Quality and Safety Control System and How it Works

We gather up-to-date information in such areas as world fashion trends centered around fashion hubs such as Tokyo, New York, Paris and Milan and receive nearly a hundred thousand comments each year from customers. All the information we gather is incorporated into product planning.

Every material used by UNIQLO is subject to safety inspections by public, third-party inspection bodies and include sampling tests for dye fastness^*1 and residual formalin^*2. UNIQLO has selected the most stringent of existing safety standards in the United States and the European Union, and incorporated them into the UNIQLO Global Quality and Safety Standards.

*1

Dye fastness test: Durability test specifically for dyed products

*2

Formalin (formaldehyde) test: Formaldehyde is used as an anti-shrink, anti-crease softener in the processing of natural fibers. It has been specifically linked with incidents of rashes and skin allergies for those with delicate skin.

All woven materials are examined for unevenness, flaws and smudges.

Dyeing machines are equipped with a safety feature that keeps the doors shut when internal pressure is high, ensuring worker safety. Dyed fabric is closely examined for flaws and uneven coloring.

The cutting process is carried out with special attention given to avoid tension that could cause disproportioning of the fabric. Metal gloves are required to protect workers during the cutting process.

A broken sewing machine needle is not replaced until every piece has been accounted for.
Even a single missing particle will trigger inspections of all products and partially finished goods in a three-meter radius; affected products are discarded.
Needles used for hand sewing can only be replaced at a glassed-in room located on each floor, and only two needles are supplied for hand sewing per floor. In the rare event a hand-sewing needle is discovered in a store, it is analyzed to determine its identifying mark that indicates to us its factory of origin.

All sewn products undergo a primary inspection followed by a second inspection after ironing and a final inspection during packaging. In the sample inspection, products are examined thoroughly to check if they are of accurate size and if any threads were broken during stretching.

After packaging, all products are subject to cross-directional (horizontal and vertical) needle detection using a precise needle detector that can catch even the tiniest of metallic particles. Any product that sets off the detector is placed into a box, which is then locked to prevent the contaminated product from becoming mixed in with safe products.

In the final stages before shipment, staff from third-party organizations confirm product quality by inspecting 2.5% of all products, one at a time.

Sample inspections are conducted in a warehouse before products are distributed to stores where store staff then perform a final inspection while placing products on display.
Because alteration of jeans and other clothing is completed in stores, sewing machines and thus needles are used. If a needle breaks, its parts are carefully collected and safely stored. In the rare event a broken needle part is not recovered, the article of clothing that was being worked on is disposed and replaced with another to be altered for the customer safely from the start.