The Rising Demand for Easy-care Clothing

Today’s world is a busy world. Every one is busy with something or the other. Lifestyles of people all over the world are becoming more and more active. In this frenzied world, people are looking for things that are as easy to use and maintain as possible. The same applies to clothing. Consumers desire ‘hassle-free’ or ‘easy-care’ clothing that would require minimum maintenance. The demand for such easy-care clothing is growing. Today’s consumer wants clothes that would perform multiple uses, that is be used at work, at parties and also for after-work activities. These clothes should be durable and easy to care for. Comfort combined with practicality is what the consumers are looking for these days.

The topmost factors desired by consumers in their clothing are a good feel, ease in wearing and caring for the fabric, durability and price. However, it has been observed that consumers are even ready to shell out a bit more money when they can get the benefit of easy care.

More and more people are demanding clothes that can be hand-washed or machine-washed rather than getting them dry cleaned, being hard pressed for time and also on account of the rising costs of dry cleaning. They desire that the clothes should not lose their fresh appearance even after a number of washes. Moreover, there is a preference for clothes that they need little or no ironing. In short, consumers are demanding for fabrics that require minimum or no caring for.

In April 2004, Greenfield Online, a research firm studied 3000 Americans as part of a survey conducted on behalf of Nano-Tex, a leading provider of textile solutions. The results showed that 82% of the people studied preferred having high-performance features in their clothing, such as perspiration and odor control, resistance to stains and fading and a low probability of wrinkles. A major part of this group surveyed, almost 70%, already had such performance-enhanced, easy-care clothes in their wardrobe. When questioned who needed hassle-free clothing the most, men and women differed in their opinions. Of the males surveyed, 65% stated that it was they who needed easy-care clothing more. The women surveyed were divided into three roughly equal groups. One group stated that men needed easy-care clothing the most, while another stated that it was women. The third group said that it was kids who were more in need of easy-to-care-for clothing.

Scientists have constantly been experimenting with the concept of easy-care clothing since years. One of the oldest innovations in this area was the paper dress, which required no care at all. These use-and-throw-away paper dresses were colorful and had bright designs on them. These dresses were cheap. However, the fad soon died away on account of the lack of security associated with paper dresses. Another development in this field was vinyl clothing. Vinyl was initially used to make rainwear. Later on, colorful vinyl dresses having bold patterns were developed for routine wear. These dresses required minimum care and could easily be wiped down. Like the paper dress, this fad too did not pick up.

Textile firms all over the world are trying to come up with new technology in order to make clothing as hassle-free for consumers as possible. Wool is considered to be the fabric of choice for making easy-care clothing. However, wool is not preferred for developing clothing because it is heavy.

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