Cheap clothes have outperformed more
expensive garments in durability testing conducted for the discount fashion
industry. The University of Leeds has worked with retailer Primark to test
items such as jeans and T-shirts to set "standards" on how long
clothing should last. The university's school of design assessed 65 products,
and found a £15 pair of women's jeans to be more durable than their £150
equivalent. Primark will incorporate the findings of the study into its
guidelines and the chain said it hoped the results would help give customers
better value for their money. “We had to consider how the garments are actually
used. So, with jeans we focussed on things such as the fabric rubbing together
and seam strength. “For hoodies we look at pilling, which are the small bobbles
that form on fabric.” And the team were "surprised" by the results,
which showed that price was not necessarily an indicator of long-term quality. The
second-best performer in the men's T-shirt category cost only £5. Seventeen
styles were tested. Ms Morris added: “Historically people think that if you pay
more, you’ll get a longer life out of the garment. “We found no correlation
between price and durability. It doesn’t mean that if you go out and buy
something really cheap it will last forever, and vice versa. We are simply
saying that there is no correlation between the two”.
