SARROWS | Sustainable Quality, Season After Season

How UNITED ARROWS Ensures Safety and Longevity in Every Item

As you browse through the latest UNITED ARROWS collection this spring, you may not realize just how many rigorous quality checks each garment has passed before reaching the store floor. From ensuring colors won’t fade or transfer, to verifying fabrics won’t shrink excessively during home washing, to confirming that water-repellent materials truly perform as promised—UNITED ARROWS items undergo a comprehensive review to guarantee both safety and longevity.

This dedication is a key part of SARROWS, the company’s sustainability initiative, especially within its focus on Circularity—creating fashion that lasts and returns to the cycle. But what does this quality assurance system actually look like behind the scenes?

We spoke with Kyoko Tsukada, Head of the Quality Control Department, to learn how her team safeguards the standards behind “products made to be cherished for years.”

A Team Born from the Desire to Deliver True Satisfaction

“Our department’s work falls into two main pillars,” Tsukada explains.

Quality control for UNITED ARROWS original products
For each original item, production teams submit production orders, technical specifications, fabric test reports, and fabric swatches or samples. The QC team verifies whether the fabrics are appropriate for the intended design and checks if all labeling follows legal standards.

Support for imported and purchased items
For non-UNITED ARROWS products—especially those sourced overseas—the team checks accuracy of origin and material labeling, ensures sustainability claims are verifiable, and evaluates risks such as color transfer. They compile this information to create correct Japanese care labels and support inspection processes at the logistics center.

Building—and Constantly Improving—a Unified Standard

When Tsukada joined UNITED ARROWS in 2002, there was no dedicated quality control department. As the company grew, leaders saw the need for a unified standard to support better, safer product development. Thus began the creation of UNITED ARROWS’s own Quality Standard, refined more than 10 times since its inception.

Recent updates include adding chlorine-treated water testing for overseas-produced fabrics, or including back-side friction testing after customer reports of color transfer on velour materials. The standard continually evolves with feedback and industry developments.

A section of UNITED ARROWS’ updated Quality Standards, revised in April 2024 to reinforce product safety and long-term durability.

What Does Testing Actually Look Like?

UNITED ARROWS’s quality standard lists every test item on the vertical axis and categories such as jackets, coats, or bottoms across the top. Each category has clear approval values.

Key test categories include:

Color Fastness (light, washing, sweat, friction)
Dimensional Stability (shrinkage/expansion after washing or pressing)
Physical Strength (tear, tensile, bursting strength, seam slippage resistance)
Pilling Resistance

UNITED ARROWS even performs practical evaluations such as washing garments using in-house machines or checking water repellency directly on fabrics.

A simple color fastness test using a white cloth to screen for potential color fading or transfer.

In-house washing tests replicate real home laundry conditions to evaluate appearance changes, stretching, and shrinkage.

Looking Beyond Numbers—Quality from a Styling Perspective

While numerical results matter, Tsukada emphasizes that context matters just as much. “We consider the design as a whole—lining, pockets, slits, trims—and evaluate how the fabric will behave once it becomes an actual garment.”

Depending on intended customers, styling, and sales channels, the QC team may approve slightly borderline fabrics if overall safety is ensured, or they may revise construction details with product teams.

Pilling tests assess whether everyday lint or fuzz can be removed using a standard home-use fabric shaver.

Supporting Purchased Brands While Respecting Their Creativity

For imported products, UNITED ARROWS shares its quality standards beforehand but does not require full fabric test reports. Instead, the company respects each brand’s design philosophy while ensuring customers experience no disadvantage.
Upon warehouse arrival, items are checked for correct labeling and consistency with provided information. If discrepancies arise, the quality team coordinates corrections with suppliers and UNITED ARROWS’s product divisions.

A seam‑strength test ensures fabrics will not tear easily from needle holes or tension during wear.

Ensuring Company-wide Knowledge Through Regular Training

Quality control extends beyond the QC team. UNITED ARROWS enhances literacy through monthly case-sharing with buyers, semiannual workshops for original product teams, legal updates, and a quarterly newsletter about functional material testing. With functional and sustainable materials increasing, the team is especially careful to prevent overstated claims.

With more functional and sustainable materials rising in popularity, UNITED ARROWS is especially cautious to avoid overstated claims and to ensure all product descriptions remain accurate and compliant.

A quick water‑repellency test verifies that treated fabrics genuinely repel moisture as claimed.

Challenges and the Road Ahead

As fashion diversifies, UNITED ARROWS faces increasing complexity—more functional materials, increased use of eco-conscious fabrics, expanding brands, rising SKU counts, and evolving expectations in e-commerce and social media.

Even so, Tsukada remains optimistic:
“When I see a customer wearing a UNITED ARROWS item we supported, I feel proud. Our mission is to help people enjoy fashion with confidence—now and in the future.”

Her goal is to strengthen the foundation that enables quality, safety, and sustainability to grow alongside UNITED ARROWS’s product range.

Perfect for Spring: Why This Matters During the Easter Season

As customers refresh their wardrobes for spring celebrations—including Easter gatherings—UNITED ARROWS aims to offer items that feel good, look beautiful, and stand the test of time.

Behind every piece is a quiet but powerful commitment: to support sustainable fashion through quality that lasts.

INFOMATION