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?
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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.
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