Japan Press Weekly

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2015 January 14 - 20 [LABOR]

Uniqlo’s altruistic sounding corporate philosophy contrasts with its poor working environment

Akahata “Current” column

The Fast Retailing Group (FR), Japan’s leading fast fashion company, owns 1,500 Uniqlo stores worldwide. According to the company, the name Uniqlo is a combination of “unique clothing warehouse”.

Under the slogan, “To enable people all over the world to experience the joy, happiness and satisfaction of wearing” its clothes, the company became a major fashion brand in Japan. CEO Yanai Tadashi says, “We can make the world better by providing happiness to the people in it.”

But, Uniqlo workers seem to be out of sight- out of mind. The FR is notorious for exploiting its employees both inside and outside Japan. A survey by non-governmental organizations revealed that workers at the FR’s subsidiary factories in China are working under unsafe and unhealthful working conditions, such as extreme humidity and irritating odors, in addition to excessively long working hours and low wages.

The survey report points out that these workers are deprived of their workers’ rights, exposed to occupational hazards, and kept under strict supervision. The NGOs demand that the company improve the workplace environment and fulfill its social responsibility.

In general, with tough price competition, workers at garment factories used by global clothing manufacturers are facing life threatening work environments. In 2013, a Bangladeshi garment factory collapsed, claiming the lives of more than 1,000 workers, mostly young women. The management of the factory had forced the workers to work in the cracked building.

Ito Kazuko, secretary general of Human Rights Now which took part in the survey, says, “It is the employers’ responsibility to respect workers’ human rights in compliance with labor laws.”