UNIQLO’s sustainability commitment

Japanese fashion group Fast Retailing is one company that is really committed to its sustainability promise, implementing novel measures to recycle, donate, reuse, upcycle and spearhead a real and practical pre-owned fashion practice that may be the most sustainable move in a world that carelessly uses it resources and is slow to conserve what is now dwindling  in some parts of the world.

In its televideo media and analyst briefing Wednesday, the fourth such annual briefing by the company, Fast Retailing unveiled its vision of LifeWear = a New Industry which it is pursuing through a business model in which growth and sustainability are linked objectives.

The company’s Ariake Project is an ongoing business transformation initiated in 2017 that is ensuring that progress is achieved toward  its sustainability goals.

According to Koji Yanai, Fast Retailing Group senior executive officer, the company “aims to make and sell only the products our customers really want. At the same time, he said, “we are building a supply chain that considers the environment and human rights for our customers’ peace of mind.”

Fast Retailing is, thus, eliminating unnecessary items and gradually establishing a business centered on products customers want most and are likely to wear often. The company is not aiming to produce items are trendy and likely to be worn for a limited period of time.

During the briefing, company officials expressed their belief that it is the customers who individualize their style, building on the quality and timeless pieces offered by the UNIQLO brand.

Fast Retailing, acknowledging the effect of climate change, has expanded its lineup of year-round mainstay products to meet customer needs. Instead of the conventional method of dividing items into Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter lines, it has strengthened its product mix to offer items with high demand throughout the year.

The Japanese company has also undertaken social contribution initiatives like its Peace for all charity T-shirt project and The Heart of LifeWear initiative through which it will donate one million items of  its Heattech and AIRism products to those who need them most - refugees, children, and disaster victims. These include donations for war-torn Ukraine.

The choices that Fast Retailing makes take into account customer feedback that it  collects and analyzes annually from more than 30 million customers from around the world. The company mines the collected information for insights, and by responding to changes in customer needs and lifestyles, it eliminates waste, making only products customers truly want and need, and transporting and selling these at exactly the time customers need them.

Fast Retailing is creating lifewear cycle that starts from listening to what the customers want, designing the products, sourcing the materials, manufacturing and distribution. It ensures that at the end of every season they do not have a massive leftover of unsold stock.

Complimentary to that is sustaining lifewear cycle which starts with the customers, who buy products that they intend to wear often and when done with, are likely to donate or recycle for reuse by others or turned into new resources.

Such activities, Fast Retailing reported, have allowed it to  grow significantly in cooperation with its customers and partners, as well their local business operations around the world and their own communities. Through their products, stores, employees, and global network, the Japanese company vows to continue working toward a more sustainable society, supporting peaceful and stable lives for people around the world.

Another true sustainability practice that the Japanese fashion group has adopted is its RE.UNIQLO Studio, the clothing repair and remake service launched in 2022 which has expanded to a network of studios in 51 stores in 22 markets by October this year and is scheduled to be available in 60 stores by the end of December.

Another laudable move that it is undertaking, but which it is still carefully trying to nurture is the pre-owned clothing business. Fast Retailing began trial sales of pre-owned clothing in October 2023. Sales at the UNIQLO Maebashi Minami IC store in Japan began in October this year, the third location alongside the UNIQLO Setagaya Chitosedai and UNIQLO Tenjin stores, where the first trial sales were conducted.

They admit though that there is still some resistance to the concept of pre-owned clothing even though in other countries such as the United States, thrift shops and vintage clothing stores that sell second hand clothes have a special niche.

The company, however, has seen some progress in terms of recycling as evidenced by the official uniforms provided to the Swedish Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which were the first to use a recycled polyester from clothing collected by UNIQLO. Fast Retailing is continuing its research and development on clothing-to-clothing recycling.

For its fiscal year 2023, Fast Retailing achieved a 69.4 percent reduction in GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions from its own sources (stores and major offices), compared to FY2019 levels.

It reported steady progress is being made toward the target of a 90 percent reduction by FY2030. The procurement of renewable energy increased to 67.6 percent  in FY2023, compared to the target of 100 percent FY2030.

GHG emissions in the supply chain, it reported, have been reduced by 10 percent as of FY2023. The pace of reductions is expected to accelerate further from FY2024 onwards due to the replacement of plant equipment and expanded use of materials with a low-environmental impact.

Finally, the company said, the percentage of materials used with low GHG emissions, such as recycled materials, is 18.2 percent across 2024 products, a significant increase from 8.5 percent in 2023 products. For polyester items, the percentage of recycled materials used increased to 47.4 percent.