Towels (Imabari and others)

Imabari, in Ehime prefecture, is Japan's best-known towel town, and "Imabari Towel" is a protected name with its own quality standard. If you want towels under your own brand, the questions are which makers will take the order, at what minimum, and what you may print on the label. I ask all three together.

What can be made

Face towels, bath towels, hand towels and wash cloths
Towel handkerchiefs
Gauze towels and gauze-backed pile
Towel scarves, bath mats and robes, depending on the maker
Hotel and spa ranges in standard sizes and colours

How far it can be yours

Each step down adds setup work for the maker, and usually a larger minimum.

Your label on a stock towel. The maker's own towel and colour, with your sewn-in label or packaging. Usually the easiest place to start.
Embroidery or a print. Your logo added to a stock towel.
Woven-in name or pattern. A jacquard design set up on the loom for you: a one-off setup and a larger run.
Your own colour, size or weight. Yarn dyed or cloth woven to order. Minimums are per colour and per specification.

Worth knowing first

The Imabari Towel name. "今治タオル" was registered as a regional collective trademark on 6 July 2007, and the brand mark may be used only on products a member maker has had certified against the association's quality standard. A towel that is not certified, or not from a member maker, cannot carry the name or the mark, but can still be sold as a well-made towel from Japan under your brand.

Absorbency test. The best-known test in the standard: a piece of the towel must sink in water within five seconds, both new and after three washes.

Minimum lot, price and lead time

They are set by each maker and differ widely, so I do not publish typical figures. I bring back each maker's own minimum, unit price and lead time in writing, and tell you which change would bring the minimum down.

Guides for this category

Longer guide on my main site (in English): Imabari towels for shops and private label