It’s something you probably look at every day, but people are only just realising this week what the purpose of the stripey band on a bath towel really is.
Most bathroom towels have a telltale ‘stripe’ or band along one end, with larger bath sheets often having multiple bands along their edge. A debate has ignited online after one person, @natemcgrady, posted on X to ask on Thursday: “What is the purpose of this part of a towel? “I’m convinced that it only exists to shrink and make it impossible to fold the towel nicely, causing you to buy another towel.”
It turns out that the striped bit of a towel isn’t just there for aesthetic reasons, but it actually serves a real purpose.
There are a lot of myths out there about this – some say it’s just for decoration, while others insist that it’s there as a manufacturing quirk, marking the end of each ‘strip’ of towel on the loom.
Indeed, different experts give different answers as to what the the striped bit is there to function but the consensus appears to be that it helps to hang the towels up.
According to Kidz Herald, it’s a hanging loop: “The woven strip found at the ends of most bath towels is more than just a decoration. It serves a practical purpose – it’s a hanging loop! This loop allows you to easily hang your towel on a hook, keeping it within arm’s reach and allowing it to air dry after use. No more soggy towels left on the bathroom floor!
“Imagine a towel without this nifty loop. You’d have to fold it over a rod or drape it on a hook, and it might not dry as quickly. The hanging loop is a simple yet ingenious addition that makes your towel more convenient to use and maintain.”
And according to Towels Edition.com, the bands on towels also help strengthen the edges and prevent fraying, which means it will last longer, which is a bonus of the design.
Posting on Reddit, u/daveyP_ explained that the strip on a bath towel also helps hotels organise them quickly. He said: “In hotels, when loads of different towels are stacked on top of eachother, accommodation services can tell the size of the towel by how many stripes it has (which is easily visible). Source: I’ve worked in a hotel and it blew my mind when I found out”.