As the weather turns cooler in the north, warm clothing has entered the peak sales season. "Cotton clothing" has become the first choice of many consumers for autumn and winter outerwear due to its affordable price and versatile styles.
But recently, some consumers have discovered that many so-called cotton clothes and jackets on the market are not filled with natural cotton, but 100% polyester fiber. Names such as "down cotton" and "cloud cotton" are emerging one after another. So, how can consumers see through all kinds of name gimmicks, understand hangtags, and choose the right warm jacket?
The reporter visited the offline clothing market and found that chemical fiber-filled cotton clothing has become the mainstream in the market, but various merchants have different opinions on the ingredients.
Merchant A: It’s ultra-light cotton, which is compressed from the entire cotton sheet.
Merchant B: There is velvet cotton inside, which is warmer and lighter. Yunduo cotton is similar to it.
Merchant C: It’s called fluffy cotton.
Merchant D: Graphene cloud velvet is like down cotton, but more cloudy.
The general manager of a garment company told reporters that polyester fiber-filled cotton clothes are selling well.
Some netizens reported that when buying cotton-padded clothes for their children, they originally assumed that the padding should be made of cotton, but after picking and choosing, they discovered that the filling is 100% polyester fiber. Mr. Wang, the general manager of a clothing company, said that many consumers subconsciously believe that "cotton clothing = cotton filling", but currently most of the fillings for cotton clothing on the market are polyester fiber.
In the professional field of clothing and the national standard system, "cotton clothing" is a category concept rather than a material definition. Zheng Shaoming, a senior engineer at the Fujian Provincial Fiber Inspection Center, explained that the current GB/T 2662-2017 "Cotton Clothing" standard allows the use of natural fibers, chemical fibers and their blends as fillers, and does not limit the need to fill with cotton.
Mr. Wang admitted that what is more likely to cause misunderstanding than category names are the endless marketing material names on the market. Terms such as "down cotton" and "cloud cotton" frequently appear in product titles. They sound natural and high-end, but in essence they are almost modified polyester fibers, containing neither down nor natural cotton.
Pan Weimei, deputy dean of the School of Fashion and Fashion Design of Changzhou Textile and Apparel Vocational and Technical College, said that compared with natural cotton, polyester fiber has certain advantages as a filler for cotton clothing. Higher cost performance and better layout design space have made chemical fiber filling the mainstream of the cotton clothing market.
When the reporter checked the clothes tags on the e-commerce platform, he noticed that some products were labeled "pure cotton", "whole cotton" and "100% cotton". What is the difference between these statements? Does the word “cotton” in the name mean it’s natural cotton?
Zheng Shaoming said that there is no difference between these three statements, because the GB/T 29862-2013 standard has a regulation for pure cotton. As long as it is 100% cotton, you can add "100%" in front or behind the cotton, or add "pure" or "full" in front of it, which can mean that it is a 100% cotton product. If the cotton content is more than 75%, calling it 100% cotton is not in compliance with the specification.
Pan Weimei suggested that when consumers choose cotton clothing, in addition to the product name, they should also pay attention to the parameters on the tag to judge the warmth and actual quality of the clothing.
First of all, by looking at the hangtag, you can see the fiber content and filler of the clothing. Whether it says 100% polyester fiber or 100% cotton, you can determine the composition of the filler.
Secondly, it depends on the implementation standards and safety categories. We often see category ABC, and the general safety standard for adult cotton clothing is category C.
In addition, you can also confirm the bulkiness and resilience of cotton clothing by combining the feel. For example, after pressing, it can recover after taking your hand away for 1 to 2 seconds, which means that its resilience and bulkiness are very good.
The down cotton, cloud cotton, and air cotton that everyone often hears are not standard fiber names, but are just marketing names of merchants. Zheng Shaoming also reminds everyone that when choosing cotton clothing, don’t just look at the merchant’s promotional copy, the key is to look at the hangtag and wash label.
"GB/T 29862-2013 Labeling of Textile Fiber Content" stipulates that clothing tags and wash labels must use standardized names and be labeled truthfully. If the fiber name content marked on the hang tag or wash label does not match the actual content, or the marked name does not meet the standard requirements, it will be judged as a label violation.
When purchasing, consumers should refer to the standard fiber name on the tag. They should not simply look at the advertised down cotton, cloud cotton, or air cotton and mistakenly believe that there is down or cotton inside.
Producer丨Li Xingjian
Reporters丨Li Yang Sun Xin
