The Nylon Jacket

Summarize drying time data and other observations while wet and dry using the experiment results in the accompanying excel file.

When the dryer is set to medium, the women’s jacket takes 1 minute and 7 seconds to dry, and 43 seconds to dry when set to hot. It feels cool and smooth when wet, and dry and soft when dried.

When the dryer is set to medium, the textile kit takes 25 seconds to dry. The textile kit takes 20 seconds to heat up. It feels cool and silky to the touch while wet, and cool and soft when dry.

Describe the fabrics’ wetting and drying processes.

The women jacket is 1st wet, it feels cool and smooth on hand, when medium dry, it feels dry and soft, when 2nd wet, it feels cool and smooth and when high dry, it feels dry and soft.

When 1st wet, the textile kit feels cool and smooth on hands. When medium dry, the textile kit feels dry and smooth. Alternatively, when 2nd wet, it feels cool and smooth, when high dry, it feels dry and smooth.

Describe changes or lack of change in fabric hand, elasticity on both fabric.

The women jacket and the textile kit sample had varying feel on hand because of their different fiber contents. The women jacket, predominantly polyester was cool and smooth when 1st wet, dry and soft when medium dry, cool and smooth when 2nd wet and ultimately dry and soft when high dry. There is also no change on elasticity and resiliency.

The textile kit sample, predominantly nylon, cool and smooth to touch when 1st wet, dry and smooth when medium dry, cool and smooth when 2nd wet, dry and smooth when high dry. There is also no change on elasticity and resiliency.

List and explain 2 reasons why the sample and swatch dried at different or the same rates. Use information about fiber, yarn, and fabric performance characteristics.

Exact Fiber Content: Elastane fibers and nylon fabrics tend to have unique fiber contents which contribute to their moisture affinity hence behave differently under varying temperatures resulting in different drying rates (Merwe et al. 2014).

Mechanical Treatment: The water holding capacity of the different fibers tend to rely on the mechanical treatment used to remove water.

Why was the fiber content selected by the brand?

The selection was made because the aesthetic fiber characteristics guaranteed quality and durability. The fiber content tended to withstand shrinking while maintain the fabric dimensions. Also, the two materials maintained elasticity and resilience during the wetting and drying processes.

Concluding the experiment results, do you believe the fiber content selected by the brand is the best choice for the product? Why or why not?

Concluding the experiment results, the fiber content chosen is the most appropriate choice because the aesthetic fiber characteristics will definitely resonate well with the target market. On a positive note, most fabric products targeting the youth and women are either polyester or 100% nylon because of their tenacity, resilience and abrasion resistance in terms of chemical structure (Merwe et al., 2014).

Do you believe care instructions reflect the most efficient use of energy and water? Why or why not? Are bleach or detergent necessary? Why or why not? Can soap instead of detergent be used or other cleaning agent now on the market? Why or why not?

I believe that care instructions truly reflect the most efficient use of energy and water. In most instances, the care instructions illustrate the right procedures for wetting and drying fabrics which include warnings to protect fabric. Such warnings include; do not bleach or tumble dry. This helps to save energy and chemicals used (Asanovic, Mihailovic & Cerovic, 2017).

Bleach or detergent use is dependent on the nature of the fabric and its aesthetic composition. Bleach and detergents are necessary in the removal of stains (Chlorine bleach).

Detergents are the most preferred choice for laundry compared to soaps because soaps have chemical compositions that react with water to form residues and turns clothes gray. Detergents do not react with water minerals as much.

Create a revised care instructions for the Hollister jacket that will further reduce use of energy, water and known chemical toxins.

Wash the jacket in cold water in a front-loading machine.

Use a gentle detergent.

Machine dry on ’no’ to ‘low’ heat.

Avoid Chlorine Bleach.

Avoid dry cleaning.

References

Asanovic, K. A., Mihailovic, T. V., & Cerovic, D. D. (2017). Evaluation of the quality of clothing fabrics in terms of their compression behaviour before and after abrasion. Fibers and Polymers, 18(7), 1393-1400.

Merwe, D., Bosman, M., Ellis, S., Colff, N., & Warnock, M. (2014). Consumers’ knowledge of textile label information: an exploratory investigation. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 38(1), 18-24.