Mizu Towel Review

About Mizu Towel

Mizu Towel launched in 2017 after a pair of crowdfunding campaigns that raised over $700,000 combined on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Founded by Glen Gunawan and based in Los Angeles, the brand positions itself as a “smart towel” company, selling silver-infused antimicrobial towels alongside a smaller line of sheets and pillowcases.

The core product is a bamboo cotton towel woven with silver-coated fibres and lined with colour-changing strips that shift from blue to red when the towel picks up contaminants. It’s an appealing concept. The marketing leans heavily on Japanese heritage, with the name itself (mizu means water in Japanese) and frequent references to Imabari, Japan’s famed towel-making region.

The issue is that several of these claims don’t hold up to scrutiny. The towels are manufactured in China, not Japan. The antimicrobial claims lack regulatory backing. And the customer experience, based on third-party review platforms, is quite poor. At roughly $42,000 in monthly revenue across 16 products, this is a small operation with big marketing language.

The Antimicrobial Question

This is the section that matters most, because Mizu’s entire value proposition rests on its antibacterial claims.

Mizu states that their towels contain “pure, natural silver-coated fibres” that “eliminate 99.9% of bacterial growth.” Silver does have well-documented antimicrobial properties. That part is established science. The problem here is not whether silver can kill bacteria. It can. The problem is whether Mizu has done the regulatory work to make these claims legally and with verification.

Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), any textile that claims to kill or prevent bacteria, viruses, or other microorganisms is classified as a pesticide product. That means it requires EPA registration before it can be legally sold with those claims in the United States. This isn’t optional. It’s federal law.

I searched the EPA’s pesticide product registry for Mizu Towel, Mizu Home LLC, and related terms. No registration was found. The company’s website lists no EPA registration number, no third-party lab test reports, and no specific certification for its antimicrobial treatment. There is no OEKO-TEX certification. No GOTS certification. No Cotton Egypt Association mark. The certifications section of their site is, effectively, empty.

For context, brands like Silvon (which also sells silver-infused textiles) reference specific lab testing and provide documentation. Mizu provides marketing copy. That’s a meaningful difference.

The colour-changing solvatochromic strips are a separate feature and genuinely interesting. They react to contaminants like oil, soap residue, and sweat by shifting colour. This technology is real and doesn’t carry the same regulatory burden. But it’s the antimicrobial claim that drives purchase decisions, and that claim remains unverified.

What You Actually Get

A single Mizu bath towel carries a listed price of $100, though the website runs what appears to be a permanent 50% discount, bringing it to $50. Hand towels list at $50, discounted to $25. Bundle pricing follows the same pattern.

Product	Listed Price	”Sale” Price
Bath Towel (single)	$100	$50
Hand Towel (single)	$50	$25
2x Set (2 bath + 2 hand)	$300	$120
4x Set (4 bath + 4 hand)	$600	$200
8x Set (8 bath + 8 hand)	$1,200	$380

The perpetual sale is worth noting as a pricing tactic. If the “original” price is never actually charged, the discount is marketing rather than savings.

The towels themselves are a 600 GSM bamboo cotton blend with silver-coated fibres. At 600 GSM, they sit in the medium-weight range. For comparison, hotel-quality towels typically fall between 600 and 900 GSM, while truly plush towels from brands like Brooklinen or Parachute run closer to 700 to 800 GSM.

The material is Xinjiang cotton sourced from northwest China, blended with bamboo. This raises an additional concern. Xinjiang cotton has been the subject of forced labour allegations, leading to import restrictions from the US government (the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act) and voluntary sourcing bans from major retailers. Mizu does not address this on their website.

Manufacturing happens in China, despite the Japanese branding. The company states the “crafting process begins in Japan and is completed in a specialist factory in China.” Based on shipping origins reported by customers (Shenzhen) and the product labels (“Made in China”), the Japanese component appears to be design influence rather than physical production.

What Buyers Say

Third-party review data tells a mixed but leaning-negative story.

Trustpilot: 2.2 out of 5 stars across 121 reviews. The platform notes Mizu “has not replied to negative reviews,” which suggests poor reputation management at minimum.

BBB: Not accredited. Multiple unresolved complaints on file, primarily related to orders never arriving and refund requests being denied.

Common praise: Buyers who receive their towels and have a good experience frequently mention the softness of the bamboo cotton blend, the novelty of the colour-changing strips, and fast drying times. These positives are real but not universal.

Common complaints: The three recurring issues are shipping failures (orders not arriving, weeks without tracking updates), excessive shedding and lint after washing, and unresponsive customer service. Several buyers report being told to “file a police report” when their orders went missing, rather than receiving a replacement or refund.

The gap between the product concept and the operational execution is the story here. Some buyers genuinely enjoy the towels. But a significant portion can’t get past the fulfilment problems to even reach the product experience.

How Mizu Compares

Feature	Mizu Towel	Brooklinen	Turkish Towel Co.
Material	Bamboo cotton + silver	100% Turkish cotton	100% Turkish cotton
GSM	600	700	600-700
Antimicrobial Claims	Yes (unverified)	No	No
Certifications	None listed	OEKO-TEX	OEKO-TEX, GOTS
Bath Towel Price	~$50 (sale)	~$39	~$35
Trustpilot Rating	2.2/5	2.3/5	Limited reviews
Made In	China	Turkey	Turkey

Who Should Buy Mizu Towel?

Consider this if:

• The colour-changing hygiene indicator genuinely appeals to you and you understand the antimicrobial claims lack third-party verification
• You want a lightweight, quick-drying towel for humid climates and you’re willing to accept the risk of shipping issues
• You’re comfortable with the ethical considerations around Xinjiang cotton sourcing

Skip this if:

• Verified antimicrobial claims matter to you (look for EPA-registered products instead)
• You want a towel with recognised textile certifications like OEKO-TEX or GOTS
• Reliable shipping and responsive customer service are priorities
• Ethical cotton sourcing is important to your purchasing decisions
• You prefer heavier, plusher towels in the 700+ GSM range