The + 1000 Thread Count scam

Since thread count gained  popularity as the most widely recognized quality factor for fine bedding, it has been used wildly as the main marketing tool for advertising luxury linens.

The rush to the highest thread count took the whole industry by storm with figures climbing rapidly from 600 to 1000 to 1200, 1500 up to an astonishing 1800 thread count !

An excellent 300 TC bed sheets of a few years ago will almost sound ridiculous compared to the sky high thread count available today.

Has really quality improved that much in just a few years?

Not at all !

First and foremost the highest thread count that can be technically achieved for sheeting fabrics is 1.000. Period!

Secondly, such an high thread count can only be produced out of premium quality extra long staple Egyptian Cotton fibers  spun into super fine gauge yarns, twisted and woven into the finest fabrics with advanced textile machinery and state of the art technology only developed at a few top rated mills located in Italy, France or Germany.  As a result those fine fabrics , produced in limited quantities, have very high production costs and become very expensive, retailing for $1.000 and more for a plain sheets set.

So what about all the 1.000’s and more thread count sheets we can see advertised anywhere at any sort of low to medium price? Well, it’s most likely one of the two options below:

1. The thread count is true but it has been achieved using poor quality raw cotton fibers, thus giving thick uneven yarns that are woven into heavy fabrics manufactured into blanket-weight sheets. Not nice to sleep in! Moreover this kind of inexpensive sheets tend to pill, showing those annoying little balls on the fabric surface after a few washings.
2. The thread count is somehow misrepresented referring to a  metric system figure rather than to the actual number of threads woven into an American square inch or even worse  it’s fraudulently listed a thread count that is not true and honest.  Scam!

Last but not least I have to say out of my experience on the field that even an expert would barely notice any difference between  a  600-700TC and a 1.000TC. Overall fabric quality and performance upon usage are about the same while price can be double, triple or even quadruple for a real 1.000TC.

Personally, I wouldn’t break the bank for a true 1.000TC sheets. It’s not really worth all that money!

Does Thread Count really count?

Thread count is the most widely used indicator for quality of fine fabrics. That’s for a good reason. It is a concise, straightforward figure that give you a reliable quality grade.

Thread Count is still pretty good to give you a rough idea of quality yet it is not enough in itself to determine a purchasing decision.

Many other factors  should be taken into account such as raw cotton origin, gauge of spun yarns, weaving techniques and quality of all the necessary finishing processes to get fabrics ready for manufacturing. Learn more about luxury linens quality.

In general higher thread counts are achieved spinning premium long staple raw cotton fibers into the finest cotton yarns then woven in outstanding quality fabrics. Sounds good right?

Still very often a high thread count is achieved weaving thick yarns made out of impure raw cotton fibers resulting in a heavyweight, rough, pilling likely fabric. Definitely a poor quality.

For an easy reference when it comes to choose your bed linens :

Below 180TC is poor quality > It can be even uncomfortable –  I suggest to avoid this.

180TC to 300TC is good quality > Best choice for value bedding.

300TC to 500TC is luxury quality > Verify cotton quality. It should be only Long staple Egyptian or Pima cotton.

500TC to 700TC  is superior luxury quality > Verify cotton quality as it can only be made out of Extra Long staple Egyptian cotton yarns. Verify country of production as only premium manufacturing countries such as Italy, France and Germany have developed state of the art technology to weave such fine fabrics.

More than 700TC > It’s a waste of money as price grow exponentially for such a high thread count and quality performance is not really improving. This is the range of thread count where we see the highest scam density.  Be very careful before purchasing bed linens in this thread count range especially when it goes over 1000TC. You should only purchase this linens from reputable, well known vendors that give you full guarantees  or risk to get hurt.

Those are the only real information you can gather  from thread count figures. We assume of course that thread count listed in the product features is true and honest. It might not always be the case but that’s  just another story. it’s consumer fraud!

Beware! “Imported” Linens

We have seen this quite often especially online:

“…..Italian luxury bed sheets set. Imported”

Imported from Italy right?

Wrong!

Here is the scam: the word “Italian” is used as an adjective to mean Italian looking or Italian style inspired linens. “ Imported” just means goods are coming from outside the US without indicating the actual country of origin.

Premium manufacturing countries like Italy, France or Germany are always clearly identified in the product features as “Made in ……….”. The generic “Imported” word is only used for low labor cost manufacturing Countries  such as China, India, Pakistan or Vietnam.

Be also aware of the fact that US Federal Law requires all imported textile products to clearly specify on the label the country of origin of raw material and manufacturing. The missing indication of the “Made in “ Country is a violation to fair trade and should be reported to the Federal Trade Commission. Learn more at FTC website.

Don’t be fooled again by this tricky advertising. You won’t get cheap Italian linens anywhere either online or in store. As a rule of thumb any bed linen set that retail below $200/$250 is very unlikely to be really made in Italy.

If it seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t.