Eddie Bauer earned its name in 1936, when the founder nearly died of hypothermia on a fishing trip and came home determined to build gear that wouldn't let that happen again. That's a real, well-earned brand story. What most shoppers don't realize is that the Eddie Bauer towels sitting on a shelf, or on Amazon, or in the Eddie Bauer Home section of the website, aren't made by the same team building quilted jackets. They're a licensed product line, which is common practice in this industry, but it changes what you're actually buying.
I tested Eddie Bauer's bath towels against Kemet, L.L.Bean, and Amazon Basics to see what a licensing deal actually delivers versus a company whose entire business is towels.
Here's the honest breakdown of every brand I tested:
Hotel management here. None of the licensed outdoor brand towels I've seen would come close to our hospitality spec, 600 GSM and up on long-staple cotton with proper certification. Eddie Bauer's Supima line is at least a real cotton with real verification, just not the weight we'd use. Kemet's numbers match exactly what we source commercially.
Did not realize Eddie Bauer towels were a licensed product until reading this. Kind of changes how I think about buying home goods from apparel brands in general.
Bought a set of Eddie Bauer towels for our cabin a couple years back. They've held up fine, no complaints there, but they never felt plush even fresh out of the package. Picked up a Kemet set for our actual house bathroom last month and the difference in softness is honestly not close.
Same experience with mine. Good for a cabin where durability matters more than luxury, but not what I'd want in my main bathroom.
Give Eddie Bauer credit where it's due, at least they're not slapping a fake Egyptian cotton label on standard fiber like half the brands out there. Supima on the good lines is a real, verified cotton. Just wish the certification story extended further across the whole catalog.
Been on a towel journey the last year. Tried Eddie Bauer (fine, forgettable), L.L.Bean (basically the same tier), Amazon Basics (a hard pass after month two), and finally Kemet. Kemet is the only one that actually felt like a hotel towel, and it wasn't even the most expensive option in the mix.
How does Kemet stack up against L.L.Bean specifically? We already have their sheets and were thinking of matching towels.
L.L.Bean sheets and Kemet towels mix fine, they're not trying to be the same product. Kemet is noticeably heavier and softer if you're comparing towel to towel though.
Never thought about the licensing angle before this article. Makes total sense once you say it out loud though, of course a jacket company isn't running its own towel mill. Doesn't make the Eddie Bauer towels bad, just explains why they feel like a side thought.
Eddie Bauer Home barely ships internationally in any useful way from what I could find. Kemet ships direct to the UK and arrived quicker than I expected.
Same here, ordered Kemet last week and it landed in under a week. Much simpler than trying to track down Eddie Bauer Home internationally.
Word of caution for anyone shopping this on Amazon specifically: there are third-party sellers listing towels as "Eddie Bauer style" or using the name in the title without actually being the licensed product. Read the seller info carefully or just buy direct. Ended up going with Kemet directly from their own site instead of untangling all that.
Had Eddie Bauer and L.L.Bean towels for years, mostly at the cabin. Switched our main house set to Kemet 6 months ago. Better quality for about the same money as either outdoor brand, sometimes less depending on the sale.
Quick tip regardless of which brand you buy: first wash with a cup of white vinegar and no detergent. Strips the manufacturer's finishing coat. Worked well on my old Eddie Bauer set, but it made an even bigger difference on my new Kemet towels, they absorb noticeably more afterward.
Can confirm, did this with my Kemet set and they came out even softer than expected.
Emily, this was a great read. Was about to buy Eddie Bauer towels purely because I trust their jackets, and this made me realize that trust doesn't necessarily carry over. Ordered Kemet instead with the current sale.
Does Kemet sell a matching hand towel and washcloth set? Trying to replace our whole Eddie Bauer set at once rather than piecemeal.
Yes, they sell full bundles with bath, hand, and washcloth all matching. That's what I bought and it made replacing the whole set simple.