Last Updated: 2008.02.26
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Ensuring the Quality and Safety of UNIQLO Products
At UNIQLO, we work hard to ensure product safety based on the strictest standards so that our customers can feel reassured when wearing UNIQLO garments.
Establishing a Quality & Safety Control Team
The Quality & Safety Control Team, determines internal standards of quality and safety management for UNIQLO products. The team also confirms that all UNIQLO products meet these standards.
We work to improve product quality and safety control through our Quality & Safety Control Team in Japan and Shanghai (close to our manufacturing base) to ensure close links with onsite production (Diagram
). We are continuously checking product quality and strive to collect and exchange information on product quality and safety swiftly. We also review and maintain our system so that we are capable of responding smoothly to any queries from customers regarding product quality (Diagram
).
We also look to make continual improvements by distributing a product safety and quality report across the company once a month and by discussing and reviewing any issues that may arise.
Quality and safety control system for textiles
All UNIQLO products sold in Japan are tested and managed according to UNIQLO's own product quality and safety standards that, while based on the JIS*1 standards, are even stricter in nature.
- *1
- Short for "Japan Industrial Standard", the industry standard in Japan. This is a national standard formulated according to the industrial standardization law of 1949 in an attempt to regularize Japanese industrial standards and improve product quality.
Checking system for materials (fabric, thread, etc.) to products as they appears on our shelves.
All materials used in UNIQLO products are vigorously checked for safety undergoing a variety of "sample tests"(Diagram
) carried out by independent public testing organizations.*2 These tests include the degree of dye fastness*3 and formalin testing.*4 When we move to the mass-production stage, we conduct further safety checks called "Pre-production check" (Diagram
).
At the point of factory shipment, all products undergo a pre-shipment check, including checks for any stray needles or dangerous objects (Diagram
).
In addition, an independent public organization will conduct a pre-shipment audit (Diagram
) to ensure that these tests are being carried out fully at our partner factories.
After our products have been transferred to warehouses, we conduct onsite spot checks (Diagram
). In addition, sample tests (Diagram
) are also carried out by independent public testing organizations. We are always aiming to strengthen our quality and safety control system.
- *2
- Institutions that conduct product quality tests on textiles and products for sale from a fair, third party perspective in the areas of public office provision and commercial business. The Japan Synthetic Textile Inspection Institute Foundation is an example of one such foundation in Japan.
- *3
- The color vibrancy and fastness of dyed products is called the "degree of dye fastness". There are various established standards of dye fastness to measure practical performance including light resistance, washing, sweat, rubbing (dry, moist) and chlorine. The standards are determined according to a series of tests conducted based on JIS standards with performance ranked from 1 to 5.
- *4
- A variety of chemical substances are used as processing agents in the manufacture of clothing. A tiny amount of formaldehyde (formalin) can be used in the processing of natural fiber as an anti-shrink, anti-crease softener. At UNIQLO, we ensure strict product quality management according to fixed formalin safety standards on all of our products including baby wear and adult undergarments.
Product quality control by the expert team at partner factories
Japan has a long tradition of textile manufacture, and we ensure that highly skilled professional Japanese clothing manufacture experts are always present in our UNIQLO offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen, etc. These people constitute our “Expert Team” (Diagram
). These members go to our partner factories every week to support the manufacturing process on a variety of levels from technical guidance to process management, staff training, etc. In addition, the office personnel responsible for product quality and safety control also make regular visits to the factories, to help instigate an even stricter maintenance and improvement in UNIQLO product quality.
Quality and safety control for goods sold overseas
Safety standards in the U.S. and individual European countries are all different. UNIQLO follows a strict monitoring and control system, establishing UNIQLO quality and safety standards consistent with the safety standards of that particular country. Not only do we ensure that we fulfill the quality and safety standards of each nation, but, if UNIQLO decides any particular standard appropriate to be put into practice in Japan as well, we plan to employ those standards in our UNIQLO global quality and safety standards.
Quality and safety control in our stores
UNIQLO works to ensure good quality and safety control in our stores as well. For example, we sew all of our jeans alterations by machine, so if a sewing machine needle breaks, we are sure to retrieve and keep it for the record (Diagram
). If we were not able to find the broken needle, we would discard the garment currently being altered, and immediately prepare a similar product instead to hand safely to the customer.
In addition, any queries received from customers are recorded on a set form and reported to the quality and safety control team. If a customer complains of a sub-standard product, we make sure that we get the garment back from the customer for detailed examination by our quality and safety control team. After seeking out the cause of any defect and reporting it to top management (Diagram
), the team requests improvements from the factory concerned through our internal network.
Our response to the rare instances of problem products
In the unusual case that a problem is discovered with a product, our quality and safety control team (Diagram) would take a central role, ensuring first and foremost the customer’s safety, and swiftly examining the problem product. At the same time, the team would report any information on that particular product to top management with proposed improvements. Management would then seek to clarify responsibility and direct measures to rectify the issue. If circumstances required, we would also initiate a product recall, or termination of sale/manufacture. We would also ensure that customers were informed as swiftly as possible regarding any problem product through our website or newspapers, etc.
For more details on products recall
Particular Attention Paid to Safety at UNIQLO BABY
Protecting precious babies and delicate skin.
Most of our UNIQLO BABY products all carry the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 label proving they have cleared international safety standards. This authentication is for products for babies up to 24 months.
The Oeko-Tex Standard 100 is granted by the Oeko-Tex Association*5, a highly respected authority among global safety certification organizations. In order to attain an authentication, you have to pass strict tests in dozens of areas. Naturally this covers the fabric, but also ranges from hooks and buttons, stitching, any dyes or chemicals used, and production control.
- *5
- The Oeko-Tex Standard 100 is an international safety standard for textile products determined by the Oeko-Tex Association, or International Association for Research and Testing of in the Field of Textile Ecology (Head Office: Zurich, Switzerland). The Association is currently made up of research and testing bodies from 20 nations predominantly in Europe. The international safety standard for textile products guarantees that a garment is safe by testing for and analyzing over 100 items at the Oeko-Tex Association testing facility. The testing ensures that the textile products do not retain elements that are harmful to humans (the release of volatile compounds, heavy metals, carcinogenic arylamines, allergenic dye-stuffs, formaldehyde, chlorinated phenols and other chemicals) over and above the regulatory level at which they are deemed harmful to human health.
Eradicating formaldehyde (formalin) in clothing
A tiny amount of formaldehyde (formalin) may be used in the processing of natural fiber as an anti-shrink, anti-crease softening agent.
Babies under 2 years of age may suck or bite on their clothes, and the release of such agents on such delicate skin could lead to the development of eczema, rashes, or skin allergies. Therefore, Japan determines as the national standard that levels of formalin in clothing for children under the age of two years must not exceed 0.05 (A-A0)*6. At UNIQLO, our high standards of product quality control mean that we adhere to even stricter internal formalin standards of 0.03 (A-A0) or less.
In addition, since formalin is present in the air even in minute amounts, we insist that all of our baby products are wrapped to avoid absorbing the formalin in the atmosphere.
- *6
- This level was determined in the 1974 Japanese Health and Welfare Ministry Law No. 34 based on acetylacetone method detection testing.
