Consumer Agency: 60% of Textile Product Consumer Disputes Are the Responsibility of Businesses

2020 Textile Product Deliberation Committee Review Results by Responsibility Status.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chunhan] It has been found that 6 out of 10 consumer disputes related to textile products were caused by business operators such as manufacturers, sellers, and laundry service providers.

On the 18th, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that the number of review requests related to textile products and laundry services submitted to the Textile Product Deliberation Committee last year was 3,469, a 30.7% decrease compared to the previous year.

By responsibility, defects in quality and other issues attributable to manufacturers and sellers accounted for about half at 48.3%. Laundry service providers were responsible for 12.6%, and consumers for 7.2%. Cases attributed to manufacturers, sellers, and laundry service providers increased by 7.9 percentage points compared to the previous year, while consumer responsibility cases decreased by 9.8 percentage points.

Among cases judged to be the responsibility of manufacturers and sellers, manufacturing defects were the most common at 38.9%. This was followed by dyeing defects (28.1%), durability defects (26.4%), and washing durability defects (6.6%). In particular, among manufacturing defects, 22.5% were due to poor adhesion of labels, logos, or decorations. The Korea Consumer Agency pointed out that adhesion defects have been steadily increasing, with 72 cases in 2018, 109 cases in 2019, and 147 cases last year, indicating a need for quality improvement efforts.

Among cases attributed to laundry service providers, 51.3% involved washing by inappropriate methods. This was followed by improper detergent use (14.4%), insufficient stain removal (10.1%), and poor repair work (9.4%).

Most consumer responsibility cases (73.3%) were due to careless handling, while the remaining 26.7% were caused by external contamination during wear. The causes of careless handling included improper storage and management, failure to follow washing instructions, and damage caused by external substances or forces. To prevent these, the Korea Consumer Agency advises consumers to always check quality labels and handling instructions.

The Korea Consumer Agency urged that when requesting laundry services, consumers should check the condition of the product beforehand and obtain a receipt, and after the laundry is completed, immediately retrieve the item to check for defects.

Based on the results of this survey, the Korea Consumer Agency plans to hold meetings with manufacturers, sellers, and laundry service providers to request quality improvements.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.