What does it mean that "due to the nature of the washing process, the stripe pattern may not align"?
While reading the notice under the product description, it is unclear whether it means clothes with misaligned stripes will arrive. Being told that it is not considered defective makes one even more curious.
It means that due to the nature of the fabric and washing process, the stripes may not connect exactly at places like the side seams, and this is not a defect.
Washing refers to a processing method where finished garments or fabrics are treated in water as if being laundered to soften the surface and pre-shrink them. This T-shirt uses 30-count cotton that has undergone that process, and both the outer shell and the color-contrasting parts are 100% cotton[1][2]. The stripes are an in-house developed pattern[3].
Cotton has the property of shrinking when wet, and the degree of shrinkage varies slightly depending on the direction or area of the fabric. Therefore, stripes aligned during cutting and sewing may appear shifted by about one stripe at the side seams or sleeve seams after undergoing the washing process. The brand also informs customers of this in advance and states that it is not considered a defect or grounds for a refund[4]. Surface pilling caused by friction is likewise viewed as a natural phenomenon of the material for the same reason[5].
Instead, care instructions are clearly specified. Hand wash alone in cold water without mixing with other clothes, and do not use a dryer[6]. Since machine drying can cause damage, it is safer to hang it to dry in a well-ventilated, shaded area[7]. Heat and tumbling are conditions that shrink cotton further, making it easy to disrupt the state already stabilized through washing.
hmmm, this single line is less about trying to be excused from defects in advance, and closer to a baseline aligning expectations with buyers beforehand on what falls within the normal range for washed clothing.
This product is currently no longer sold.