My letter of disenchantment with Uniqlo, one year later

A little over a year ago, I wrote this letter of disenchantment to Uniqlo, with regret, as we were led to recommend it. The time to look at where the Japanese brand has progressed – or not – has come. With an uncompromising eye, but always kind. See you in a year.

Uniqlo,

It is with a broken heart that I write these words to you. Broken to have loved you so much, to have put you first in my life

I am writing you this letter to explain to you why I have come to this point, and I hope that it will help you in the future, so that you can improve again and again.

But this is no longer possible.

I need to end our relationship.

And yet, I loved you.

Oh yeah.

I haven't stopped talking about you to everyone, I've been recommending you wholeheartedly: whether it's for jeans, shirts, knitwear, or even (very) entry-level techwear.

I easily introduced you to all my friends, and I kept praising your unbeatable quality/price ratio.

I will never forget everything you did for denim.

You fought to initiate and democratize the selvedge paintings of the Japanese artist Kaihara. Japanese selvedge jeans for 50 euros were just incredible at the time.

It was great that a brand as huge as you did such a partnership with such a big name in Japanese denim.

In 2015, you gave me such a dream with the creation of your Jean Research Center!

But lately, I find that you have let yourself go, that you have stopped making an effort. And worse, you started being secretive to me, me who has always supported you.

Your “made in Asia”, ultimately, I can understand it.

You're going to tell me that your main argument is a very affordable price and that it would be too expensive to manufacture in Europe. I assure you, that's not what bothers me the most.

On the other hand, where I thought you were different was in the way you treated your employees; I hoped in vain that your "clean" side would also materialize in your human resources policy and your way of treating your suppliers.

But not at all, you were like the others.

I should have been a little more wary when, in 2011, a Japanese investigative journalist released a book about your inner workings: “Lights and Shadows on the Uniqlo Empire”.

There, you were lucky, because this book has never been translated.

When someone publishes a book about you with the word “disgrace” in the title, it’s not a good sign…

In my opinion, everything changed in our relationship when SACOM carried out the investigation in 2015, finding that hourly volumes were abnormally high, that salaries were far too low, that social contributions were not paid and that the conditions work were frankly dangerous.

This report had the effect of a bombshell, and it was widely relayed in the press, including in the French press (Le Figaro, "Working conditions: Uniqlo demands better", Le Figaro, "Deux subcontractors Chinese Uniqlo pinned"

The saddest part of all this?

It's that a year later, nothing has changed, and you are once again singled out for your poor working conditions (Fashion Network, "Uniqlo attacked again for its working practices), again by SACOM .

Even Hypebeast relayed the information! (Hypebeast, “Reporter Goes Undercover at Uniqlo to Examine Labor Practices”)

You promised me that you were going to make an effort, that you were going to change, that now you understood. And I believed you.

You announced a well-being at work policy in 2018, but damn, it took you three years to react!

I wanted to believe you, except that, still 2018, nothing has really changed. Moreover, the same year, you were involved in a not very clear case (Clean Clothes, "Statement on the refusal of Uniqlo to pay what is owed") where you refused to help a factory on the verge of bankruptcy because, I quote, you had no “legal obligations to do so”.

You were pinned again by "Baptist World Aid" and its where you received an overall grade of D+ (the worst being F).

And you got the worst grade (F) for the “worker empowerment” part. This rating indicates the extent to which workers can make themselves heard, unite and negotiate agreements with management.

On a brand of your stature, it's not normal to have grades below a C, and even less so to have an F!

No but seriously... If you are so proud of your jeans, take an example from Outland Denim, which manufactures in Cambodia and which goes much further in transparency.

Ok, you got an “A-” for the “Commitments” part, but perhaps we should go further than just commitments…

You are clearly at the back of the pack.

And you have no excuse.

None.

You could at least publish the list of your suppliers, as Asos and Icebreaker have done for example.

It's up to me to make amends, I was too harsh with you because this list of suppliers exists (Fast Retailing, "Enhancing Traceability and Production Partners List"). You must continue on this path, and be more transparent about your cashmere and your down!

