THE WEAR LIFE PERFORMANCE OF MEN'S ALL COTTON DRESS SHIRTS FINISHED BY FOUR DIFFERENT APPLICATION METHODS

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the wear life performance of 100 percent cotton broadcloth shirts finished by four different application methods. The four finishing application methods were: Sanfor-Set, minimum application; minimum application; Sanfor-Set, pad-dry-cure; and pad-dry-cure. The Dan River Company manufactured the four types of shirting fabric and the shirts were assembled by the Arrow Shirt Company. The entire study was funded by Cotton Incorporated. The shirts were worn by a panel of 20 male white-collar workers. Each subject was assigned four shirts--one of each of the four types. During the 25 wear-laundering periods the shirts were evaluated with regard to parameters considered important to the consumer. At various intervals of wearing and laundering, the shirts were evaluated with respect to their appearance, shrinkage, and wear failure. Initially and after 25 wear-laundering periods the shirts were evaluated with regard to tensile and tearing strength, abrasion resistance, color evaluation, and panel evaluation of hand and appearance. Data were analyzed by means of the one-way and two-way analysis of variance and the Newman Keul's Multiple comparison Test. The shirts finished with Sanfor-Set were superior in performance. They received higher rankings than most of the other shirt types in tensile and tearing strength, abrasion resistance, color difference, and broken yarns. Although the Sanfor-Set, minimum application finished shirts were the best performers, the minimum application finished shirts had the poorest performance. These shirts were rated last in tensile and tearing strength, and broken yarns. The lack of Sanfor-Set adversely affected the wear life performance of the shirts. The overall performance of the 80 shirts was considered to be satisfactory from the viewpoint of the 20 men who wore the shirts 25 times. The subjects expressed no displeasure concerning comfort or appearance during the study, although the wearing of a blue shirt every day did become tiring to some. The study concluded that all cotton shirts were judged to be highly acceptable.