Global
apparel retailer UNIQLO today announces the launch of a charity T-shirt
collection featuring winning designs from the 2023 Youth with Refugees Art
Contest co-organized
with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Items will be available at UNIQLO stores with
the UTme! service in 12 markets around the world, including Japan, and the
UTme! online store (Japan only), from Thursday, February 22.
The
Youth with Refugees Art Contest was established by UNHCR in 2020, creating
an opportunity for young people around the world (aged 30 and under) to exhibit
their talent and creativity, and to express solidarity with refugees through their
art. The contest promotes engagement in refugee issues and offers young refugee
artists scope to express themselves and to maximize their potential. In 2023,
UNHCR and UNIQLO co-organized the contest, engaging customers around the world
to support refugees through the purchase of a special collection of T-shirts.
The
theme of the 2023 Youth with Refugees Art Contest was "HOPE AWAY
FROM HOME", emphasizing recognition and inclusion for people who have fled
their homes to find hope and rebuild their lives in places they have sought
refuge. The artworks help refugees find acceptance and take the next steps,
from meeting new friends and having a place to learn, to reuniting with family
and finding work. More than 4,000 entries were received from all over the
world, and UNIQLO made T-shirts from the five winning designs.
In
addition to a direct donation of US$100,000 (approximately 14.7 million JPY)
UNIQLO will make to UNHCR, it will
also donate US$3 (approximately ¥441) to UNHCR for each purchase of a T-shirt from
the collection. UNIQLO will also donate 5,000 T-shirts and 1,000 tote bags from
the collection to UNHCR (equivalent to ¥11.94 million, based on the retail value
of these items at UNIQLO in Japan. Tote bags are not sold at UNIQLO).1
UNHCR will also sell these items internally at the online UNHCR Visibility Shop2,
with all proceeds used for UNHCR's refugee support activities.
About
the 2023 Youth with Refugees Art Contest
Submissions were accepted through the UNHCR website
from June 15 to September 30, 2023, from young people aged 10 to 30. The
contest was open to anyone in the world, with participation welcomed from
refugees, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers, and stateless persons. The
theme for the creations was “HOPE AWAY FROM HOME.” UNHCR and UNIQLO selected five
winning entries based on the artwork’s creativity and message.
“HOPE AWAY FROM HOME”
Collection - Contest Winners
Overview
of the HOPE AWAY FROM HOME Collection
Name: HOPE AWAY FROM
HOME
Launch date: Thursday,
February 22, 2024
Price: Php 990 (Adult
T-shirt and tote bag); Php 590 (Kids’ T-shirt); Php 790 (Mini tote bag)
Sizes: XS-XL (Adult
T-shirt); 110-160 (Kids’ T-shirt)
Availability: UNIQLO
Manila Global Flagship Store
Notes
1. Fast
Retailing Co., Ltd., the parent company of UNIQLO, will make the donation to
UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency engaged in international activities to
protect people forced to flee because of conflict and persecution. The amount
may vary depending on the exchange rate at the time of payment.
2. Store
supporting UNHCR country offices and colleagues worldwide by offering
visibility items and products designed to promote understanding of UNHCR’s activities
and refugee issues.
About
UNHCR
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, leads international
action to protect people forced to flee because of conflict and persecution.
UNHCR delivers life-saving assistance like shelter, food, and water, helps
safeguard fundamental human rights, and develops solutions that ensure people
have a safe place to call home and build a better future.
About
UTme!
UTme! is a service to easily create
unique, original items. Users can make a purchase just by selecting the design
and product they like. One-of-a-kind items can also be made with illustrations
drawn on a smartphone or tablet.
About UNIQLO
and Fast Retailing
UNIQLO is a brand of
Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., a leading Japanese retail holding company with global
headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. UNIQLO is the largest of eight brands in the Fast
Retailing Group, the others being GU, Theory, PLST, Comptoir des Cotonniers,
Princesse tam.tam, J Brand and Helmut Lang. With global sales of approximately
2.77 trillion yen for the 2023 fiscal year ending August 31, 2023 (US $18.92
billion, calculated in yen using the end of August 2023 rate of $1 = 146.2
yen), Fast Retailing is one of the world’s largest apparel retail companies,
and UNIQLO is Japan’s leading specialty retailer.
UNIQLO continues to
open large-scale stores in some of the world's most important cities and
locations, as part of its ongoing efforts to solidify its status as a global
brand. Today the company has a total of more than 2,400 UNIQLO stores across
the world, including Japan, Asia, Europe and North America. The total number of stores across Fast Retailing's brands is now
close to 3,600.
With a corporate
statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and
change the world, Fast Retailing is dedicated to creating great clothing with
new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere. For more
information about UNIQLO and Fast Retailing, please visit www.uniqlo.com and www.fastretailing.com.
Fast Retailing
global partnership with UNHCR
Fast
Retailing began working with UNHCR in 2006, providing clothing assistance for
refugees and displaced persons around
the world, and making support for refugees one of the key
components of its sustainability program. 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 sending used clothing items collected through its product recycling initiative to refugee camps,
Fast Retailing provides a wide range of assistance, including refugee self-reliance
programs, employing refugees in UNIQLO stores, and conducting refugee awareness
campaigns.
More information on UNIQLO’s sustainability
program, including refugee assistance programs, is available at:
www.uniqlo.com/jp/en/contents/sustainability/
About the partnership with UNHCR:
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