UNIQLO continues to lend its helping hand to Malaysia’s differently-abled community with its latest UTme! collaboration with Early Autism Project (EAP), an education centre that focuses on rehabilitating with autism for the local autism community.
This UTme! X EAP supports The Hope Project, an initiative by EAP Malaysia to increase awareness and access to accurate diagnosis and treatment for individuals with autistic spectrum.
Speaking at the meet-the-artist session today, Diane Foo, UNIQLO Malaysia Head of Sustainability explained the concept of UTme! and the collaboration with EAP. “UTme! is a service offered by UNIQLO that allows customers to add custom designs created by our collaborating artists and designers to T-shirts or Tote bag in any way they like.
Our collaboration with EAP features artwork from children with autism; and we are pleased to be able to provide a platform for these differently-abled children to express their creativity as well as raise awareness of to the autism community” she said.
Also present at the session was Jochebed Isaacs, Director of EAP Malaysia and Founder of The Hope Project. She highlighted the benefits of expressing through art for individuals with autism. “One of the hallmarks of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is the difficulty with verbal and social communication. However, children with autism have an extraordinary ability to think visually in pictures, so communicating visually, such as through drawing and coloring helps them to communicate what’s going on in their world. In fact, drawing could help children with ASD regulate their emotions, interact with peers and family, and build self-confidence,” she said.
Four young artists described the inspiration of their work and an activity that simulates what it is like to have ASD was conducted to better understand these children’s world.
While UNIQLO continues to provide LifeWear, everyday clothing for better living, it is also committed to sustainability efforts that help build a better society. Diane added that UTme! X EAP reflects the company’s sustainability statement of Unlocking the Power of Clothing as it harnesses the communicative power of UTme! to drive awareness and support for the local autism community.
UTme! X EAP is available from December 1st, 2021 at UNIQLO Fahrenheit 88 and UNIQLO DA Square stores only!
We've got ours already and we love them!
