Soon after the fashion industry in India doing its bit to raise resources for COVID 19 relief, another international high-fashion house UNIQLO has now stepped in to donate. Fast Retailing, the parent company of the Japanese apparel giant, has pledged around Rs 220 million for pandemic relief.
Tomohiko Sei, CEO of UNIQLO India, stated, “UNIQLO was welcomed into the Indian community 19 months ago and as a global company we are glad to be able to contribute in this challenging time. Over the past few weeks, we have seen how the community has come together to help one another and together we shall overcome these adversities.”
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The label arrived in India a few months before the first wave of the pandemic hit the Indian shores. It was in October 2019 that they opened their first store in New Delhi. The first store was located at Ambience Mall in Vasant Kunj in the national capital.
The fashion industry in India has been immensely helpful with COVID-19 relief - from designers Anita Dongre and Payal Khandwala to Couturier Arpita Mehta to labels like The Olio Stories (helmed by women entrepreneur duo Aashna Singh and Sneha Saksena) and more made a whole lot of contributions and directed proceeds towards foundations in need.
Fast Retailing is donating the funds to well-known non-profit organizations, GiveIndia and the Akshaya Patra Foundation. It has been stated that through GiveIndia, funds will be used for procuring medical equipment like oxygen concentrators and even providing monetary relief to devastated families in need. The donation to the Akshaya Patra Foundation will be directed towards arranging meals and dry ration for low-income families bearing the brunt of the pandemic. In addition, the Japanese label will also be providing 600,000 UNIQLO AIRism masks to frontline workers.