Professional guide

Easy care comes with a price

A solution for producers and designers to avoid excessive washing of garments is treating the clothing so that they do not loose their fit. But depending on what type of treatmeant one choses, there are different issues. Easy care could mean trouble, while synthetic stretch could be a solution that make eco-sense.

Fabrics are treated with urea-formaldehyde resins to give them all sorts of easy care properties such as:
• Permanent press / durable press
• Anti-cling, anti-static, anti-wrinkle, and anti-shrink (especially shrink proof wool)
• Waterproofing and stain resistance (especially for suede and chamois)
• Perspiration proof
• Moth proof
• Mildew resistant
• Color-fast
But easy-care can come at a tough price. Contact dermatitis from clothing can be recognized by a chronic and recurring rash that appears on parts of the body where clothing fits tight. Because heat and humidity increase the emissions from formaldehyde resins, the American Contact Dermatitis Society warns that areas around waistbands, collars, underarms, the upper back, inner thighs, and back of knees are more prone to chemical-induced skin rashes. More women than men are affected by contact clothing dermatitis. Repeated exposure to even low levels of formaldehyde can create a condition called “sensitization” where the individual becomes very sensitive to the effects of formaldehyde and then even low levels of formaldehyde can cause an “allergic” reaction.

How can you as a designer or textile professional make sure the costumer keeps his or her clothes out of the clothes-hamper and doesn’t toss them in the washing-machine just because they are a little wrinkled or have lost some of their shape? Can you help your costumer stretch the use, while maybe also saving energy and the environment? Could synthetic stretch materials actually make eco-sense?

A little bit of spandex goes a long way in a suit or a pair of jeans

Lycra is a polyurethane-based stretch fibre which generically is known as spandex or elastane. The brand-name Lycra is also often used. Sports-wear brands and underwear brands use this stretch-material to reshape and show off your body. But adding elastane to f ex wool suiting fabrica ensures that the suit “bounces” back to its initial shape after use and therefore doesn’t need ironing or pressing. Since we also tend to wash or dry-clean clothes that are only creased or have lost or expanded their shape, having ingrained in us that no piece of clothing can go from bed-room floor to ironing-board except via the washing-machine – a little bit of spandex goes a long way in a suit or a pair of jeans.

Be aware, however that there is a certain amount of heat involved in the production-process; and to save cost and energy – and avoid bad dyeing results – this process should be carried out in tandem with the regular drying process after dyeing, in the process called post-setting. (Synthetic fibres such as polyester and nylon would be pre-set anyway so that processing of elastane containing synthetic blends does not incur extra environmental impacts.) So more heat in production, but much less ironing and unnecessary washing. But make sure to use well-made elastane; since poorly made stretch garments can suffer from bagging, and cutting back on the percentage of elastane can be false economy since it reduces the life-span of the garment. Another problem with poorly processed elastane can be the “break-out” of fibres that look like small whiskers on the surface of the fabric, which will surely make the customer throw away the garment..

DuPont have developed a new process that uses renewable resources to manufacture polymers. Rather then using petroleum-based materials for feedstocks, the new technology utilises corn. Compared to other polymeric fibres such as polyester and nylon, Sorona fibre offers a softer feel, improved support, with superior dyeability, excellent washfastness and UV resistance.

The main sustainability issue facing stretch fabrics is recycling. Yes, they lead to a longer life and less wash and care-impact; they are both difficult to rip apart and the yarn is generally melted in to the fabric construction making removal impossible. As recycling increases, something will have to change and solvent systems to dissolve stretch fibres may be the only solution. (Sources: organicclothing.blogs.com, Phil Patterson/Colour Connections and DuPont)