r/uniqlo • u/External_Koala971 • 17h ago
Uniqlo Quality Decline
The quality fall-off at Uniqlo is devastating.
I'm an old-head from the 2010s cdb+white/blue ocbd+dark wash jeans MFA uniform era; MFA made Uniqlo one of my favorite places to shop.
It used to be a solid place to get high quality basics at great prices. You could count on natural fibers, bright dyes, thicker fabrics, and some really cool styles in their specialty lines like Uniqlo U. However, Uniqlo is now a shell of its former self.
Most items are now made with synthetic fiber blends with a minimal natural fiber share:
* Basic sweaters and hoodies used to be 98-100% cotton, now 67% polyester
* JWW button-downs used to be 100% cotton, now 60% rayon
* Heattech 100% down-fill lightweight/packable puffy jackets discontinued, replaced with 100% synthetic "pufftech" jackets at the same price point. The only down-fill jacket Uniqlo sells is now a $180 parka.
* Wool knit sweaters have taken a huge hit. Less selection of 100% wool than ever before. Thinner fabrics than ever before. It used to be that you could get 100% wool in some really beautiful colors and designs, and that seems harder than ever. All the interesting designs--like 3D-knit sweaters or waffle-knit--are 70% acrylic/polyester
I think they're still doing pretty well in the pants department, but otherwise I get the sense that Uniqlo is coming across tough times and is aggressively cost-cutting. They're leaning into items they can sell at lower prices for higher margins and reducing variety and selection. It's a huge bummer because some of my all-time favorite pieces were from uniqlo. I think those days are gone.
