Residents and students in Tuyên Quang Province receive HEATTECH garments through “The Heart of LifeWear” programme in 2025. — Photo courtesy of UNIQLO

HCM CITY — Global apparel retailer UNIQLO has announced it will donate an additional one million HEATTECH thermal items to people in need as part of its “The Heart of LifeWear” initiative in 2026.

This marks the third year the programme has run globally, supported by UNIQLO’s Global Brand Ambassadors and partners.

Launched in 2024 to mark the brand’s 40th anniversary, this initiative has so far provided over three million HEATTECH thermal items, helping make daily life more comfortable for refugees, children, disaster victims, and individuals in need around the world.

Commenting on the initiative, Koji Yanai, Senior Group Executive Officer at Fast Retailing Co. Ltd., the parent company of UNIQLO, said: "The programme delivers clothing to those who need it, fostering connections, and providing experiences to bring joy and remind people they are not forgotten.

In cooperation with its Global Brand Ambassadors and partner organisations, UNIQLO will continue to pursue activities that support communities and better the lives of the people who live there. Further, together with our long-standing global partner UNHCR, UNIQLO will continue to support refugees and internally displaced people whose lives and dignity are constantly threatened."

More than half of the one million items of clothing were donated by UNIQLO businesses around the world to disaster victims, people experiencing homelessness, the economically disadvantaged, and people in socially vulnerable situations.

UNIQLO donated a total of 100,000 HEATTECH products throughout Japan in 2026 to children's homes, children living with illness and their families and disaster victims. 

UNIQLO will also donate approximately 520,000 HEATTECH items to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, with whom UNIQLO holds a global partnership. 320,000 HEATTECH items will be donated to returnees within Syria, and 200,000 items will be donated to the displaced population in Iran.

In Việt Nam, UNIQLO continues its steadfast commitment to delivering warm clothing to communities in remote, border, and high-mountain regions, areas that remain geographically isolated and face significant socio-economic challenges.

Beginning in December 2026, in partnership with the Hope Foundation (Quỹ Hy vọng) and Plan International Vietnam, UNIQLO will donate 10,610 HEATTECH thermal garments, including items for men, women, and children, to students and individuals in need living in mountainous and border communes across Northern and Central Việt Nam. These garments will help residents stay warm in their daily lives and ensure that children remain protected from the cold on their way to school.

This year’s initiative builds upon UNIQLO’s ongoing community support efforts from 2024 and 2025, during which 20,000 HEATTECH garments and 1,100 PUFFTECH jackets were donated across four provinces and cities in the country. — VNS