Uniqlo opens in Sacramento’s Arden Fair mall. It’s partnered with a local homeless union
The Sacramento region welcomed its first Uniqlo, a Japanese clothing store, with a new partnership between the retailer and the Sacramento Homeless Union at Arden Fair on Friday.
Upon the store’s opening at 1689 Arden Way, Uniqlo announced its collaboration with the organization of homeless leaders. The business will donate gently used clothes to the city’s homeless population through the union. Recycle donation bins were placed on the right hand side of the shop’s entrance.
Collaborations like these have a “greater meaning,” said Crystal Sanchez, the president of the Sacramento Homeless Union. For the homeless population, it’s hard to maintain clothes to wear everyday. Clothes get wet or damaged, and people don’t always have money for laundry, she said.
“It’s tough to keep things going out in these streets, when people are being swept everyday and their stuff is being taken,” Sanchez said. “This is a way for us to keep people clothed, especially when the weather changes.”
This partnership is part of the store’s “RE.UNIQLO” sustainability efforts. Wherever Uniqlo opens a store, they will partner with a local nonprofit to donate clothes to, said Uniqlo spokesperson Samantha Levy. The goal of this initiative is to provide clothes to “people in need,” she added.
Uniqlo specializes in elemental wear, which uses materials that adapt to different environmental conditions. For example, in the summer, Uniqlo will sell clothes with UV protection.
“We truly want to make an impact on people’s lives and make life better through clothing,” Levy said “Uniqlo clothes are also super functional. Lots of it is warm, really light, and protects (people) from rain. So, when we’re donating to people in need, it’s clothing that people could really benefit from.”
Partnerships with homeless nonprofits
The Sacramento Homeless Union isn’t the only nonprofit with a Uniqlo collaboration. The retailer also provides uniforms for Street Soccer USA, the host of the Homeless World Cup, an annual soccer tournament for homeless people nationwide.
“While we can still provide regular practices for a year, when we get up to the tournament, (the players) start to feel good about themselves, but we don’t have the apparel to match it,” said Lisa Wrightsman, the managing director of Street Soccer USA Sacramento. “The day they get their uniforms that we get from Uniqlo ... it makes them feel like an athlete, like they’re representing something really positive.
Uniqlo has partnered with Street Soccer USA for more than a decade. One of the nonprofit’s biggest hubs is in Sacramento, according to a news release.
“It’s really important for us as a store team to have a connection with the community in any way, shape or form,” said Cassie Locsin, who works with Uniqlo’s operations and business development. “We started building that relationship with the community even prior to opening, and we think it’s really important for our team and staff here to have that connection.”
The collaboration with Uniqlo is offering “community-based solutions” for Sacramento’s homeless population, Sanchez said. Since there is no government entity providing aid to homeless people in Sacramento, collaborations like these fill in the gaps on accessing essentials like clothes.
“It’s a solution for situations that people experiencing homelessness (face),” Sanchez said. “It’s about getting clothing that they may not necessarily have access to.”
Uniqlo will open its second Sacramento area location at the Westfield Galleria shopping center at 1151 Galleria Blvd. in Roseville on Oct. 4.
This story was originally published September 13, 2024 at 2:03 PM.
