Two years since project launch, donations exceed RM36 million, with more than four million T-shirts sold globally
Kuala Lumpur, 13 June 2024- Global apparel retailer UNIQLO today announces the worldwide release of three new designs for its ongoing PEACE FOR ALL charity T-shirt project. All profits from sales of PEACE FOR ALL T-shirts are donated to international humanitarian organisations UNHCR (the UN refugee agency), Save the Children, and Plan International, for use in global peace projects. The three new designs will be available from Friday, June 21.
The PEACE FOR ALL project features T-shirts with designs expressing a wish for peace, provided voluntarily by friends of UNIQLO who support the aim of “taking action for world peace”. The latest designs are created by three new collaborators: designer Tokujin Yoshioka, photographer Saul Leiter, and calligrapher Han Meilin.
Thanks to widespread support from customers, over four million PEACE FOR ALL T-shirts have been sold since the launch of the project in June 2022. The total donations from these sales have surpassed RM36 million (approximately 1.2 billion yen). These funds have been instrumental in providing emergency humanitarian aid to safeguard the lives of displaced individuals globally, and to aid children facing adversity amidst conflict and persecution.
Koji Yanai, Fast Retailing Group Senior Executive Officer, commented: “We are extremely pleased that PEACE FOR ALL, which was launched two years ago to spread the message of peace, and to make a positive change in the world through T-shirts, has resonated with so many people, raising RM 36 million (approximately 1.2 billion yen) in donations. I would like to express our gratitude once again to all the customers, collaborators, and partner organizations who have supported us so far in this project. At the same time, we hope to continue to expand the project further, so that the message of a wish for peace will reach the many people facing difficult circumstances around the world”.
■ Overview of the New PEACE FOR ALL Designs
Messages from new collaborators
Tokujin Yoshioka (Artist, Designer)
“Light for Peace.
The reflection emits a light of hope.
The light is a wish for peace.”
Saul Leiter (Photographer)
Saul Leiter had a knack for capturing peaceful moments that hush the considerable noise of New York City. “It’s been decided that I have a penchant for quietness,” he once said with a chuckle. Whether Leiter was observing a gentle kiss in Times Square amid the hubbub of New Year’s Eve celebrations, or finding a solitary young girl in a red coat making a snowball behind a downtown apartment building, the photographer communed with his surroundings to portray a uniquely tranquil vision of his beloved New York.
Han Meilin (Artist)
“I’ve created numerous animal drawings, driven by my deep love for nature and animals. The true calling of an artist lies in treating all forms of life with kindness. I see the world through a heart filled with love, dedicated to the pursuit of peace. The dove, holding an olive branch, stands as a powerful symbol of peace, and its impact reaches far beyond the canvas. Great love knows no bounds.”
Participating collaborators
■ Donation amount and activity report
UNIQLO launched the PEACE FOR ALL project on June 17, 2022, and to date has featured
Designs from 41 collaborators (including this most recent collection). As of the end of April 2024, a total of 4,044,163 T-shirts have been sold worldwide, raising more than RM36 million (approximately 1.2 billion yen).
Donation recipients
UNIQLO parent company Fast Retailing contributes all profits from the sale of PEACE FOR ALL T-shirts (equivalent to 20% of the selling price) evenly to three partner aid organisations through their representatives in Japan. Donations are used to fund activities for international peace.
Messages from partner organizations
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) https://www.unhcr.org/my/
“We at UNHCR express our sincere gratitude for the donation Fast Retailing and its UNIQLO customers have made through ‘PEACE FOR ALL.’ The additional donation from this campaign will enable us to address refugees’ immediate needs during emergencies and create lasting solutions for refugees in health care, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), livelihoods and self-reliance. With over 110 million people forcibly displaced due to conflict and persecution, your contributions are critical for UNHCR’s swift response, particularly in the Rohingya emergency and pressing crises in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Venezuela.”
