Regarding the Imabari Towel Report

Our View News program broadcast on Thursday, July 2009, 7
"A miraculous recovery from an existential crisis!
Our opinion on "The Challenge of Imabari, a Towel Production Region"

A news program aired a special feature titled "Miraculous recovery from a crisis! The challenge of towel-producing region Imabari." The report covered "the efforts of the production region betting on recovery," and the gist of the report was very interesting and understandable, but it seemed to me that the content lacked fairness in many areas, as it placed too much emphasis on the superiority of the production region and products.

It is true that some factories in the Imabari region use advanced technology to produce towels of excellent quality. Our company also handles towels produced in the Imabari region. However, it is also true that towels of the same quality are produced in the Osaka region (Senshu), which produces about half of Japan's towels, and that there are many factories overseas that boast excellent quality. I have to say that focusing only on the Imabari region without mentioning any of these things is extremely one-sided and biased.

Because towels are industrial products, there is no particular advantage to the location of a factory. What determines the quality of towels is high technology, excellent equipment, and thorough production management. Any factory that fully meets these conditions can produce high-quality towels, both domestically and overseas. While this report was a good opportunity to raise awareness of towels among the public, we are deeply concerned that it may lead to misunderstandings and disadvantages for consumers.

Also, in stores, you will see explanations about Imabari towels that say they are "top quality towels that have passed our unique standards." However, the standards themselves are equivalent to the quality standards set forth by inspection associations as indicators and the quality standards set by large retail stores and are considered to be a fairly general level in the industry. Therefore, it cannot be said that they are of the highest quality; rather, it seems appropriate to consider them as ensuring a minimum level.

Uchino would like to continue to provide customers with better towels in terms of both price and quality, regardless of where they are produced, both domestically and overseas. To that end, we want our customers to be able to choose the best towel for themselves based on accurate information.

1) About the "Imabari Towel Report" in General 2) Section regarding towels made in China 3) Quality of Imabari towels 4) The absorbency of Imabari towels 5) How to clean towels after use

1) About the "Imabari Towel Report" in General

This report covered "the efforts of the production areas as they bet on recovery," and while I can understand the gist of it, it was biased overall and felt unfair, with too much emphasis placed on the superiority of the production areas and products.

In particular, the parts that emphasize only the "low price" of towels imported from China, and the parts that describe Imabari towels as "highly absorbent because they do not use fabric softener" are likely to mislead customers and lead them in the wrong direction. I also found it questionable that the article emphasizes only one aspect of the absorbency standard, which is not actually that strict, by calling it the "1-second rule" and adding the special exception of "accepting towels even after one wash," and asserts that other aspects are "high quality" without disclosing objective information, and that it emphasizes only the superiority of Imabari towels without mentioning anything about Osaka (Senshu), which produces about half of Japan's towels and is said to be comparable in quality to Imabari towels.

Towels are industrial products, and unlike agricultural and livestock products, it is generally believed that the climate and environment of the production area does not affect their quality. Particularly in Japan, where cotton, the main raw material, is imported almost 100% from cotton-producing countries, and in most cases, industrial water and groundwater are used in combination. In Japan's towel manufacturing process, water is adjusted to certain conditions before use, so water quality does not improve quality. What determines towel quality are the technology, equipment, and production management, and this is generally believed to be the same no matter where the towel is made.

Precisely because towels are such products, when considering "supplying high-quality products cheaply (at a fair price)," it makes sense to carry out integrated production in a location closer to where the raw materials are produced, where labor costs are lower, and this is a major global trend. Currently, there are many factories producing high-quality towels for Japan and Europe in Shandong Province, China, the world's largest towel producing region, as well as in India, Vietnam, Thailand, and other countries, and even several companies based in Imabari have expanded into China to produce towels for Japan.

It is true that some factories in the Imabari region use advanced technology to produce excellent quality towels. However, despite the above-mentioned facts, this report gives the impression that the entire region produces high-quality towels based on only a portion of the information, which we believe is unfair and inappropriate.

Below is the narration excerpted from actual news reports and our views on the matter.

2) Section regarding Chinese-made towels

Contents of the report

A wave of cheap imported towels from China has completely changed the towel market.

A story from a towel importer

• "This is where we store the towels we imported from China. We currently have 250,000 in storage. At peak times, we produce 200,000 a month."
• The imported towels collected here are sold in 700 100 yen shops across the country.
• The annual shipping volume is 2 million pieces, and the number is increasing every year.
• Meanwhile, towel production in Imabari has fallen to one-fifth of its peak, and imported towels now account for more than 80% of domestic consumption.
• Imabari's towel industry was facing a crisis of survival.

