The Consumer Affairs Agency has urged 18 online retailers not to falsely label stoles as being made of cashmere.
A total of 23 stole products labeled as 100 percent cashmere or containing cashmere have been found to contain none or less cashmere than labeled, the agency said Thursday. Only four have been verified as containing some cashmere.
The products, sold for between ¥980 and ¥4,740 since April 2009, were made primarily of acrylic or rayon.
Many of the retailers said they labeled the stoles based on the claims of their suppliers but failed to verify the claims.
While not naming the retailers that have already improved their labeling practices, the agency noted that the deceptive practice is likely being used to hawk other products.