The idea behind The Refugee Collection was to showcase in the most powerful and shocking way the plight of refugees worldwide. To confront an oblivious public with the tragic conditions experienced everyday in refugee camps around the world and share the personal story behind every horrific event that shapes each and every refugee life.

To achieve this RIJ Volunteers collected 100+ exclusive items in refugee camps from Somalia to Myanmar. All the objects were donated by refugees who wanted to send an unforgettable personal message to the people of Japan.

Each item was placed in a once in a lifetime bespoke piece of packaging that looked innocent on the outside but contained the tragedy inside. The packaging design was further complemented with the name of the donor and the story behind the object.

The collection was launched in a special Pop-Up shop where all objects were up for sale.

The Refugee Collection is a collection of 100+ exclusive items collected by RIJ volunteers in refugee camps from Somalia to Myanmar. All the objects were donated by refugees who wanted to send an unforgettable personal message to the people of Japan.

Each item was placed in a once in a lifetime bespoke piece of packaging that looked innocent on the outside but contained the tragedy inside. The packaging design was further complemented with the name of the donor and the story behind the object.

The materials used in the packaging replicate in shape, texture and colours the ones commonly seen in the shops in Japan.

The package design main elements were applied across the shop design, promotion posters, postcards, shopping bags, online communication and online shop, making for a united and complelling collection launch.

The collection sold out in 48hours breaking all RIJ’s donation records and the Pop-up shop was visited by more than 1200 persons.

The PR effort generated articles in the biggest Japanese newspapers, coverage on the most popular digital news platforms and TV channels of Japan, generating more than 33,000,000 impressions. (Asahi Shinbun, Buzzfeed Japan and Yahoo News, Abema TV/TV Asahi, just to name a few)

The strategy for The Refugee Collection focused on young urban adults who are willing to help those in need but aren’t well informed about the current refugee crisis worldwide. By packaging real items from refugees in a innocent manner commonly seen in shops around Tokyo, we were able to surprise and shock them, share the real human stories behind the objects and give our audience an immediate opportunity to donate.

To support the launch a concentrated effort was done to engage the media that’s more opened to the west and all the international current issues, and even stronger effort was made to engage and activate the most influence opinion leaders, opinion makers and influencers by hosting an exclusive opening.

Refugees International Japan needed donations to fund its projects worldwide but collecting donations in Japan has always proven to be challenging.

So, if Japanese people weren’t reaching out to the problem we decided to bring the problem to Japan.

The Refugee Collection is a collection of 100+ exclusive items collected by RIJ volunteers in refugee camps from Somalia to Myanmar. All the objects were donated by refugees and all donations reverted back to refugees.

Each item was placed in a once in a lifetime bespoke piece of packaging that looked innocent on the outside but contained the tragedy inside. The packaging design was further complemented with the name of the donor and the story behind the object.

The launch was supported by a poster campaign, where the products were center stage and the entire message was designed to be part of the package.

The collection was produced under 10K USD.