Imabari Towel Launches 33×70 cm Kitchen Towel with Chitosan and Aloe Treatment
Imabari Towel introduced 'Mar', a kitchen towel with a gauze front and a pile back, treated with chitosan and aloe; the 100 percent cotton towel measures 33×70 cm, comes in 3 colours and sells for 880 yen including tax.
The official account of Japan's Imabari towel brand introduced a kitchen towel called 'Mar' in a post on Instagram. The towel is made of 100 percent cotton and treated with chitosan, which has antibacterial and deodorising effects; in the company's words, an aloe treatment gives it a gentle, moist and soft feel on the skin.
Gauze front, pile back
According to the product page on the brand's official online store, the front of the towel is a smooth gauze and the back is an absorbent pile weave. The store says this construction makes the towel quick-drying and hygienic, and its thin build keeps it compact in storage. Mar measures about 33×70 cm and comes in 3 colours: off-white, brown and black. It sells for 880 yen including tax (800 yen excluding tax). The product went on sale in the online store on 23 August 2026 and carries Imabari Towel brand certification number 2025-2412.
A 130-year towel centre and the five-second rule
According to the brand's website, the city of Imabari in Ehime Prefecture has been a centre of towel making for 130 years, with close to 200 factories in the area, including yarn twisting, yarn dyeing and towel weaving plants. Soft water from the underground flow of the Soja River helps produce vivid colours and bring out the natural softness of cotton. The brand certifies products against its own quality standards: under the 'five-second rule', a piece of towel placed on water must start to sink within five seconds. The standard was set to guarantee absorbency, the defining feature of Imabari towels. The brand was built by the members of the Imabari Towel Industry Association, and Imabari Towel exhibited at 100% Design in London in 2014.
Bed, table and bath linen exports
According to UN Comtrade 2024 data, China led exports of bed, table and bath linen (HS 6302) with 9.77 billion dollars, followed by Pakistan with 4.31 billion and India with 2.02 billion; Turkey's exports amounted to 1.08 billion dollars.
This content was compiled with AI assistance from the cited source. (EU 2024/1689 Art. 50)
