I often see on clothes, bags, sheets, etc. a few % of polyester in the cotton cloth label. What does this mean and why do they do it? Are they weaving one out of every few strands out of polyester? Or is the fiber itself made of a few % polyester in composition? And what does it do for the cloth?
In: 1242
With just some polyester added to the cotton, it makes the over all fabric less susceptible to pilling (where those little fabric bumps/balls form) and static.
Plus generally they dont wrinkle as much
100% cotton isn’t very feasible for daily wear. It shrinks, not as durable as poly-cotton, needs way more ironing than the blends etc.
When you blend polyester and cotton you get a stronger, less shrink-prone, more durable and longer lasting cloth that requires very minimal or maybe even zero ironing.
Because poly is spun in long threads it allows for shorter cotton fibers to be used. 100% cotton threads need long fibers to make a strong, thin thread or you end up with lots of pilling (pilling is all those short ends that stick out getting rolled up together from friction). So it’s a cost effective measure, as well as reducing wrinkles and shrinkage that 100% cotton fabrics are prone to, as others have said.
after years of ruined shirts and lying ass companies claiming their cotton was pre-shrunk when it wasn’t, I now look for a small percentage of some synthetic fiber, because that way I know it won’t shrink
So maybe that’s why
Sometimes it’s just the stitching that’s synthetic. That way you won’t have bunching up when the garment shrinks.
Story time. I once bought a pair of jeans that I thought were 100% cotton. I was in college and I borrowed someone’s travel iron so I could iron the jeans before I went out. I didn’t want the jeans to get a “sheen” from the iron so I turned the pants inside out. The iron had two settings – on and off, and it just kept getting hotter and hotter. It melted the synthetic stitching on the inside but I didn’t know. When I put them on and went out for the night I realized the jeans were literally falling apart as I wore them! Of course I hurried home. The pants were ruined.
I think the main reason polyester is added to cotton is to help prevent wrinkles. Good quality 100% woven cotton doesn’t pill, but it does wrinkle. I prefer to wear 100% even if it does wrinkle.
If the fabric has any woven-in pattern like pinstripes, could be just the pinstripes (or whatever minor pattern element) are polyester.
One key reason that isn’t really being mentioned here is cost. Polyester is cheap, so by adding it to your fibre mix you bring down the cost of materials going into the finished garment and improve your profit margin.
In the world of mass-produced clothing, especially fast fashion, margins are *very* tight, so even a 0.1% saving on materials costs can translate into a significant amount of extra profit when scaled up over literally millions of garments.
Natural fibres wear better than polyester. They are more comfortable, breathable, and better for temperature regulation. So there is often a limit in terms of the proportion of artificial fibre that customers will tolerate and still buy your product. It’s a balancing act.
I would recommend [this article ](https://www.permanentstyle.com/2019/05/the-guide-to-synthetic-and-performance-cloth.html) from Simon Crompton for further reading.
[removed]
I’ve seen mop heads being advertised as 75% cotton and 15% rayon and 10% polyester. Is this to reduce shrinkage when laundered? And to strengthen and extend the life of mop heads?
Latest Answers