There are many people who insist on buying only 100% cotton clothing. Some say they can even tell by the feel against their body if a garment is a blend of cotton and polyester or all cotton. MrConsumer is not that discerning. But, he is sensitive if a product suggests that it is all cotton, but in fact it is not.
Many shoppers buy relatively inexpensive unadorned tee shirts at Michael’s and A.C. Moore, two very large crafting chains. During a recent sale, MrConsumer picked up several at both stores. Depending on the color (apparently) some shirts had a primary label on the top inside just under the collar that said “Heavy Cotton” while others said “Ultra Cotton.”
One might say “great” these are all cotton tee shirts and look no further. But, lifting the brand label to expose the washing instructions and fiber content of three different “Heavy Cotton” colored tee shirts revealed an unexpected surprise:
*MOUSE PRINT:
Even though each shirt had the same “Heavy Cotton” label, the actual fiber content varied from 50-50 cotton/polyester to 90-10 to 100% cotton. There was no rhyme or reason to what “Heavy Cotton” meant in any particular case. The shirts also had a cellophane sticker on them with the words “preshrunk cotton.”
A similar problem was discovered with shirts labeled “Ultra Cotton” :
*MOUSE PRINT:
Again, depending on which color shirt you picked up, those labeled “Ultra Cotton” were either 50-50 cotton/polyester, 90-10, or 100% cotton.
The concern is several-fold: shoppers seeing the terms “Heavy Cotton” and “Ultra Cotton” could easily believe these shirts are all cotton. For the more inquisitive shopper who happened to pick up a shirt marked “Ultra Cotton” and noted that it was 100% cotton, that person might reasonably conclude that other shirts marked “Ultra Cotton” were 100% as well.
Mouse Print* asked the manufacturer, Gildan, some very pointed questions about their labeling practices, such as why shirts labeled with a particular name like “Heavy Cotton” or “Ultra Cotton” were not consistent in their fiber content, and did they understand how those labels could mislead shoppers. We also asked how the company’s labeling practices square with federal law that prohibits misleading fiber content labels, and how they square with their own code of ethics that says that the company “will not make false or unsubstantiated representations about the quality or value of our products and services.”
Their Director of Corporate Communications replied, in relevant part:
Gildan is committed to compliance with all regulatory requirements, including the detailed requirements of the many countries where our products are sold. Gildan is also committed to its customers’ satisfaction.
The Heavy Cotton and Ultra Cotton® names are sub-brand names we use to differentiate between collections within two distinct categories of products.
Our labels display clearly all information required to allow consumers to make an informed purchase decision, including fiber content, country of origin, size, care and wash instructions.
Spin aside, the company is capable of playing it straight as evidenced by this “Heavy Blend” label found on one of their sweatshirts, but for whatever reason they don’t use it on these tee shirts.
The lesson here, as in so many other consumer contexts, is “don’t assume” that what you see is what you’ll actually get without more detailed checking and double-checking.
This is the exact reason I pick my own cotton and spin it and make my own clothing….
I often wonder if these so-called communications people really believe the garbage they spin out when their companies get caught doing deceptive things!
It’s not like most consumers are extremely picky about the blend of their shirt fibers. I don’t understand why Gildan would even have such misleading ‘brand’ names.
The reason that you find polyester in some tee shirts is due to the dying process. You need a certain amount of polyester in order to create some of the colors that are offered by Gildan. For example, the “neon” colors could not be achieved by using only 100% cotton. In order to give a piece of apparel a “heathered” look you must add polyester because the dye does not stick to that fiber.
Edgar replies: Leave to a Mouse Print* reader to offer a reason behind the varying fiber combinations!
Am I to also assume the label itself is correct of the percentages of cotton material?
Edgar, Gildan might have given you the answer that Anonymous gave above (regarding the reasons for the different fiber content) if you had just asked about that and not also asked how their labeling squares with federal law and their own ethics standards. By adding the other two questions, you might have made them defensive. Why not ask them the first question first, and then follow up with the other two later if it still seems warranted? Just a thought.
Edgar replies: Richard… the facts you brought forward ARE interesting, but the primary issue here is potentially misleading labeling because they use single descriptions like “heavy cotton” on shirts with varying cotton content. The fact that different colors accept dye differently is no justification for this practice. Also, as another commenter mentioned, getting any answer from PR folks these days is like pulling teeth… so we tend to have one shot at it many times.
Richard, it’s hard enough to get these flacks to respond one time, never mind two.
Anonymous and Richard, neon tee shirts are available in 100 percent cotton. See, for example: http://www.amazon.com/Shirt-Preshrunk-Cotton-Short-Sleeve/dp/B002B501I8
I notice that the Heavy Blend and Ultra Cotton names are trademarked, while the Heavy Cotton name is not. My question is, what are the distinctions between these brands? How exactly Heavy Cotton different from Ultra Cotton (TM)?
Is the cotton/polyester information printed on the bag/package? i.e. can you see it without buying the product and turning over the label?
Edgar replies: These are folded, unpackaged tee shirts with a narrow cellophane label on part of the fabric, with a cotton mention. The top label at the back of the back of the neck is what you see if the first picture. Beneath that is another label with the full the content and washing instructions.
“Gildan — the Ultra Heavy Volkswagen of t-shirts!”
Thanks for the head’s up. I occasionally buy Gildan tees from a local wholesaler for screen printing, and I always specify 100% cotton. But the “branding” obfuscation has reached epidemic proportions. Two weeks ago I received a gift card in the mail from Costco, with the note, “We’ve learned the Jamaica Jaxx shirt you recently purchased is not 100% silk, as claimed. Please accept this cash card. You may also return the shirt for full credit.”
Btw, the latest trend from Hanes and others is the “tagless” t-shirt. I wonder where they’ll hide the fine print.