You are holding a bedding set in a shop in District 7. The tag is entirely in Vietnamese. Here are the eight words that matter, what the fibre names mean, and the one thing a test certificate can and cannot tell you.
The words on the tag
Almost every label here uses the same handful of headings. Learn these eight and you can read most of them:
- Chất liệu or Thành phần — material / composition. The important line.
- Kích thước — dimensions, in centimetres. See the note on mattress depth below.
- Hướng dẫn sử dụng — care instructions.
- Giặt máy / giặt tay — machine wash / hand wash.
- Không dùng chất tẩy — do not use bleach.
- Phơi trong bóng râm — dry in shade, not direct sun. Common here and worth following.
- Xuất xứ — country of origin.
- Bộ 4 món — "set of 4 pieces". Check what the four are; it varies by seller.
One warning about kích thước: Vietnamese sizes are written as width × length, and the number that actually decides whether a fitted sheet stays on is neither of those. It is the depth of your mattress. Measure it before you buy, especially if you use a topper.
Fibre names, Vietnamese to English
- Cotton — cotton. Written the English way. Cotton pha means blended, and the blend is usually with polyester.
- Polyester, often PE — polyester. Absorbs almost nothing (moisture regain around 0.4%), so it dries very fast and does not take up sweat.
- Rayon, Visco, Viscose — all the same fibre family, regenerated cellulose. Soft, drapes well, and loses roughly half its strength while wet, which is why the care label says be gentle.
- Modal, Tencel, Lyocell — also regenerated cellulose, made by different processes.
- Vi sợi or Microfiber — very fine synthetic filament, usually polyester. Common as pillow and topper filling.
- Polyamide or Nylon — the fibre behind most "cooling" surfaces, because it conducts heat better than cotton does.
- Spandex, Elastane — the stretch component. A small percentage, but it is what lets a fitted sheet grip.
"Rayon" on a tag does not mean the whole thing is rayon
This one catches people. A product can be sold and labelled as rayon while being substantially something else, because the name describes the face fabric or the dominant impression rather than the full composition.
Our own topper cover is a case in point. The tag says Rayon. The laboratory test says 51.2% rayon and 48.8% polyester. We are telling you our own number because it is the sort of thing you can only find out by testing, and most sellers never test.
So when the composition matters to you, ask for the percentages, not the name.
What a Vietnamese test certificate really covers
You will see Quatest 3 referenced a lot. It is a genuine state testing body and the certificates are real. But a certificate only reports the tests that were ordered, and the tests usually ordered are narrow.
What ours reports: fibre identification with percentages, and that formaldehyde and aromatic amines from azo dyes were not detected on the sample submitted. Under Vietnam's QCVN 01:2017/BCT, textiles in contact with skin have to meet those chemical limits.
What it does not report: durability, colourfastness over years, pilling behaviour, cooling performance, dust mite resistance, or antibacterial properties. Not because anyone failed those tests — because those tests were not part of it.
If a seller waves a certificate while claiming their fabric is antibacterial, ask which page says so. Usually no page does. You can read ours in full on the certificates section and check that for yourself.
Three questions worth asking before you pay
"What are the actual percentages?" A seller who knows will answer in seconds. A seller who repeats the fibre name back to you does not know.
"How deep a mattress does this fit?" The single most common reason a set gets returned in this country.
"What happens if I do not like it?" Ask before, not after. Ours: unwashed and unused goes back for a refund, and no explanation is required.
And if you would rather settle it by hand than by label, our warehouse is at 169/36 Lương Định Của, An Khánh, Thủ Đức. Directions on the visit page. Touching the fabric answers questions no tag can.
And if you would rather have someone read a label with you, bring it along. Our warehouse at 169/36 Lương Định Của (An Khánh, Thủ Đức) is open 10:30 to 17:30, closed Sundays, and we are always glad to help — including with labels that are not ours.
More on sleeping in Vietnam:
If you would like to see what we make:
