Spending big on a T-shirt doesn’t guarantee it’s more hard-wearing. Splash your cash on a designer brand if you want, but know there is no correlation between price and durability, a new study has found.
The longevity of clothing is important. When an item is more durable, we can use it for longer. This also opens the possibility for it to be reused by someone after us too.
The fashion industry is estimated to be responsible for 10 per cent of global carbon emissions, according to European Parliament figures. Textiles (including clothing) have the fourth highest impact on climate change, after food, housing and transport. So clothing that lasts longer has the potential to reduce this harm.
But back to the T-shirts. Some 47 T-shirts were put to the test in the study carried out by environmental NGO WRAP and Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour. They included 24 men’s T-shirts and 23 T-shirts designed for women from UK clothing brands, including luxury brands.
The garments were really put through their paces. Testing included washing the garments using a standard mixed 30° wash cycle, followed by a tumble dry 50 times.
The T-shirts were then graded for pilling – this kind of ‘bobbling’ where small balls form on the surface is the number one reason people dispose of T-shirts, said the study. They were also tested for colour fading, shrinkage and any other impact on their general appearance.
There was no correlation between price and durability of the T-shirt, the study found. Indeed, of the top 10 best performing T-shirts, six cost less than £15 (€17.33). They outperformed many more expensive tees, including the most expensive costing a whopping £395 (€457).
The most expensive T-shirt tested was outperformed by one a 30th of its price, researchers found.
Price isn’t a barrier to buying a durable T-shirt.
That’s good to know. Ireland is in love with clothes shopping, it seems. We have one of the highest rates of new textiles consumption in the EU, at 53kg per person every year, said figures from the Department of the Environment.
An estimated 39 per cent of shoppers here report buying clothing weekly or monthly, said WRAP. Approximately 35kg of used textiles is disposed of per person each year here. This exceeds the EU average.
Only 31 per cent of people in Ireland see a link between purchasing textiles and climate change, said the Department.
If we are going to keep shopping like this, maybe we can at least think about the durability of our purchases.
“Most shoppers use price as an indicator of how hard-wearing clothes are – ‘the more I spend, the more I’m bound to get out of my purchase’” says Mark Sumner, WRAP’s programme lead on textiles.
“But our study shows this is totally misleading. The most expensive T-shirt we tested cost £395 and ranked 28th out of 47, while a £4 T-shirt was placed 15th. The most durable T-shirt cost £28, but the one ranked second worst was £29. So, if you’re judging on price alone – buyer beware,” he says.
Heavier weight cotton T-shirts tend to perform better for durability than lightweight ones, the study found. T-shirts with a blend of cotton and synthetic fibres perform well. And don’t rely on price to indicate how hard wearing a T-shirt is, the study concluded.
Each of us can make a contribution to climate action by thinking about what we really need, and whether we can rewear, share or repair.
More durable clothing provides the opportunity for people to wear the clothes they love for longer, and pass them on.