Your father, Tadashi Yanai, is one of the richest men in Japan. He has the means to make Uniqlo this exemplary brand in all respects and to initiate an ambitious social and environmental policy.

Your mission is written in your 2019 sustainable development report: change the world.

I have the impression that you haven't changed anything at all, despite your initiatives in this area.

So maybe with the other brands of your mother (Comptoir des Cotonniers, J Brand, Helmut Lang, Princesse Tam-Tam, Theory, etc.) it's different, and there are more efforts .

But that's not the question, this letter is addressed to you, not to your friend Helmut Lang (very nice Austrian label by the way).

I'm tired of you hiding things from me. You deliberately do not say where your down comes from, nor under what conditions it is collected, even though you must be one of the biggest consumers of this material in the world.

You popularized this piece and made it urban. But why don't you say much about the origin of down?

You could at least fight for me, fight to obtain Responsible Down certification like your friends from Arc'Teryx or Colombia did, but you have decided to do as you please. I therefore have no guarantee that the geese are not plucked alive for example.

And don't tell me you don't have other solutions to using down, that's not true.

You keep telling everyone that you're proud to carry out a lot of Research & Development, that you love technical materials, so why don't you find one to replace down?

I think I know why you don't do it: you fear that I'm too stupid to understand.

And don't tell me there's nothing better than down, that's not true.

You know very well that for urban use, quality synthetic insulation, such as continuous filament technology, does the job perfectly. And what's more, it doesn't fear compression or humidity.

And on rain gear, I can no longer stand to see you play on the ambiguity between the words "water resistant" and "waterproof".

Besides, maybe that's why I'm still waiting for you to give me the performance of the water column test on your membranes.

But no, instead you are tricking me by being deliberately vague:

A priori, everything suggests that the garment is waterproof, even if you write "water resistant". But actually, the word “waterproof” is not written…

On the page, the blur remains maintained: it's water-repellent, but it's water-resistant. Waterproof or not?

And on the women's version, a small asterisk appears with small writing "Blocktech is not waterproof". But why don't you specify it for men as well?

I want you to be sincere with me.

And then you talk badly to my friends.

Christophe, the editor-in-chief with whom I work, was really not happy that your customer service censored his opinion - admittedly negative - on the brand, that's not cool at all!

How could you do such a thing to me when I told him so many good things about you? It is abused !

In short, I will never forget everything you did for me, everything you brought to clothing, but now you have exhausted my patience.

I had a great love for you, I kept saying good things about you all the time, but now I don't love you anymore.

I sincerely wish you to become an even better brand, you deserve it. But at the moment, we are not there.

Benedict

PS: and it continues, a week ago, we complained again about your harmful corporate culture (News.com.au, "'Everyone has some form of PTSD': Former Uniqlo employees describe toxic bullying culture" ) and your infernal speeds for your employees who work in stores, whatever their job.

You definitely won't have spared me. And as usual, your excuses are terse.

Update: because I want to remain objective with you, I was sent this testimonial which speaks well of you and your working conditions:

“As far as working conditions are concerned, it's like in any company, each store of the same brand has the same operating standards but each team is different, you come across the right lot or not, I work at uniqlo and I have never come across a company that is so attentive and caring.

Legal hours are respected, overtime is voluntary, they are very accommodating, restaurant vouchers, end-of-year bonus, -30% on personal purchases, uniforms are offered every 5 months, the possibility of moving up in rank is accessible to everyone in the teams.

The standards are strict, a bit like the military, store management must always border on excellence, regular briefings, impeccable product knowledge, etc. but always with the aim of respecting teammates and customers.

It may seem rigid but it's a habit to get into, if you are not rigorous and a perfectionist then working at Uniqlo is not a good idea.

Don't generalize the problem, Uniqlo is a good company for some people and just not others.

As far as the products are concerned, their quality and their manufacturing are your business, if you are not satisfied with them, no one is forcing you to remain a customer.”