-release moment
Four stores in Philadelphia area participated in a UTMe event at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in May. Volunteers helped children choose their “favorite thing in the world” and made it come alive on their t-shirts using the UTMe application. They also had a fun time with UNIQLO origami and paper plane races. Not only did the children enjoy their time, but their parents each received a $5 UNIQLO gift card while discussing our stores and products with available volunteers.

Eight volunteers and twelve children were enjoyed designing their own t-shirts with the UTMe App and making origami at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Stamford: “Express Yourself” T-shirt making event for kids, inspired by SPRZ artists
Five volunteers from UNIQLO Stamford store traveled to the local Boys & Girls Club to host the event in April, based off SPRZ artists Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Jackson Pollock and Jean- Michael Basquiat. The participants first learned about the artist that they would be inspired by and then created their own design, with the help of their UNIQLO leader who was wearing the corresponding artist’s SPRZ t-shirt. At the end of the event, everyone enjoyed playing a trivia game based off what they had learned about the four artists and the winners received UNIQLO tote bags and traditional Japanese treats.

Participants enjoyed designing their own t-shirts inspired by four artists.

Boston: Making gift packages for kids in need
UNIQLO Faneuil Hall and Natick stores partnered with Cradles to Crayons, a local organization which provides young children living in homeless or low-income situations with the essential items they need to thrive at home, school and play. Volunteers helped shop for the children based using their wish lists and made 76 packages of books, toys and school supplies. It was a great experience for volunteers because it challenged their communication and shopping skills while making them consider what they sometimes take for granted. The winners received UNIQLO tote bags and traditional Japanese treats.

Volunteers from Faneuil Hall and Natick stores made 76 packages for children in need.

New York: In-Store Shopping Experience with “lessons” about store operations
Together with our longtime partner, the New York City Department of Homeless Services, UNIQLO stores in New York City welcomed 30 children living in two family homeless shelters to the UNIQLO 34th Street store for a fun and educational day. The event began with “lessons” about the four areas of store operations; Customer Service, Loss Prevention, Fitting Room and Cash Wrap. Afterwards, all participants got to shop with UNIQLO staff member “shopping buddies” with $50 worth of merchandise tokens. UNIQLO provided children not only with an unforgettable ”In-Store Shopping Experience,” but also an interactive and educational behind the scenes look at working at a UNIQLO store with meaningful comments from participants such as “This is a dream come true!” while shopping and later at the check-out, another said “In ten years, I want to work here!”

Working with their buddies, children worked to stay within their budgets – they all managed to come almost exactly at $50

San Francisco: In-Store Shopping Experience with “lessons” about store operations
Same as NYC, UNIQLO stores in Bay area hosted the “In-Store Shopping Experience” and “A Day in the Life” event at UNIQLO Hillsdale store. 16 members from local organization Community Gatepath attended for the opportunity to shop and learn more about UNIQLO daily operations. Community Gatepath provides employment and daily programs for children and adults with physical and intellectual disabilities. The participants were all job ready individuals and took the lessons about working in retail to heart and were very inquisitive about what working at UNIQLO is like. When it came time to shop, most took the chance to shop for professional clothing that could be worn to interviews.

Sixteen participants from Community Gatepath took a ‘how to fold’ lesson and enjoyed shopping with volunteers from five bay area stores; Hillsdale, Serramonte, Stoneridge, Valley Fair and Great Mall.

Los Angeles: Beach clean-up to keep wildlife safe
UNIQLO stores in Los Angeles area teamed up with local organization Heal the Bay to participate in a three part Adopt-A-Beach program, to help rid their community’s playground of unwanted waste and to keep wildlife safe. Over 70 volunteers joined for cleanups in April and May, and they have another scheduled in July.

Over 70 Volunteers from all six stores in LA area joined to help clean Santa Monica beach.