Fast Retailing (Uniqlo) to reduce single-use plastic by 85 percent

Fast Retailing, the parent company of Japanese casual brand Uniqlo, has pledged to eliminate the use of unnecessary plastic throughout its supply chain and to reduce the amount of single-use plastic handed to customers by 85 percent, or around 7.800 tons annually, by the end of 2020.

Stores in 12 countries will switch from plastic shopping bags to FSC-certified paper or recycled paper bags from September, 2019. In other markets, where paper bags are already in use, Fast Retailing will switch to the FSC-certified version. In Japan, Fast Retailing will begin selling reusable eco-friendly bags and charging 10 yen (approximately 9 US dollar cents) for plastic bags. A similar policy will be applied in stores of 16 markets across North America, Europe and Asia.

Additionally, Fast Retailing will eliminate the use of plastic in the packaging of certain items such as Uniqlo room shoes, from the 2019 Fall/Winter season. The company has also promised to begin testing alternative materials for the packaging of innerwear products from the summer of 2019.

In addition to Uniqlo, Fast Retailing also operates the brands GU, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse Tam.Tam, J Brand, Theory and PLST.

Picture: Courtesy of Fast Retailing