Our View

This is a misleading statement, as it makes it seem as though towels imported from China are all "low-priced products" such as those sold at 100 yen shops. It is true that a large amount of cheap towels are imported, but there are many factories in China with equipment and technology equal to or superior to those in Japan, and many high-quality products are also produced there. The reason why imported towels, such as those from China, hold an overwhelming share of domestic consumption is not simply because they are cheap, but because they are "low-priced with quality comparable to domestically produced products" and "higher quality at the same price as domestically produced products."

3) Quality of Imabari towels

Contents of the report

• The biggest selling point of Imabari towels is their high quality.
• In order to appeal to consumers, the company has introduced new, unique quality standards.
• One of them is the 5-second rule: if a towel does not sink within 5 seconds of being dropped into the water, it is rejected; only towels that sink within 5 seconds and are highly absorbent are certified as Imabari towels.
• Only those that pass all of the rigorous tests are given the title of Brandmark.

Our View

The "1-second rule" for Imabari towels has an exception: "If the towels do not settle within XNUMX seconds, they must settle within XNUMX seconds after one home wash," so in reality the standard is not that strict. Furthermore, the quality standards other than the "XNUMX-second rule" are equivalent to the quality standards set by inspection associations as indicators and the quality standards set by large retailers, and are considered to be quite general standards within the industry. Furthermore, the quality standards generally used by inspection associations and the industry are "guarantees of a minimum level of quality" and are not intended to indicate high quality or high performance.

Since the imposed standards are equivalent to the industry standard, meeting the "Imabari Towel's unique quality standards" simply means that the quality is "at least above the general minimum standard in the industry," and this alone cannot be considered a basis for high quality.

4) The absorbency of Imabari towels

Contents of the report

A conversation between a customer and an Imabari Towel Shop employee

• "Um, I just touched both towels and which one feels softer?"
• "This one is softer."
• "Is this one soft?"
• "I'm going to try a little experiment. Is that okay? I'm going to drop some water here..."
• "I think there's a big difference..."
• "We then soften them with fabric softener, so what can I say? They're wrapped up like this and sold in stores, but we wanted people to use towels made from sturdy materials, so the Imabari towel mark was created..."
• The towel was soft, but it repelled water because it was treated with fabric softener.
• While fabric softener softens towel fibers, it also makes them less likely to absorb water.
• On the other hand, Imabari towels absorb water quickly and do not require fabric softener.

Our View

Although they are described as "Imabari towels that do not require fabric softener," it is said that in reality many Imabari towels do use fabric softener. It would be more appropriate to say that "some Imabari towels do not use fabric softener." Also, industrial fabric softeners do not necessarily inhibit water absorption, and are necessary depending on the product's purpose, manufacturing process, distribution, and sales format, and are actually used in many products.

Furthermore, a comparison was made with towels that had fabric softeners applied, but the method of pouring water from a high position, as shown here, causes the water to fall into the towel with such force that it appears to have high absorbency even if it is somewhat less absorbent. It is considered inappropriate to express the difference in absorbency in this way.

5) How to clean towels after use

Contents of the report

• At first glance, it looks like an ordinary towel. However, this is an Imabari towel that won the Good Design Award last year in recognition of its ultimate softness design.
• President Tanaka developed this towel, and he put a lot of thought into the weaving method to create a fabric that is soft and comfortable to the touch even without the use of fabric softener.
• By adjusting the length of the thread loops, called pile, on the surface of the fabric to within 0.1 mm, we have created a fine-grained fabric that is both soft and absorbent.
• In addition, we paid thorough attention to the finishing process, which has not received much attention until now.

A story from the Imabari Towel Factory

• "Can you see the steam? We turn the temperature up really high, and wash the towels carefully for a long time, spinning them around and around. This takes time, effort, and money, but it's the right way to make towels that have a nice texture and feel. After washing, they're wrinkle-free, and the pile loops themselves are soft and not crushed. That's the kind of towel that's produced."
• "Traditionally, towels were washed and dyed by being crammed tightly into what was essentially a boiler, under pressure. This is a very efficient way of doing things, but it caused problems because the important part of the towel, the loop part called the pile, was pressed down so tightly that it deteriorated the texture."
• In doing so, the fabric was subjected to strong pressure, which crushed the loops of thread called pile on the surface of the towel, causing it to wrinkle and lose its fluffiness.
• That's why we introduced a new machine.

Our View

The explanation given is that "the towels have a poor texture when washed using conventional washing methods and machines, so we have introduced a new machine that improves the texture." However, in many production areas and factories, including China, this type of "new machine" has been commonly used for some time, and machines that put pressure on the fabric are not used very often. It is inappropriate to describe an unconventional washing method as "normal." It sounds as if they are spending time and effort to make the towels feel good, but this is a common process for towels and there is nothing special about it.

It is true that some inferior towels simplify this process to reduce costs, but it is difficult to compare them with these.