Shoppers who gave the gift of a cotton man tailored shirt this year, were warned of a caveat about wrinkle free finishes that appeared in the November 2014 issue of Consumer Reports (http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/10/whats-better-non-iron-or-wrinkle-free/index.htm). The esteemed consumer advocacy publication recently issued a warning that wrinkle free finishes on garments, [i.e. no-iron shirts], “reduce the life span of a cotton garment by twenty to twenty-five percent.”
The Consumer Report warning about this issue echoes long term concerns from the NYC based National Cleaners Association (NCA). According to Nora Nealis, the association’s Executive Director, “The dry cleaning and laundry industry has been issuing alerts on this problem for a number of years. We’ve advised consumers that the serviceability issues they are having with their shirts is largely a result of the no-iron finishes. Today we are very pleased that this illustrious consumer advocacy group is bringing it to the public’s attention as well.”
The NCA’s Technical Director, Alan Spielvogel, says the problem lies with the formaldehyde resin finish used to create the wrinkle free feature; it stiffens (or locks in) the yarns. Then, when the fabric bends, flexes or is abraded during wear, it is weakened to a point that it cannot safely withstand the laundering process. This condition is known in the textile, dry cleaning and laundry industries as “resin friction.”
Additionally, Spielvogel, who is responsible for the Association’s garment analysis laboratory service, says he has also seen evidence of the resin trapping residual chlorinated bleaching agents and acids used on the fabric in the dyeing process. When this occurs, the hot water in the laundry wash cycle and heat in finishing (ironing and pressing) activates and accelerates the harmful effects these residual chemicals have on textiles, resulting in a loss of tensile strength. Often, random holes and rips may occur after only a few launderings.
Though it has issued many warnings about the shortened life span of the no-iron cotton shirts, the association notes it has become increasingly difficult for savvy consumers to find untreated shirts on the shelves in stores. “When I go shopping, I always check out the shirt department, and I’ve found that most stores stock very few untreated cotton shirts; I’ve learned to shop on line for them,” observes Nealis. “I think consumers need to be aware of all the ramifications of their shirt selection. If they want to optimize the useful life of the shirts they buy, shoppers should let the retailers know they want the resin free (not wrinkle free) option, ” Nealis says.
The National Cleaners Association is a national trade association representing more than 2,000 dry cleaners and launderers across the United States
