The TRUTH About UNIQLO

you might not have heard of uniqlo but uniqlo has been a force in the asian casual apparel market for decades and it is slowly but surely expanding its empire across europe and north america with its promise of quality but affordable clothing but just like cool and prius or 2022 and great do those words actually go together it's a very good question let's hop into it [Music] now when some of you asked for us to make a video about uniqlo i asked our younger team members and they said yes that would be great and i was like what does uniqlo mean well as i have learned it comes from the older name that they had which was unique clothing warehouse which is kind of ironic because as i've learned uniqlo is deliberately not at all unique uniqlo was originally founded in 1949 in yamaguchi japan as a textile manufacturer their first retail store opened in 1984 in hiroshima and it's been said that the business is largely modeled after gap being actually called japan's answer to gap just like the big old gap uniclove focuses on those casual basics and believes in retaining power over everything in their supply chain this is often called a specialty store retailer of private label apparel which is otherwise known as spa thank god the spa business model emphasizes controlling the entire process from production planning to production to distribution and marketing so basically they run the show but unlike gaap uniqlo apparently has the most boring history ever i mean look at their history page on their uk website it's like two sentences and their american page just redirects you to their about section which is just about the same not only is this definitely not the truth but it is interesting to see because most big companies really want you to know how old and important they are but this is completely intentional uniqlo's strategy is to sort of blend into the background like that homer simpson meme it may seem counter-intuitive but being unrecognizable has been a key part of uniqlo's success instead of chasing fleeting fashion trends uniqlo dedicated itself to versatile and simple staples that can work with pretty much anything and won't really go out of style things like oxford shirts monocolored tees jeans and undershirt pieces that aren't super exciting or noticeable but everybody needs but here's the thing a cheap blank t-shirt can be found anywhere so uniqlo aimed to establish themselves in the quality department because they're sticking to the basics this means that they're able to order way more of a single product at once and keep it on the shelf longer than their competitors which saves them on money and distribution costs they also don't have to do nearly as much designing sometimes they literally can just go yeah that but in like five different colors combine this with the fact that they buy directly from their suppliers who they've built long-term relationships with and who are also mostly based in china and it's not hard to see how they're able to make their products affordable and supposedly decent quality and here's the crazy thing apparently they've actually pulled it off their prices are often compared to fast fashion brands like zara and h m and yet they stubbornly deny their own fast fashion label instead they prioritize higher quality materials which means they're less dependent on polyester like their fast fashion counterparts in their beloved knitwear for example they largely use all-natural materials including cashmere and merino wool then there is their famous in-house brand blends such as heat tech and airism designed to keep you warm or cool respectively depending on the season heat tech in particular has become a staple product for many people in cold climates it's a lightweight blend of rayon acrylic and polyester that supposedly wicks your body's moisture into the fibers and converts its kinetic energy into heat i don't know about the physics behind that one but i'm told that it does a pretty decent job at providing an extra layer of warmth without adding bulk again this is just sort of what we can find on the internet from reviews and stuff this isn't like science what is impressive about this is that they're basically competing in the outdoor clothing market and as you may know if you've seen any of our outdoor clothing videos it's a pretty intense space now of course you are not getting the best of the best when you buy from uniqlo we found complaints that the durability and value of uniqlo items can vary significantly from product to product putting the burden on the consumer to pay attention to the materials before purchasing and to know what's good in advance people might rave about their subpoena cotton t-shirts for example but not all of their clothing is made out of that grade of cotton and so you might be in for a nasty surprise when you buy a lower quality tear shirt and you have those higher expectations and something that we were surprised to discover too is that they'll actually repair your clothing for you when it wears down given that you bring it to their flagship store in manhattan so not really the most convenient or well well-established repair program but it's a step but it is all of these elements together which is what they use to justify their claim of not being fast fashioned despite being fast fashion priced in theory they want their clothes to survive through all sorts of fashion trends and become a loved part and practical element of your wardrobe for years to come which is why they actually call it lifeware but how did this basic first brand actually become so popular well