Last Updated: 2020.05.25
Fast Retailing to Donate Total of 5 Million Gowns and Masks, Plus Functional Innerwear Items to Bolster Support to Combat COVID-19 in Japan
Latest donation is in response to call from Director of Kyoto University Center for
iPS Cell Research and Applications
FAST RETAILING CO., LTD.
to Japanese page
Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. today announced that it will donate one million isolation gowns, four million masks, and UNIQLO AIRism functional innerwear items to medical institutions around Japan. This move is in response to public proposals from Professor Shinya Yamanaka, Director of the Kyoto University Center for iPS Cell Research and Applications, to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fast Retailing will enlist its manufacturing partners in procuring the medical-grade gowns and masks and will supply them directly to entities that most need them starting from early June. Gowns and AIRism items will be provided to among others government-designated infectious disease centers, university hospitals for the critically ill, and polymerase chain reaction test centers that are helping bolster virus detection.
The company has set up a dedicated desk to handle requests for masks, so it can better assess needs and offer the necessary support. This is in view of chronically severe mask shortages among small and mid-sized hospitals and nursing homes that assist these frontline medical institutions endeavoring to prevent COVID-19 from spreading.
Professor Yamanaka said about the new Fast Retailing move that, "I salute this decision to supply gowns and masks to medical institutions around the nation, as this protective equipment is vital in the quest to contain the spread of COVID-19. Until we can develop a cure and vaccine, society must unite to overcome continuous socioeconomic restrictions and resumptions. I hope that support and cooperation from Fast Retailing and other entities will continue to increase."
Tadashi Yanai, Chairman, President & CEO of Fast Retailing, commented that, "The unprecedented global crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic means that countries and corporations like ours must work together beyond borders to identify and act on ways to best serve society. It is in that spirit that companies from Japan, China, and elsewhere have banded together to give support in the states of New York and New Jersey, where there have been so many COVID-19 cases, with their governors expressing gratitude for such assistance. We have drawn on our network as a global corporation to procure masks and gowns from manufacturing partners in China and provide them to frontline caregivers in Japan, the United States, and elsewhere around the world. We will keep striving as an apparel company to serve the social good."
Fast Retailing has donated more than one million masks and 200,000 isolation gowns so far to medical institutions in Japan. The company decided to offer further aid because many medical institutions and nursing homes still lack supplies to complete requisite treatment and testing frameworks for ongoing efforts to help abate the COVID-19 pandemic, while maintaining socioeconomic activities. As part of its support commitment, Fast Retailing has already donated AIRism innerwear through its overseas subsidiaries to medical institutions around the world. It did so in response to feedback that wearing these items under protective clothing and isolation gowns can help alleviate stuffiness and other discomfort for medical professionals.
Overview of Relief Provisions
| Recipients around Japan | Items | Details | No. of items supplied |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Including government-designated infectious disease centers, university hospitals for the critically ill, and polymerase chain reaction test centers |
Isolation gowns |
|
1,000,000 |
| Functional innerwear |
|
As needed | |
|
2. Medical institutions* and nursing homes* |
3D high-performance face masks |
|
1,000,000 |
| Flat masks |
|
3,000,000 |
*The needs of medical institutions and nursing homes will be determined via the Support Request Desk.
Notes:
- Fast Retailing will assess the urgency and importance of requests for support, based on which it will determine if it can accommodate them.
- The 3D high-performance face masks do not fit snuggly and are not recommended for wearing when in direct contact with COVID-19 patients.
Medical Institution Mask Support Request Desk
| ■Target | ： | Medical institutions and nursing homes around Japan needing masks to safeguard from COVID-19 |
|---|---|---|
| ■Period | ： | From 9 a.m. Monday, May 25 through 12 noon, Monday, June 1 |
| ■Applications | ： | Accepted via the UNIQLO Medical Institution Mask Support Request Desk at the following website: https://www.uniqlo.com/jp/sustainability/covid-19madoguchi/ |
Fast Retailing Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic
On March 26, Fast Retailing announced that it would donate a total of 10 million masks to medical institutions in Japan and abroad to support the fight against COVID-19. To date, the company has provided these items to 19 countries and regions where it operates. In Japan, more than one million masks were provided to the government's mask team by mid-May.
On April 30, Fast Retailing announced as an additional support measure that it would donate 200,000 isolation gowns and AIRism functional innerwear items to medical institutions in Japan. These items are being supplied through prefectural governments and the Japanese Nursing Association, with deliveries being completed in May.
Fast Retailing has also made donations through local subsidiaries in 26 countries and regions to nongovernmental and other organizations assisting the homeless, victims of domestic violence, and other vulnerable individuals. Items provided include AIRism, HEATTECH and other innerwear, down jackets, and additional cold-weather clothing. The total number of clothing items provided to date exceeds 220,000. Fast Retailing will continue doing what it can to help in a constantly changing global situation.
Visit the following website for details of donations and support to medical institutions and organizations around the world:
https://www.fastretailing.com/eng/sustainability/covid19.html
