THE POWER OF CLOTHING / UNIQLO Sustainability

20 Years of
Sustainability Progress

It’s been 20 years since the United Nations Millennium Declaration.
The world continues to strive to realize a sustainable society.
The key milestones of Fast Retailing(FR)’s sustainability activities,
from the establishment of the Social Contribution Office to the present day,
are shown in the next pages alongside world events.

Supervision: the editorial team of Alterna, Inc

  • Fast Retailing Sustainability Timeline
  • World Timeline
2000

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
Guidelines first published


UN Global Compact established


UN Millennium Declaration adopted

2001

Social Contribution Office established


Employment of people
with disabilities initiated


Donation boxes installed at all UNIQLO stores
to support Setouchi Olive Foundation


Clothing donated to refugees in Afghanistan


Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) formulated

Employment of people with disabilities initiated
2002

Became an official partner of
Special Olympics Nippon


World Summit on Sustainable
Development held

2004

Code of Conduct (CoC) for
Production Partners established


Workplace monitoring
at partner factories commenced


CoC for employees established


Wangari Maathai received
the Nobel Peace Prize


2005

CSR Department established


First CSR Committee meeting held


Kyoto Protocol enforced

2006

All-Product Recycling
Initiative commenced


First CSR Report published


Kofi Annan’s Principles for
Responsible Investment (PRI) launched

2007

First visited refugee camps
in Thailand and Nepal


Environmental policy established

First visited refugee camps in Thailand and Nepal
2010

Grameen UNIQLO inaugurated
in Bangladesh as a social business


UN Women established


Aichi Targets adopted at COP10
(the Conference of the Parties
to the Convention on Biological Diversity)

2011

Entered into Global Partnership Agreement
with the United Nations
Refugee Agency (UNHCR)


Started the Great East Japan Earthquake
recovery support


Employment of refugees initiated


Professor Michael Porter proposed
“Creating Shared Value (CSV)”


Great East Japan Earthquake


Guiding Principles on Business
and Human Rights endorsed by the UN

Entered into Global Partnership Agreement with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
2012

UNIQLO Recovery Assistance Project
launched


Children’s Rights and Business Principles
announced by UNICEF, et al.


UN Conference on Sustainable
Development held

UNIQLO Recovery Assistance Project launched
2013

First Grameen UNIQLO store opened


Signed the Accord on Fire
and Building Safety in Bangladesh


Rana Plaza garment factory
building collapsed in Bangladesh

First Grameen UNIQLO store opened
2014

Joined the Sustainable
Apparel Coalition (SAC)


Malala Yousafzai received
the Nobel Peace Prize

2015

Joined the Fair Labor Association (FLA)


UN adopted the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs)


Paris Agreement adopted at COP 21
(the 21st session of the Conference
of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change)


Task Force on Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) established

2016

Sustainability Department established


Jeans Innovation Center (JIC) established


GRI Sustainability
Reporting Standards announced

2017

Disclosed FR core sewing factory list


Human Rights Policy established

Disclosed a FR core sewing factory list
2018

Joined the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI)


First selected as a constituent stock
of the FTSE4Good Index Series


JIC developed water consumption
reduction technology for jeans


Signed the UN Global Compact


Disclosed a list of
UNIQLO core fabric mills

2019

Entered into a global partnership
agreement with UN Women


Diversity and Inclusion team established


Announced the policy to reduce
single-use plastics


Entered into a partnership with
the International Labour Organization (ILO)


Launched the DRY-EX Polo Shirt made
with recycled polyester


Large-scale bushfires scorched
parts of Australia


Greta Thunberg spoke
at the UN Climate Action Summit


European Commission announced
the European Green Deal


COVID-19 first emerged

2020

Signed the Fashion Industry Charter
for Climate Action


Began COVID-19 support
efforts worldwide


RE.UNIQLO recycling program launched


Recycled Down Jackets launched


First included in the Dow Jones
Sustainability Indices (DJSI) World Index


Recognized as a water security
“A List” company by CDP