With 10,000 samples targeting 50,000 garments, the Japanese retailer is deploying enzyme science to make the case for wardrobe longevity over new purchases — and bringing a Swedish startup to European consumers for the first time.
Uniqlo is deploying enzyme science to reinforce its garment-longevity credentials, announcing a Europe-wide collaboration with Swedish textile-care startup Biorestore timed to Earth Day in April. Under the campaign, customers who visit one of the retailer’s 23 RE.UNIQLO Studios in Europe during April and use a repair, upcycling or customisation service will receive a complimentary sample of Biorestore’s cotton-restoration treatment — an incentive designed to extend the life of garments beyond the studio visit itself.
The campaign, which Uniqlo has branded “LifeWear for a Lifetime,” is structured to distribute 10,000 samples in total, with each unit capable of treating up to five garments with a minimum 70 percent cotton content. By Uniqlo’s own calculation, that represents a potential reach of 50,000 restored garments across the continent. The promotion launches on April 1, 2026.
The technology
Biorestore’s cotton-restoration product works through an enzyme-based process the company calls ExfoZymes — a selective hydrolysis reaction that breaks down the damaged microfibrils responsible for pilling, colour dullness and rough hand-feel, then removes them during the wash cycle. The result, according to the company, is fabric that returns closer to its original texture and colour without the use of dyes or harsh chemicals. The treatment is designed to be used periodically rather than as a routine detergent replacement, with effects that last between eight and 12 months depending on garment condition.
The startup, co-founded by Wajahat Hussain and Richard Toon, draws on more than 25 years of combined experience across fashion, textile engineering and material science. It received validation from the industry in 2022, when it was named one of five winners of the H&M Foundation’s Global Change Award — a grant programme awarding €1 million (shared) to innovations aimed at reducing the environmental impact of fashion.
Building on Japan
The European campaign is not the first time the two brands have worked together. Uniqlo piloted Biorestore treatments as part of its resale programme in Japan in 2024, where the product was used to restore secondhand garments ahead of resale. The April campaign marks the next step: making the technology available directly to European consumers through a channel Uniqlo already operates.
“Spring is the ideal time to rediscover your own wardrobe,” said Odilia d’Aramon-Guepin, Sustainability Director at Uniqlo Europe, in a statement. “With the Biorestore Restore Cotton sample, we are rewarding everyone who uses our RE.UNIQLO Studio services in April.”
The RE.UNIQLO studio network
RE.UNIQLO Studio, which offers repair, embroidery, upcycling and the traditional Japanese sashiko darning technique, first opened at Uniqlo’s Berlin Tauentzienstrasse store in August 2021, in partnership with local NGO Berliner Stadtmission. The concept originated as an experiment in collaborative repair — part community workshop, part in-store service — before being replicated at the brand’s Regent Street flagship in London and subsequently rolled out to locations across Europe, the United States and Asia. The 23 European studios now form the backbone of Uniqlo’s physical circularity offer on the continent.
About Biorestore
Biorestore is a Stockholm-based textile-care technology company that develops enzyme-based laundry treatments designed to restore and extend the lifespan of cotton garments. A 2022 Global Change Award winner, the company is co-founded by Wajahat Hussain and Richard Toon.
