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Last Updated: 2014.12.25

Fast Retailing Donates Emergency Clothing for Internally Displaced People in Iraq

FAST RETAILING CO., LTD.
to Japanese page

Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. today announces that it has responded to a request from the Government of Japan, to donate a total of 8,000 items of Winter clothing for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq - including "HEATTECH" and "Ultra Light Down". The clothing is to be flown to Iraq immediately for delivery to IDP camps in Erbil, in northern Iraq, through the Embassy of Japan in Iraq and Ivy, a Japanese non-governmental organization assisting IDPs in the framework of the Japan Platform.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that the number of IDPs in Iraq exceeded two million as of December 2014, with nearly half in three governorates of the Kurdistan Region. Camps are over capacity, and preparations to receive and support IDPs are pressing - with keeping people warm of particular importance, given that the temperature in Winter often drops below freezing in northern Iraq.

The Government of Japan has provided more than $28,500,000 in emergency aid and others since February 2014 for Iraq's IDPs, with international humanitarian aid focused on shelter, food, and water. Taking into account that the further urgent measures to combat the cold are essential, the Embassy of Japan in Iraq called for the assistance from Fast Retailing.

Since 2001, Fast Retailing has provided clothing to people affected by disasters and conflicts, and in September 2013, the company donated Winter clothing and funds to Syrian refugees through the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees, with which Fast Retailing has signed a Global Partnership Agreement.

Fast Retailing's All-Product Recycling Initiative collects lightly used clothing donated by its customers from UNIQLO and GU stores, and donates them to those in need around the world.

About Japan Platform
Japan Platform (JPF) is an emergency humanitarian aid organization launched in 2000 to deliver prompt and effective assistance through its member nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). It focuses on issues facing refugees and resulting from natural disasters, by working in close cooperation, based on equal partnerships, with NGOs, business communities, and the Government of Japan. In June this year, JPF launched assistance for IDPs in Iraq. IVY and Peace Winds Japan, member NGOs of the JPF, are currently providing support in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

About All-Product Recycling Initiative
Fast Retailing launched the All-Product Recycling Initiative for the UNIQLO brand in 2006. Today, it collects lightly used clothing donated by its customers from all UNIQLO and GU stores in 11 countries and regions, including Japan. To date, the program has delivered more than 14 million clothing items (as of the end of September 2014) to refugees and disaster victims in 53 countries and regions around the world, including Bangladesh, Philippines, Kenya, Liberia, and Syrian refugee camps in Jordan. Please see the LINK for further details.

 

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