Who Owns Uniqlo?

Fast Retailing has established environmental and social targets that cover the Uniqlo brand. The company's climate targets are approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and align with the Paris Agreement.

Climate change. Fast Retailing achieved its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions reduction target in FY2025, cutting emissions from stores and offices by 90% compared to FY2019. The company aims to use 100% renewable energy at all stores and major offices by FY2030. For Scope 3 emissions (raw materials and production), the company targets a 30% reduction by FY2030 from FY2019 levels. As of FY2025, Scope 3 emissions from raw materials, fabric, and garment production stood at 3.33 million tonnes CO2e, a 19.9% reduction from the FY2019 baseline. The company raised this target in November 2025 and committed to phasing out coal use in its supply chain by approximately 90% by FY2030.

Materials. Fast Retailing aims to switch approximately 50% of all materials to recycled or low-greenhouse-gas alternatives by FY2030. In FY2025, the proportion reached 19.4%, up from 15.9% the previous year. For polyester specifically, 46.4% was recycled polyester, up from 41.5%. The company has established raw material procurement guidelines defining preferred materials based on greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, biodiversity, human rights, and animal welfare. From 2026 onward, the company will source cotton only from third-party certified sources, including recycled cotton, organic cotton, Fair Trade cotton, and Better Cotton.

Supply chain. Fast Retailing publishes a list of approximately 400 contract factories and conducts annual audits. The company is a member of the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action under the UNFCCC. It has committed to not destroying or discarding unsold inventory, instead clearing stock through markdowns or carrying products to the next season. The RE. UNIQLO program collects used Uniqlo clothing from customers for reuse and recycling.

Fast Retailing and Uniqlo have received recognition for retail innovation, product design, and corporate governance. The company was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and the FTSE4Good Index Series. Fast Retailing has also been recognized by the CDP for climate change disclosure and action. Individual product lines, particularly HEATTECH, have received design and innovation awards in Japan and internationally. The company's integrated report has been recognized for corporate disclosure quality by organizations including the Investor Relations Society of Japan.

Uniqlo and Fast Retailing have faced several controversies and regulatory issues:

Supply chain labor practices. Fast Retailing publishes a list of its approximately 400 contract factories, but labor rights organizations have documented concerns at supplier facilities. In 2021, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute identified Uniqlo among brands potentially benefitting from coerced labor in China's Xinjiang region. Fast Retailing stated it had no direct relationship with factories in Xinjiang and required suppliers to comply with its code of conduct. The company conducts annual audits of supplier factories, but labor groups have questioned the thoroughness and independence of these audits.

Xinjiang cotton controversy. In 2021, Fast Retailing was among international brands that faced backlash in China after expressing concern about cotton sourced from Xinjiang. Chinese social media users called for boycotts of Uniqlo stores. Yanai later stated that the company would continue using Xinjiang cotton, a position that drew criticism from human rights groups outside China. The episode illustrated the geopolitical tightrope that global apparel retailers walk between Western consumer expectations and Chinese market access.

Beijing fitting room video. In 2015, a viral video filmed inside a Uniqlo fitting room in Beijing generated widespread media attention and a police investigation. The incident was not a corporate scandal but became associated with the brand in Chinese social media.

Environmental concerns. Fast Retailing has set science-based targets approved by SBTi and achieved its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions reduction goal (90% reduction from FY2019 levels) in FY2025. However, the company's Scope 3 emissions, primarily from raw materials and production, remain high at 3.33 million tonnes CO2e in FY2025. The company aims to reduce Scope 3 emissions by 30% by FY2030 and has committed to phasing out coal use in its supply chain by approximately 90% by FY2030.