A clothing manufacturer tempts customers with the use of natural materials, but it turns out that almost one hundred percent of the composition is synthetics. – The regulations are outdated. We need new solutions that will better protect consumer rights, says Michał Kędziora, known as Mr Vintage.
It started with a “wool button-down coat” sold by a clothing brand online. However, it only takes a moment to check the product's composition provided by the manufacturer to discover that in fact there is not much wool in this coat. Specifically – 1 percent. composition.
The rest of the materials used are polyester made from petroleum (as much as 87%), acrylic that is airtight and pills quickly (9%) and polyamide (2%). The composition is complemented by viscose, considered one of the best synthetic materials for humans (1%), and the mentioned wool. In addition, the lining is made entirely of polyester, an artificial fiber that promotes sweating because it does not allow air to pass through.
The matter was publicized by Ola Włodarczyk, who runs the “Conscious fashion consumer” account on Instagram. As he explains, “it's a composition that will make the child sweat easily, but it certainly won't keep him warm.”
Users who follow the Instagramer indicate that this “wool” coat is not the only example of how famous brands try to bend reality to their needs.
“Read labels, draw conclusions from them and vote with your wallets for honest, quality and ethical fashion. Don't be fooled by descriptions,” says the Instagramer. “The internal labels will tell you the truth, because they are required by law,” he concludes.
You have to read the labels
In online stores, most manufacturers display product photos and their name, which necessarily does not contain all the information, but is only a slogan to encourage people to click. To learn the details, e.g. the exact composition, you need to spend some time. Experts don't have good news – you can't do anything without it.
– If we want good quality clothes, we should always read the labels, and when shopping online, carefully check the composition of the product, and not rely solely on the product titles, because very often it happens that the “wool coat” turns out not to be compatible with this wool they have a lot in common – comments Michał Kędziora, a blogger known on the Internet as Mr Vintage.
He has been observing the market for many years and, as he says, it is impossible not to notice that the quality of the clothes sold is decreasing. Brands are looking for savings at all costs. – For this reason, they are increasingly reaching for cheaper wool substitutes, but at the same time they do not want to flaunt it, so a coat that contains a few percent of wool and the rest is usually a mixture of synthetics is also called woolen. They are simply ashamed to write “polyester coat” because it sounds bad in terms of marketing.
In this way, manufacturers mislead consumers. – Not everyone knows that although polyester may look almost identical to wool, it has completely different properties, impact on the environment and performance parameters – adds Kędziora.
Half a million tons of plastic
After years of domination by synthetic materials, consumers are eager to return to natural fabrics: wool, cotton, silk and linen. It is not only a matter of comfort of use or greater durability of products made of such materials. The ecological dimension is also important.
It is estimated that the clothing industry is responsible for 10%. global carbon dioxide emissions – this is more than the combined emissions from international flights and shipping. Textile production also accounts for approximately 20 percent. global pollution of clean water, due to dyeing and finishing of products. One wash of polyester clothes can release 700,000 microfibers. More than half a million tons of microplastics from washing synthetic fabrics end up at the bottom of the ocean every year. Technology cannot keep up with clothing overproduction – only 1%. clothing is recycled into new clothes.
But natural materials also have disadvantages, first of all, they are often more expensive than synthetic fabrics. This is why clothing manufacturers oscillate between adding e.g. cashmere or cotton to clothing and maintaining price levels acceptable to customers.
But even a high price may not necessarily be an indicator of a “good” composition. – Just a few years ago, you could blindly buy clothes from premium brands that did not use substitutes, but today it is no longer so obvious – says Michał Kędziora.
– An example here would be sweaters, where acrylic has become a substitute for wool and now even premium brands use it. At first glance, it perfectly imitates wool, but it is a synthetic material with poor properties for the consumer. It pills, doesn't heat up, quickly picks up unpleasant odors – it replaces it.
Penalties for companies
He pays attention to whether labels about the composition of clothes match reality Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. Polish clothing companies Kubenz, Recman and Dastan Logistics experienced this and in 2022, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection imposed a total fine of over PLN 2 million. The situation repeated itself a year later, when companies were accused of falsifying ingredients Polish Clothing Stores (ultimately ordered to pay a PLN 3.8 million fine) and Lord (over PLN 213,000 fine).
Laboratory tests have proven that in many cases the composition of clothes given by the manufacturer was false. There was no possibility of a mistake – the label stated, for example, 70%. wool content, and research showed that in fact there was no wool at all.
“The composition of the materials used influences consumers' decisions – their assessment of the quality, use, and price of the product. Sometimes it even concerns health and safety, when the selection of the appropriate material results from allergies. The type of fabric is also important for the method of use or maintenance of clothing. Washing or Ironing that is not adapted to the actual composition of the clothes may lead to deterioration of their appearance, loss of value or even destruction,” wrote the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection in a statement.
Brands explained themselves in various ways, e.g. by cooperating with dishonest suppliers. – The company purchased the material from the manufacturer in good faith. Moreover, such material composition was indicated in all possible documents, including customs clearance documents – said Eliza Rurewicz, the representative of Kubenz, in an interview with tvn24.pl.
New regulations are needed
But is a “wool” coat made of 1 percent? wool in composition is a topic that could also be of interest to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection? We hear from Małgorzata Cieloch, the office's spokeswoman, that the percentage of a given ingredient applies, for example, to food. “Rabbit pâté” cannot contain 1%. meat from this animal.
But what about clothes? We wait here for several days, repeatedly asking about the position of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, but we do not receive an answer.
This confirms the theory of Michał Kędziora, who believes that the regulations do not keep up with the changing reality. A “wool” coat with only a mixture of wool? – I guess the producers are not breaking the law by doing so – says Mr Vintage.
– But this is because the regulations are outdated. We need new solutions that will better protect consumer rights.
Main photo source: Shutterstock