247 SEOUL "Deceived by Manufacturing Factory, Considering Criminal Complaint"
Products sold as ‘cashmere mufflers’ at major domestic shopping malls were revealed to be counterfeit, made from cheap fabrics.
According to Yonhap News on the 4th, the 'cashmere muffler' by 247 SEOUL sold at well-known online shopping malls such as Musinsa, W Concept, and 29CM was confirmed by the Korea Apparel Testing & Research Institute to be composed of 70.4% polyester and 29.6% rayon.
A customer, Mr. A, who purchased the product felt something was wrong and had the blend ratio tested by the Korea Apparel Testing & Research Institute (Katri) and FITI Testing & Research Institute last October. Mr. A disclosed the test results on a fashion-related online community.
The results revealed that the blend ratio listed on the shopping mall’s product information?30% cashmere, 10% wool, and 60% rayon?was false. Another product advertised as containing 60% cashmere was also found to be made of polyester, rayon, and other materials instead of cashmere, making it subject to refunds.
247 SEOUL is a clothing brand created by Sunse Co., Ltd., mainly selling mufflers, gloves, and bags online. In recent years, it gained a reputation for selling cashmere mufflers at reasonable prices. Products made from cheap synthetic fibers were disguised as high-quality wool mufflers and sold for nearly six years since 2017.
Musinsa sold over 80,000 units of ‘premium cashmere mufflers’ in 12 colors and ‘cashmere mufflers’ in 6 colors over the past year, with sales expected to reach 2 billion KRW during that period. Currently, W Concept and Handsome EQL have stopped selling the products.
Afterward, the company and Mr. A reached an agreement to delete related posts from the community, and 247 SEOUL halted sales of the products and posted an official apology on their website.
In the apology, 247 SEOUL stated, “We started as a small business specializing in cotton products,” and “Through an acquaintance, we learned of a muffler factory overseas and visited the factory with enthusiasm but without any understanding of cashmere fabric.”
They explained, “Since we lacked the knowledge to distinguish whether the fabric was genuine cashmere or synthetic cashmere, and because we visited the factory through a trusted acquaintance, we did not question the authenticity of the cashmere.”
The company claimed to be victims themselves, saying, “If we had intended to deceive consumers, we would not have boldly and foolishly marketed and sold the products in widely exposed online spaces nationwide,” and “We politely ask for restraint from unfounded speculation in online spaces.”
247 SEOUL is currently consulting with a law firm and considering filing criminal complaints against the responsible personnel involved in supply and the factory-related parties.
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