unsurprisingly uniqlo's success started in japan where the company began there was a severe economic downturn in the 90s which pushed a lot of people towards more affordable practical clothing and quite honestly uniqlo was just there at the right place and at the right time they gained the kind of foothold that would eventually make them the largest casual apparel retailer in japan accounting for 6.5 of the country's apparel market and it's not just middle class folks who enjoy uniqlo many people who can afford probably way more gravitate to their simple designs that make for easy mix and matching and it's pretty much become a staple of japanese attire in a lot of ways it's kind of the perfect brand for a country that spawned the whole konmari method and a culture that doesn't feel quite as strong of a need to flaunt wealth through their attire from japan it spread quickly to nearby countries growing in popularity in places like south korea taiwan and china with the ultimate goal to pretty much take over the entire world however turns out world domination is a lot harder than they thought it was going to be the cultural landscape here in north america for example is not the same as japan [Music] north americans have a strong sense of individualism and self-expression that doesn't always lend itself well to minimalist styles but things have been changing in ways that uniqlo has been happy to capitalize on we are now at a point in history where our career age generation of millennials is facing record level student debt all the while trying to enter a competitive and often unforgiving job market to save money for what is at this point an almost totally unsustainable and unattainable real estate market and now i've depressed you i'm sorry that's uh whoops join real life there for a moment let's just hop back out of there but hey listen on a more positive note workplaces have become more casual than ever most of us are doing it by zoom so for many of us it's not all that frowned upon to wear kind of normal clothes and so overall we're experiencing a cultural shift where it's no longer that desirable or needed for us to wear conspicuously expensive clothing all the time basically it's the perfect time for a simple basics brand to make a big inroad into this market but and here's the butt the sucker punch when the back is turned the classic future-proof rug pull yes uniqlo is better than fast fashion outlets like h m and xi'an but it's just one rung above the bar which is located on the bottom of the ocean floor as with your typical fast fashion brand uniqlo is deeply dependent on prices remaining low it's kind of the whole point of their brand and the reason why they've been so successful and this pretty much necessitates them manufacturing out of country if they manufactured domestically in japan they would have to pay japanese workers a decent wage and pay them overtime which would rack up prices way too much for them to be considered inexpensive so they outsource to some of the cheapest producers that they can find in places like china vietnam and indonesia and india with the bulk of their products being made in china now while it is technically possible to manufacture garments ethically and sustainably in china the reality is that this country is a popular producer because they have very little in terms of labor laws and sustainability standards instead they're known for producing massive quantities of goods while cutting corners when it comes to safety and quality issues so unsurprisingly they've been hit by a few decent sized labor scandals including what was described in 2020 as the largest unresolved wage theft case in the garment industry apparently the company refused to pay like 5.5 million dollars to uh workers in indonesia so that doesn't look great now from a sustainability standpoint yes uniqlo does use some slightly more planet friendly materials than their fast fashion counterparts they do use some recycled materials but they are really really dependent on the most problematic materials like polyester acrylic and rayon just to name a few all of which is used in their famous heat tech products and this really sucks because uniqlo is now one of the biggest clothing retailers in the world and they made like 18 billion dollars in sales in 2021 the reality is the whole structure and ethos of uniqlo makes it impossible for them to fully devote themselves to making stuff in an ethical and sustainable way because quality and cheap aren't words that really go together and any brand or company that tries to say otherwise is probably taking you for a ride sadly if something feels too cheap and good to be true then it probably is so i would say that uniqlo is like better than the worst and if you're really hard up for cash and you need something new you could benefit from what they have to offer but look for things thrifted wear what you already have thanks for watching this video make sure you're subscribed and we'll see you in the next one

Channel: Future Proof

Views: 1,244,323

Keywords: uniqlo airism oversized t shirt, uniqlo oversized t shirt, uniqlo, uniqlo review, uniqlo haul, uniqlo airism, uniqlo clothes, uniqlo puffer, clothes, clothing review, apparel, apparel review, fast fashion, sustainable fashion, sustainable clothing, sustainable clothing haul, sustainable, h&m, hm, forever 21, fast fashion environmental impact, climate change, future proof, japanese fashion, uniqlo u, uniqlo japan, japan, basics, capsule wardrobe, minimalism

Id: FRR5gROjuok

Length: 11min 10sec (670 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 14 2022