General Overview and Some Frequent Questions:

Who we are:

Our products are being sold by major and minor retailers in many parts of the U.S. We are one of the top two suppliers of freshly laundered Gourmet Flour Sack Towels in the U.S. There is no other place where you can view such a broad range of our products.

Our Towels and Our Fabric:

Cotton is the primary material in our fabrics. It is one of the world’s major textile fabrics. It has excellent absorbency, it can withstand high temperatures, has high washability and it dyes well. Some of our products have polyester blended into the material. Polyester is an extremely resilient fiber that is smooth, crisp and springy. It is lightweight, strong and resistant to creasing, shrinking, stretching, mildew and abrasion. It is readily washable and is not damaged by sunlight or weather and it is resistant to moths. You will find it blended into our products such as Aprons or Chef Hats and it is used as a backing only (all loops are 100% cotton), in certain of our bath towels.

Our Towels and Quality:

We continuously receive calls to our warehouse facilities from existing customers seeking to repurchase Home Basics™ products.

A customer's experience is as follows: I obtained one dozen Gingham Check towels from the warehouse over five years ago. They have been subjected to normal washings on an average of one time per week (200-300 total washings). And with each washing, the performance improved and they soon became my towel of choice.

Serviceability:

Certain dark colors may bleed slightly during initial washing, however, no more than you would expect from many other cotton (or other) fabric items. We simply advise that you pre-wash all items in cool or warm water with like colors prior to usage, which you likely would do anyway.

All kitchen textiles are 100% cotton unless otherwise noted and there will be slight shrinkage over time, we expect no more than 5-10%. Will you find an occasional thread hanging from the towel? It’s possible, though not likely, and it won’t happen any more frequently than it does on the most expensive kitchen or bath towels from virtually any retail source. If you do find a string hanging, just snip it. It will not affect serviceability.

Are your products “Anti-bacterial?”

Purposefully, no, they are not. First of all, if you wash any textile product (clothing, kitchen textiles, other) when it should be washed, there would seem to be little risk of bacteria; common sense in food handling and preparation goes a long way and the same applies to your kitchen textiles. As a practical matter, one might question 1) if there is antibacterial protection in kitchen textiles, as advertised, and 2) how long you can have “antibacterial” protection in a dishcloth or towel when it is washed frequently. Finally, we believe there are broader, long-term health issues regarding frequent and widespread usage of “antibacterial” materials. Personally, I find comfort in knowing I am wiping my pots and pans with towels that are free from “microban” or any other chemicals.

How often do you add new items?

We add between two and four new kitchen designs each year. Unlike most retailers who believe it necessary to have a constantly changing appearance in their displays, we rely on a reasonable mix of designs and colors concentrating, rather, on quality. We have an ongoing program of finding ways to improve the quality of products that we do stock or in new products that we add to the product line. Occasionally, we will add seasonal items, when appropriate.

Where do you ship or do you ship internationally?

At this time we ship via UPS GROUND, UPS Next Day Air and UPS Second Day Air to all U.S. States. We also cannot ship to P.O. Boxes, APO and FPO addresses which is part of the UPS guidelines. We also ship via, UPS Standard (Ground), UPS Worldwide Expedited (2-4 Day) and UPS Worldwide Express (Next Day) to Canada. See our International Shipping FAQ's.

Why do you charge separately for shipping?

We have gone to great lengths to identify our expenses in preparing each order including packaging materials, warehousing and labor, all of which must be realized in our costs. Sales taxes are added for shipments to any states that require us to collect them.

How long will it take for me to receive my order?

We commit to shipping your order within one to two business days of receipt and credit approval plus normal delivery time (as selected) required by UPS. For example: We estimate you will receive your order well within 10 business days by UPS Ground.

Assorted Colors versus Matching Colors in Ordering

When placing an order, you will find that most kitchen towels have “matching” dishcloths which means that, when you select the towel color, the dishcloths will match. In some cases, there are no matching items while, in other cases, we are physically unable at this time to separate out four, six or eight of the same item from multiple colors as the 100-dozen Master Packs vary, some having three colors per dozen, one color per dozen, six colors per dozen along with mixes of designs. For such items, we offer them in “Assorted” colors or designs. We realize this may be problematic if you are attempting to achieve a particular color scheme in your kitchen and we apologize. In other cases, such as with common Waffle Weave Dish Cloths, we hope it will not be an issue as most are multi-colored.

Returns and Exchanges

In the unlikely event you should receive a product that is clearly defective, you must contact us by e-mail at Service(@)thetowelplace.com requesting a Return Authorization Number (RAN) within 10 days of receiving the merchandise and state the reason for the requested return. Upon receipt of the item/s, we will immediately send you the replacement item/s.
If it is a return for credit (Credit only applies to merchandise not shipping; Shipping charges are not refundable), we must charge a 15% restocking fee. The customer is responsible for return shipping of merchandise back to our warehouse. Please use a trackable shipping method like UPS, Fedex etc. PLEASE NOTE: We cannot accept the return of any item if it has been used or washed.

Restocking Fees, How Much? When and Why?

There is a restocking fee of 15% on all returns for refund, unless waived by our Customer Support Agent. The Towel Place.com is not responsible for manufacturer defects. We are not manufacturers. We are willing to replace a defective item. If a refund is requested instead of a replacement we will normally charge a 15% restocking fee.