Q. Why is Japanese selvedge fabric more expensive than overseas-made selvedge?
A. The main factors break down into four:
- Slow production speed
Shuttle looms run at roughly 60–100 picks per minute. Modern air-jet looms run at roughly 700–1,500 picks per minute. To weave the same one meter, the shuttle loom takes more than ten times as long. Equipment running cost is proportional to time, so fabric unit cost rises directly. - Skilled labor cost
When a shuttle loom encounters a problem, an artisan must immediately judge and stop or adjust. Full automation is impossible. Japanese labor costs are substantially higher than in Southeast Asia or South Asia. - Small-lot operation
Much of the Japanese region operates on small-lot premises of tens to hundreds of meters per run. The cost structure is fundamentally different from a single Chinese mill running tens of thousands of meters per day. - Cluster cost stacking
Within the Kojima/Ihara cluster, specialized firms handle each process, and each firm’s margin stacks onto the final fabric. This produces a different cost model than vertically integrated overseas mega-mills.
As a result, Japanese selvedge in overseas premium markets is often priced in the thousands to tens of thousands of yen per meter.
That said: price is not quality. Overseas mills have caught up technically in recent years, and the assumption “Japan-made equals unconditionally premium quality” no longer simply holds in 2025. What matters in modern sourcing is understanding what the price is composed of — people, region, processing network — before placing an order.
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