Should Welspun be held responsible in some way for attempting to trick customers into purchasing sheets that were not really 100 percent Egyptian cotton?
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Wal-Mart announced on August 23 that it was reviewing Welspun’s cotton certification records, as well as checking other suppliers of Egyptian-cotton products.
Wal-Mart isn’t cutting ties with Welspun, said the spokeswoman, instead the retailer is working with the company to “implement strong controls and better label the products they supply to us”.
Less than a month after Target announced it would offer customers refunds for more than million in Welspun’s Egyptian cotton sheets, Walmart said it is also pulling Egyptian cotton Welspun sheets from its shelves and offering refunds, reports Bloomberg.
Egyptian cotton is prized because the length of the cotton fibers are longer, resulting in a finer, lighter more durable fabric and longer-lasting, higher-end clothing.
Welspun India posted revenues of Rs 5,980 crore for the year ended March 31, 2016. As per reports, it produced just 1 per cent of the global cotton past year.
J.C. Penny and Bed Bath & Beyond are also investigating the credibility of their Welspun Egyptian cotton products.
Welspun is the biggest exporter of terry towels and bed linen to the U.S. and the company says every fifth towel sold in the United States is made by it and two-thirds of its total business comes from the American markets.
Replying to queries at a conference call after the Target decision, Rajesh Mandawewala, managing director of Welspun India, had reiterated that the issue was “around the provenance of the fibre”. The company says it makes every fifth towel sold in the US and counts J.C. Penney Co. and Macy’s Inc among its customers.
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Welspun is part of a roughly $3 billion conglomerate headed by Balkrishan Goenka – with interests spanning textiles, steel, pipes, energy and infrastructure.
