Published on June, 2010 (from the power of clothes No. 4)
The Setouchi Olive Foundation and UNIQLO
Looking Beyond Donations and Volunteer Activities
Visit the cash registers at a UNIQLO Japan store and you can expect to encounter the same things: posters, pamphlets and a small, green donation box. Channeled through these donation boxes are the generous contributions of our customers in sup-port of efforts to restore greenery to the Seto Inland Sea region under an initiative sponsored by the non-profit Setouchi Olive Foundation and supported by UNIQLO since 2001.
In this issue we share information about the process, results and intentions behind our Setouchi Olive Foundation support activities. How many donations have been collected? How much progress has been made to restore the natural environment of the Seto Inland Sea? Of course, it is important for us to report to readers the concrete results of our efforts, but we also want to explain the thinking that underlies UNIQLO’s support for this important cause.
UNIQLO’s support for these initiatives includes a program in which our employees volunteer their time to improve the environment of Teshima Island in the Seto Inland Sea, allowing them to come face to face with social issues such as depopulation and the aging of Japanese society. Our involvement in these initiatives has prompted us to consider whether our environmental activities should focus on more than just greenery activities and planting trees. We are now examining what corporate social responsibility should mean to a company that de-signs, produces and sells clothing.
We can start by taking our environmental and social contributions one step further. Moving into the future, we are set on gradually yet steadily expand-ing our network of like-minded individuals.
CSR Department, Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.
