FTC raises stink about Uniqlo's deodorizing garments claims

A man walks by a Uniqlo store in Jongno District, central Seoul, on June 27. [NEWS1]

Uniqlo was slapped with a provisional 153 million won ($107,600) fine for exaggerating the antibacterial and deodorizing functions of its AIRism and DRY-EX garments, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced Thursday.

The FTC said that it will fine FRL Korea, the domestic distributor of Uniqlo, for violating the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising.

From December 2018 to July 2020, FRL Korea ran advertisements claiming that Uniqlo’s AIRism and DRY-EX garments had antibacterial and deodorizing functions on social media channels and the brand’s website. Uniqlo used expressions such as “antibacterial deodorization,” “refreshing fit with deodorizing function” and “high-performance item with antibacterial and deodorizing function” to promote the items.

FRL Korea could not prove the antibacterial properties of Uniqlo products worked against Staphylococcus aureus or pneumococcus bacteria, according to the FTC, which would give it deodorizing properties. Staphylococcus aureus is bacteria that causes skin and soft tissue infections and pneumococcus bacteria causes ear and sinus infections as well as pneumonia and bloodstream infections.

According to the International Organization for Standardization, antibacterial effects of a product are recognized only when the antibacterial activity against both the Staphylococcus aureus and pneumococcus bacteria is a level of 2.0 or higher. This is the same as a bacteriostatic reduction rate of 99 percent or more, meaning that if the number of viable bacteria in a non-antibacterial product is 100 when bacteria are incubated in the product for a certain period of time, the number of viable bacteria in the antibacterial product is less than 1.

As a result of an investigation by the FTC, it was revealed that FRL Korea did not even test the antibacterial properties of its products against pneumococcus.

Regarding the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, a bacterial test was performed, but it was tested on clothing fabric and not on finished products, and only tests on fabric were submitted to the FTC.

When a bacterial test was performed on an actual finished product, antibacterial properties varied for each product and was found to deteriorate after products were washed.

From May to July 2020, when the Korea Consumer Agency and FRL Korea commissioned nine antibacterial tests from specialized testing institutes both in Korea and Japan, a significant number of clothing samples showed low bacteriostatic reduction.

“We have decided to severely crack down on advertisements in this case because it impedes the fair trade order by obstructing a rational choice by consumers – making them mistake a product with uneven antibacterial properties as being similar to other companies’ more functional products,” said a spokesperson for the FTC.

FRL Korea is owned 51 percent by Fast Retailing, the Japanese multinational retail holding company that operates Uniqulo, and 49 percent by Lotte Shopping.

BY LEE BO-RAM [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]