Uniqlo teams up with national charity to give
- By Chen Boyuan
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E-mail China.org.cn, December 1, 2016
Japanese casual wear retailer Uniqlo teamed up on Wednesday with the prestigious China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF), named after late-Madame Dr. Sun Yat-sen, to launch a welfare program that will provide warmth – in a literal sense – to poverty-stricken people in China.
![Pan Ning (L), CEO of Uniqlo's Greater China operations, hands over a check of 3.88 million yuan (US$653.4 thousand) to Tang Jiuhong, CSCLF's Funding Department chief, on Wednesday at the inauguration ceremony of the Uniqlo-CSCLF partnership in Beijing. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20161201/00016c42b41619a9db4201.JPG "Pan Ning (L), CEO of Uniqlo's Greater China operations, hands over a check of 3.88 million yuan (US$653.4 thousand) to Tang Jiuhong, CSCLF's Funding Department chief, on Wednesday at the inauguration ceremony of the Uniqlo-CSCLF partnership in Beijing. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn]") |
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Pan Ning (L), CEO of Uniqlo's Greater China operations, hands over a check of 3.88 million yuan (US$653.4 thousand) to Tang Jiuhong, CSCLF's Funding Department chief, on Wednesday at the inauguration ceremony of the Uniqlo-CSCLF partnership in Beijing. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn] |
At the launch ceremony of the cooperation, Uniqlo offered CSCLF a batch of 10 million yuan (US$1.45 million) worth of winter clothes to be distributed to people in need.
Under the three-year-long cooperation plan, Uniqlo seeks to recycle five million clothes – old and new – from the public, clean and sanitize them and have them donated to impoverished people living in remote areas and children who suffer from diseases. To ensure the success of operation, Uniqlo has set aside a special startup fund of 3.88 million yuan (US$653.4 thousand).
The targeted children are those who suffer autism, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and cerebral palsy, among other currently unsolvable medical conditions.
Uniqlo has been regularly inviting those children to participate in open day activities at the chain's retail outlets, allowing the children to have hands-on experience of working at Uniqlo and also to design for Uniqlo.
In teaming up with CSCLF, Uniqlo hopes to "spread and expand its meager effort as a corporate entity" via the national network of the CSCLF to make society aware of the existence of love and care for children with special needs, among other people in need, said Pan Ning, CEO of Uniqlo's Greater China operations.
"More importantly, for people that we have helped, we want to give them confidence in society, so that they will develop the capability to be independent – rather than relying on charitable donations, and to offer a loving heart for people who live a similar or even worse life than theirs," said Pan.
Data from the CSCLF shows that at least 55 million people are still living a life with material scarcity. Uniqlo believes that it could make a difference in poverty reduction with the agglomerative contribution from over 500 stores in more than 100 Chinese cities, besides teaming up with CSCLF.
"Despite being the second largest economy in the world, China's development is characterized by drastic regional imbalance. Some people are living in unimaginable poverty – until you see it in person," said Jing Dunquan, vice chairman of CSCLF. "When you feel that you are still not doing enough after giving them all the money in your pockets, that's the moment when you want partnerships."
For Uniqlo, this is their moment.
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