The Australian arm of global fashion retailer Uniqlo is donating around 15,359 pieces of its Heattech range to domestic aid organisations in Australia that provide clothing to refugees, children, victims, essential workers and the underprivileged.
This donation is part of a global philanthropic push, in which Uniqlo is planning to donate more than one million pieces of its Heattech range to various aid organisations across the world.
In Southeast Asia, India and Australia, the total clothing donation amount is around 120,000, with the same amount being donated to Greater China. Around 100,000 pieces each will be donated to Europe and Japan, with 80,000 in North AMerica and 50,000 across South Korea.
There is also a planned donation through UNHCR of 500,000 items to forcibly displaced people in Jordan this winter.
“The key items provided to our charity partners will be from our iconic Heattech line – one of Uniqlo’s most popular product ranges globally and the pinnacle of our LifeWear philosophy,” a spokesperson at Uniqlo Australia shared with Ragtrader.
“There will be several Heattech items provided for donation, including Men’s and Women’s Heattech crew neck and Heattech tights, as well as our Kid’s Heattech cotton crew neck and cotton Heattech cotton leggings.
“Whilst not currently being winter in Australia (although temperatures are starting to drop) we want to ensure that this charity program is aimed at providing Australians in need with a warm winter, thanks to Uniqlo Heattech products.”
The program will run for the remainder of 2025.
“To date, we have donated 1 million pieces of Heattech as part of the Heart of Lifewear initiative,” the spokesperson added.
“This includes donations with UNHCR to refugees who are living in Jordan refugee camps, where Uniqlo teams from all over the world including sustainability, merchandising planning and logistics have visited Jordan directly to distribute Heattech to refugees and other people in need.”
According to UNHCR, there are currently more than 120 million refugees and internally-displaced people globally, as well as many others who are forced to live in difficult circumstances, both in markets where Uniqlo operates and in nearby regions.
The philanthropic push by Uniqlo and Uniqlo Australia adds to its wider ESG initiatives. This includes its All-Product Recycling, which was relaunched as part of ‘RE.Uniqlo’ in 2020. The recycling program has officially been part of its in-store services since 2006, marking an official partnership with UNHCR.
“Uniqlo Australia executes a clothing recycling program where every store has a ‘take back’ program that allows customers to drop off clothes they no longer wear,” the spokesperson said. “The clothes are then donated to local charities and redistributed into the community.
In 2024, Uniqlo Australia reportedly donated around 30,000 pieces of clothing through the RE.Uniqlo donation program.
“In addition to this, any items that are donated through our RE.Uniqlo program in store and are deemed ‘unwearable’ are then recycled via our local textile recycler, Textile Recyclers Australia.
“This initiative is part of Uniqlo’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and circular fashion, ensuring that our customers can return their unused Uniqlo items back into our stores and they are responsibly redistributed.”