Two Uniqlo t-shirts, same price, same word on the label
Both cost 19.90 €. Both say “Baumwolle” — cotton — in the product name. One is 100 % cotton, the other 53 %.
Per the retailer’s own product listing, read 27 July 2026. Fact checks carry no affiliate links and no advertising.
What we read, and where
On 27 July 2026 we opened two t-shirts in Uniqlo’s German online shop and read the composition stated in the retailer’s own “Materialzusammensetzung” section. Both were listed at 19.90 €. Both carry the word Baumwolle — German for cotton — in the product name.
The “100 % Supima Baumwolle T-Shirt” is stated as 100 % cotton. The “AIRism Baumwolle T-Shirt” is stated as 53 % cotton, 30 % polyester from recycled fibres and 17 % elastomultiester. That is the whole finding. We did not test either shirt, we did not buy either shirt, and we are not calling anything a scandal.
Why the second one is built that way
Context matters here, and leaving it out would make the numbers say something they do not. AIRism is Uniqlo’s technical fabric line, built for moisture management. The synthetic share is functional, not a quiet substitution to save money — and the name does signal the line to anyone who already knows it.
The gap is one of reading, not of honesty: “AIRism Baumwolle” contains the word cotton and sits next to a shirt that is entirely cotton, at the same price, in the same category. Someone scanning for a cotton t-shirt can reasonably end up with a garment that is nearly half synthetic — and the composition, which resolves it, sits behind a collapsed accordion.
The information is all there. It is the arrangement that decides whether anyone reads it.
What this says about the brand
Little, and mostly in its favour. Both compositions are stated plainly on the product page. The AIRism listing also names the countries of manufacture — including for knitting, weaving and dyeing, a level of detail most retailers do not publish per product at all.
If you want cotton, read the composition rather than the product name. That is true here and it is true nearly everywhere; this pair simply shows it unusually clearly, because the retailer sells both versions side by side at the same price.
The two shirts side by side
| Product | Price | Cotton | Synthetic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 % Supima Baumwolle T-Shirt | 19,90 € | 100 % | 0 % |
| AIRism Baumwolle T-Shirt | 19,90 € | 53 % | 47 % |
Sources
3 in total · archived internally- Produktseite „100 % Supima Baumwolle T-Shirt" — Materialangabe des Händlers — UNIQLO Deutschland Read 27 July 2026
- Produktseite „AIRism Baumwolle T-Shirt (oversized, Rundhals)" — Materialangabe und Herstellungsländer — UNIQLO Deutschland Read 27 July 2026
- Produktionspartnerliste des Konzerns (Tier 1 und Tier 2) — Fast Retailing Read 27 July 2026
Questions readers ask
Is the AIRism shirt mislabelled?
No. The composition is stated on the product page, and “AIRism” identifies Uniqlo’s technical fabric line. The point is not a false statement but that the word “Baumwolle” appears in a product name where cotton is 53 % of the fabric.
Which of the two should I buy?
That depends on what you want the shirt to do. If you want a plain cotton tee, the 100 % Supima version is the one that matches. If you want moisture management, the synthetic share in AIRism is the reason it exists.
Did you test the shirts?
No. We read the composition stated by the retailer and recorded the date. We ran no lab test and bought neither shirt, so we make no claim about fabric weight, durability or how either one wears.
Do these figures still hold?
They held on 27 July 2026, which is the date on this page. Compositions and prices change without notice — if you find something different, tell us and we will re-check.