May/June 2008 - Cover Story

When food manufacturers make claims about the nutritional value of their products, government agencies like the Food & Drug Administration are there to make sure food labels don’t make outrageous or misleading statements.

Car makers who stretch the truth about the safety or efficiency of their cars have to answer to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency or other watchdog groups.

But who is looking out for the poor uniform shirt buyer who has to make sense of an exasperating mix of brand names, trade terms and performance claims, when all they really want is to find a well-made shirt that stands up to the rigors of laundering and doesn’t require extensive ironing before it can be worn?

Wrinkle-Resistant. Wrinkle-Free. Non-Iron. Easy Care. What do these labels mean, and do they really tell buyers anything about the shirts that bear them?

“Those names can mean anything anybody wants them to,” says Andrea Engel, vice president of merchandising for Broder Bros. (asi/42090), one of the largest broad line distributors of uniform and corporate apparel. “There are no rules – it’s just marketing.” (For the record, Engel believes the best term to describe the wrinkle-fighting properties of a shirt is “wrinkle-release.”)

To help buyers make informed decisions about wrinkle-resistant shirts, Uniforms spoke with several experts to get the skinny on the science behind wrinkle-resistance. But we also went a step further, conducting an extensive wear test on some of the top wrinkle-resistant brands available to find out whether they live up to their “hype” – or “wrinkle” under pressure.

The science of wrinkle management
There are three basic ways that today’s dress shirts are engineered for wrinkle management, says Andrea Nessly, technical design manager in Broder Bros.’ merchandising department:

• Easy Care. In the 1960s and 70s, consumers began to get washers and dryers in their homes, and the initial results laundering 100% cotton shirts were less than satisfactory. That’s when shirt makers began using blends of polyester and cotton, which resisted wrinkles better and, as a bonus, were less expensive than using all cotton. The now common term “Easy Care” is used to indicate an untreated shirt made from a blend of cotton and polyester that is more naturally wrinkle-resistant than a garment made of 100% cotton. Easy Care does not mean wrinkle-free; you will still have to iron an Easy Care shirt to make it look its best, but the wrinkles will iron out more easily than a 100% cotton shirt.

• Wrinkle Release. According to Cotton, Inc. (thefabricofourlives.com), untreated cotton fibers do not have a permanent “memory”; the cellulose chains in the fiber move by breaking and re-establishing hydrogen bonds. There are no natural forces to promote the cellulose chains to return to their original configuration – and so the fabric wrinkles. To make these cotton fibers resist wrinkling, resins are applied to the shirt which strengthen and stabilize the molecular “bridges” that connect cellulose molecules in a cotton fiber. This permits the fabric to retain its smooth surface.

Applied to a 100% cotton shirt, resin treatments will make the shirt behave more like a blend, resisting wrinkles better, and making them easier to iron out. The effect is magnified on a blended shirt – which is why so many uniform shirts can remain crisp and relatively wrinkle-free.

There are some caveats with resin treatments. They make shirts more stiff than normal, which could be uncomfortable for some wearers. Generally, the longer you want the wrinkle-resistant treatment to last, the more resin you have to use – and the stiffer the shirt will be. A resin-treated shirt will also lose some of its breathability.

• Non-Iron. This third and newest frontier in wrinkle management is different from Wrinkle Release in that no resin is being added to the fabric; instead, the physical structure of the fibers is changed permanently by dipping them in an ammonia bath. Cotton fibers are naturally irregular in shape, but the ammonia swells the fibers and makes them perfectly round. Not only does this help the fibers resist wrinkling, but it also tends to make them feel softer and adds luster to their appearance. The swollen fibers could slightly diminish breathability, but because the structure change is permanent, this treatment can’t be “washed out” as a resin treatment can.

Men’s Ultimate
Outer Banks Oxford
Style OB40
4 oz. 100% cotton oxford

Although there was some slight puckering on the placket after the third wash, overall this shirt
performed quite well, especially for a 100% cotton product. A solid (striped) performer.

Score: Body: 4.0
Placket/Cuff/Sleeves: 3.9
Total: 3.95

Devon & Jones
100% Cotton Pinpoint Oxford
Style D605
100% 80s two-ply combed
cotton

By the third wash, this shirt had puckered a little, but it still performed well, especially for a 100% cotton shirt. It was also quite soft and comfortable to wear.

Score: Body: 3.7
Placket/Cuff/Sleeves: 3.9
Total: 3.8

This shirt was one of the biggest surprises in the wear test. When I first pulled it out of the bag, I had the heavy broadcloth fabric pegged as a wrinkle machine. But this shirt looked great out of the dryer every time, and was one of the few I would have worn again right away without ironing. The dark color no doubt helped, but the bottom line is, this garment is proof that you can’t always judge a shirt by its “hand.” This is a good-looking,
comfortable shirt that lives up to its wrinkle-free name better than most of its competitors.

Available from: Capital Mercury Apparel

Score:
Body: 4.1
Placket/Cuff/Sleeves: 4.0
Total: 4.05