Last Updated: 2024.12.27
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Fast Retailing is developing products that minimize environmental and social impact, leveraging our strong partnerships with suppliers. Examples include a range of products we make using recycled materials.
Clothing made from recycled materials
To achieve our greenhouse gas reduction target for the fiscal year ending August 2030, we are promoting the use of raw materials produced with lower greenhouse gas emissions at the product planning stage and in the selection of raw materials. We are gradually switching to such materials, with the aim of using at least 50% of these materials in the manufacturing or our products by 2030.
To date, recycled polyester has been used in UNIQLO products such as Dry EX, Furry Fleece and some HEATTECH crew neck T-shirts. Meanwhile, recycled nylon is used in AIRism bra tops and UV-cut parkas, and recycled cotton is used in some UT products. In addition, for the official wear provided to the Swedish national team for the international sports event held in France in the summer of 2024, UNIQLO used a molecular recycling method for some collection items (materials with a high polyester content) collected from stores. This is the first time UNIQLO has recycled clothing donated by customers into fabrics used for brand new items. .
Related Links
Clothing made from recycled materials- GU Clothing made from recycled materials (Japanese only)
News Release 'UNIQLO Unveils Beautifully Simple, High-Performance Uniforms for Sweden's Athletes at the 2024 Major Sporting Meet'
UNIQLO DOWN RECYCLING
In September 2019, UNIQLO stores began collecting UNIQLO's used down items from customers. As of the end of August 2024, the number of down products collected from customers exceeded 1.45 million (cumulative). A system developed by Toray extracts material from down products, to be cleaned for use in new down merchandise. By utilizing recycled down and feathers, it is possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the production process by approximately 20%*.
Conventionally, the stuffing in duvets and other items incorporating down is manually removed. By developing special extraction machinery, Toray has fully automated the cutting, stirring and separating and recovery, for 50-fold the process capacity of manual methods, thus greatly alleviating workloads.
In the 2020 Fall/Winter season, we launched Recycled Down Jackets as the first offering from the initiative, and have continued to sell them ever since. In addition, the Recycled Hybrid Down Jacket, a product of the collaboration between UNIQLO and White Mountaineering launched in October 2024, uses 100% recycled down and feathers in the body of the jacket, which have been regenerated using original down recycling technology developed in collaboration with Toray.
*LCA (Life-cycle assessment)calculated values in the down manufacturing process for UNIQLO's 21FW Recycled Down Jacket (Toray survey)
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Development of water-repellent technology that does not use PFAS
PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) is a general term for many different types of organic fluorine compounds. It is durable water-repellent finishing agent that is widely used in the apparel and outdoor wear industries to protect clothes from rain and dirt. However, it is not easily broken down in nature or the human body, and once it is produced, it tends to accumulate. In light of these concerns, Fast Retailing set a target of eliminating all PFAS use in production by 2013, and worked with strategic partners and other textile manufacturers, chemical manufacturers, and garment factories to develop safer PFAS alternatives and alternative technologies. As a result, we have eliminated the use of PFAS from all of our products from the 2017 fall/winter season.
Representative water-repellent products that do not use PFAS include winter outerwear that uses down or padding, functional outerwear such as the BLOCKTECH Parka and Pocketable Parka, bottoms such as Gear Shorts and Warm Pants, and a wide range of products such as HEATTECH gloves, round mini shoulder bags, back packs, folding umbrellas, and hats.
Related Links
- UNIQLO (The Power of Clothing) No.27 LifeWear That Repels Rain and Keeps You Comfortable, Using Safer Materials
- Chemical Management: Initiatives toward the elimination of specified substances
Development of jeans incorporating new technology
The Fast Retailing Group has developed a new finishing process for jeans that reduces water usage*. The technology, named BLUE CYCLE, originated at the Fast Retailing Jeans Innovation Center, the Group's facility for jeans research and development in Los Angeles, California. The latest innovation combines advanced washing equipment utilizing nanobubbles and ozone, with the skills of expert jeans designers, to reduce the amount of water in the finishing process compared to conventional production methods, while still ensuring high quality and design.
In addition, the pumice typically used in the washing process has been replaced with artificial stone that can be used semi-permanently, helping to reduce water pollution. The workers' burden of work has also been relieved with the introduction of lasers which replace the labor-intensive scraping process that has traditionally been done by hand.*Up to 99%. Comparing water use for 2018 model of UNIQLO Men's Regular Fit Jeans (68 BLUE) with water use for the same product from 2017. Water reduction rates vary by specific product.