- Mr. Ayaki Ito, Representative, UNHCR Representation in Japan
Save the Children https://www.savethechildren.net/
“Thank you to everyone who has supported us through PEACE FOR ALL, and everyone who has purchased T-shirts. With the help of your donations, we have been able to deliver food, daily essentials, livelihood support, health, education, as well as mental health and psychosocial support, to many children affected by conflict and natural disasters around the world, including in Ukraine.
“Clearly there is no inherent impossibility in saving the children of the world. It is only impossible if we make it so by our refusal to attempt it.” This is a quote from Eglantyne Jebb, the founder of Save the Children. We look forward to supporting even more children around the world through your participation in the PEACE FOR ALL initiative.”
- Akiko Takai, Executive Director cum Secretary General, Save the Children Japan
Plan International www.plan-international.org/
“Donations through “PEACE FOR ALL” are used for a project to prevent early marriage (child marriage) of ethnic minority girls in Ha Giang Province, Vietnam. Donations are used to improve children’s educational environment, as well as raising awareness so that they can decide their own life. We feel truly honored to play a part in this valuable initiative together with you to build a more peaceful world and to help children lead their own lives. We show our deepest gratitude to UNIQLO to provide us with such a meaningful opportunity.”
- Kiyoko Ikegami, Chair of the Board, Plan International Japan
Actions for Peace Supported by PEACE FOR ALL
In collaboration with organisations worldwide united under the aim of PEACE FOR ALL to “take action for world peace”, UNIQLO actively participates in activities aimed at promoting peace globally. The following report outlines the significant initiatives carried out by partner organisations utilising funds donated through PEACE FOR ALL – listing the specific actions undertaken, the targeted recipients of assistance, and the beneficiaries of these initiatives.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Expenditure report: Approx. RM 10.49 million (2022 – 2024)
| Humanitarian Assistance Toward the Ukraine Emergency | Humanitarian assistance was provided to people forcibly displaced by the war, including cash-based intervention to approximately 900,000 people and the provision of daily necessities to 570,000 people in Ukraine. |
| Humanitarian Assistance Toward the Rohingya Emergency | In collaboration with UNIQLO, 425 refugee women underwent skills training to empower Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh. The stipend received from making sanitary napkins and underwear products supports their livelihoods. To date, 3 million sanitary napkins have been produced thanks to this program. In addition, UNIQLO also provided humanitarian assistance to forcibly displaced people affected by Cyclone Mocha in May 2023. |
| Humanitarian Assistance Toward the South Sudan Emergency | As part of its program to support self-reliance for refugees, UNIQLO has been supporting the UNHCR’s MADE51 activities to raise brand awareness in support of refugee livelihoods. Artisans, including refugee women in South Sudan, utilize their skills and talents cultivated in their homelands to create and sell goods in collaboration with UNIQLO. |
(The above report represents a portion of expenditure, with donations also utilized for other global emergencies.)
Save the Children
Expenditure report: Approx. RM 3.01 million (June 2022 – August 2023)
| Humanitarian Assistance: Ukraine Crisis (Ukraine and Neighboring Countries), Turkey-Syria Earthquakes and Emergencies in Other Countries | More than 80% of donations are used for emergency humanitarian assistance. For the Ukraine crisis, more than 1.33 million families, including about 760,000 children, were provided with cash transfers, water, food, and hygiene products in Ukraine and in neighboring countries hosting refugees. In the aftermath of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, people without access to safe drinking water, or toilets and showers, were provided with hygiene kits, toilets, etc. More than 350,000 people received this assistance. |
Plan International
Expenditure report: Approx. RM 1.01 million (April 2023 – March 2024)
| Project to Prevent Child Marriage in Vietnam | With the aim of deepening understanding of the harmful effects of premature marriage (child marriage) and enabling girls to make their own life choices, we conducted training sessions and awareness-raising activities for students, teachers, and parents, and renovated school facilities. Skill development courses for trainers were conducted for 195 teachers, and approximately 9,000 children, teachers, and parents have participated in awareness-raising events. |
