Global apparel retailer UNIQLO has reaffirmed its commitment to making lives more comfortable through its signature initiative, The Heart of LifeWear. Building on the success of its 2024 programme, UNIQLO announced that it will donate over one million new items of clothing worldwide in 2025, with donations reaching refugees, disaster victims, children, and communities in need.
The initiative distributes HEATTECH and AIRism items, tailored to the climate of each region, to provide warmth or breathability where it’s needed most. Since 2001, UNIQLO has donated clothing globally, but this marks one of its most extensive campaigns yet.
Koji Yanai, Senior Group Executive Officer at Fast Retailing Co. Ltd., UNIQLO’s parent company, said:
“There are people all around the world who suddenly find themselves in difficult situations due to conflict, persecution, or disasters. Through The Heart of LifeWear, we aim to warm both bodies and minds, showing the true purpose of LifeWear: to make life better.”
Malaysia’s Contribution
As part of the initiative, UNIQLO Malaysia will donate approximately 15,500 pieces of AIRism clothing to underprivileged communities across the nation. The beneficiaries include refugees, flood victims, B40 households, Orang Asli groups, and other vulnerable communities, with distribution supported by trusted local humanitarian partners such as UNHCR, the Malaysian Relief Agency, and the Rotary Club of Kuching Central. The first distributions will begin in October 2025.
Global Impact
This year’s global donations include:
- 500,000 items for returnees in Syria (via UNHCR)
- 100,000 items in Japan for disaster victims and children’s homes
- 125,000 items in Greater China for children and elderly in poverty
- 60,000 items in South Korea for elderly people living alone
- 106,000 items across Southeast Asia, India, and Australia
- 70,000 items in North America for refugees and the homeless
- 100,000 items in 12 European countries for refugees and families in poverty
Total: 1,061,000 items donated worldwide.
Planned Donations around the World (2025) * Includes both HEATTECH and AIRism items, depending on the climate of the donation region.
| UNIQLO Activity | Donation Region | No. of Items | Recipients |
| Global | Global | 500,000 | Donation to returnees in Syria through UNHCR. |
| Via local UNIQLO businesses | Japan | 100,000 | Donation to disaster victims, children’s homes, children living with illness and their families, and people with disabilities. |
| Greater China | 125,000 | Elderly people and children living in poverty, people with disabilities, etc. | |
| South Korea | 60,000 | Elderly people who are living alone and in poverty. | |
| Southeast Asia, India, Australia | 106,000 | Refugees, internally-displaced people, victims of natural disasters, adults and children living in poverty, etc. | |
| North America | 70,000 | Refugees, people experiencing homelessness, adults and children living in poverty, etc. | |
| Europe (12 countries) | 100,000 | Refugees, adults and children living in poverty, etc. | |
| Total: | 1,061,000 | ||
A Legacy of Care
The Heart of LifeWear began in 2024, when UNIQLO marked its 40th anniversary by asking one simple question: “What makes life better?” The answer was clear, turning LifeWear into a vehicle for hope and dignity. That year, more than one million items were distributed in 28 countries, including 530,000 items sent to refugee camps in Jordan at the request of UNHCR.
This long-standing partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has been in place since 2006, making Fast Retailing the first Asia-based company to form a global partnership with UNHCR. Beyond donations, UNIQLO also supports refugee self-reliance, employment opportunities, and awareness campaigns worldwide.
By continuing this mission in 2025, UNIQLO strengthens its role not just as a retailer, but as a force for humanitarian impact.
