Date Available

7-24-2017

Year of Publication

2017

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Merchandising, Apparel & Textiles

College

Agriculture, Food and Environment

Department/School/Program

Retailing and Tourism Management

Advisor

Dr. Elizabeth P. Easter

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the quality of design, materials, construction, appearance, and performance of mens 100% cotton jersey knit t-shirts from three retail categories: mass merchant, fast fashion, and better. These retail categories were represented by brands Fruit of the Loom, H&M, and Brooks Brothers, respectively. A convenience sample was comprised of 78 t-shirts. 13 white and 13 navy t-shirts from each brand were used for testing according to ASTM and AATCC standards and specifications. Evaluations and measurements were conducted before washing, and after one, five, ten, and twenty laundry cycles. The t-shirts were evaluated for fabric weight, fabric count, color change, whiteness change, crocking, smoothness appearance, bursting strength, pilling, dimensional stability, and skewness. The navy t-shirts in the ‘better’ retail category met five out of the six requirements specified by the ASTM standard. However, the navy t-shirts in the ‘fast fashion’ category met four out of five met by the ‘better’ category. In conclusion, the decision to purchase a t-shirt from these retail categories may depend on consumer expectations.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2017.289

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