Uniqlo to roll out recycling initiative

Beginning on September 1, 2011, clothing collected at Uniqlo's US stores will be donated to refugee and IDP camps through the cooperation of the UNHCR. In the UK and France, clothing collected through this initiative will be distributed to homeless individuals by local NGOs.

Uniqlo began its Fleece Recycling Campaign in Japan in September 2001 as part of its corporate social responsibility activities. In 2006, the project was expanded to include all Uniqlo products and the name was changed to the All-Product Recycling Initiative before launching in South Korea earlier this year.

The company says it has collected more than 11,510,000 articles of clothing (as of July 2011) since and it now aims to eventually introduce this project in every country of operation. Uniqlo will also continue to work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other organizations, so it can continue to donate clothing from its customers and pass on their goodwill to refugee camps and others in need.

“At Uniqlo, we believe it is our corporate social responsibility to maximize the value and usefulness of the truly great clothing we produce by collecting, reusing and recycling all of our products,” the company said in a statement. “When we launched the All-Product Recycling Initiative in 2006, we initially intended to recycle clothing for industrial use. However, most of the items we received from our customers were still wearable, so we shifted our focus from recycling to reuse and began donating the items we had collected to refugee and IDP camps throughout the world.

“Over the last five years, we have provided 4.23 million items as aid to refugees and survivors of disasters, and have offered support to pregnant women and single mothers. With the cooperation and support of our global partners - including the UNHCR, the Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP) and the Japan Relief Clothing Center (JRCC) -- the All-Product Recycling Initiative will continue to evolve on a day-to-day basis.