A new UK-based study has published definitive evidence that t-shirt prices bear no relationship to actual durability, overturning fundamental consumer assumptions about quality and cost in clothing retail. Laboratory results showed the most expensive item at £395 ranked only 28th while the cheapest at £4 achieved 15th position, indicating that consumers cannot use cost as a reliable indicator of garment longevity.
- The comprehensive study by researchers from the University of Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour (LITAC), in partnership with climate action NGO WRAP and involving 47 garments donated by Textiles 2030 signatories, using rigorous laboratory protocols.
- The study has revealed major gaps in how durability is understood, measured and communicated—it found that expensive items frequently performed worse than budget alternatives in standardised durability assessments.
- The research also introduced a standardised, repeatable method for benchmarking physical garment durability—an urgent need ahead of upcoming eco-design legislation that will mandate durability disclosures.
THE STUDY IN BRIEF: The study, ‘Measuring physical garment durability: An assessment of 47 T-shirts’, was conducted by Kate Morris, Amanda Joynes, Mark Sumner, Eleanor Scott and Mark Taylor.
- Testing covered 47 t-shirts comprising 24 men's and 23 women's designs from various UK clothing brands.
- The most expensive t-shirt at £395 ranked only 28th out of 47 in overall durability performance.
- The cheapest t-shirt costing £4 achieved 15th position, demonstrating superior longevity to premium alternatives.
The findings were presented to the Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) Conference in Aalborg, Denmark earlier this month. The project was developed as part of a clothing durability project through the UK Textiles Pact - WRAP’s ten-year industry initiative to bring greater circularity into the UK clothing market.
THE TRIGGER: The study emerged from urgent need to develop consistent durability measurement methods ahead of impending European regulations including the Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation and Extended Producer Responsibility schemes. These forthcoming legislative requirements will legally mandate brands to declare garment durability credentials, necessitating standardised testing protocols that currently do not exist across the fashion industry.
- Garments were donated by signatories of WRAP's Textile 2030 initiative as part of environmental impact mitigation strategies.
- Testing was conducted in spring and summer 2024 using established industry standards and protocols.
- Research aimed to develop tools for regulating market garments and embedding durability as core design principle.
HOW THEY MEASURED UP: Laboratory analysis established hierarchical test importance rankings with pilling resistance deemed most critical, followed by visual assessment, dimensional stability, spirality, and bursting strength as least significant. Pilling received priority because it represents the primary reason consumers discard t-shirts, with the threshold set at Grade 2-3 (specifically 2.5) based on commercial acceptability standards where typical industry pass rates require Grade 3-4 but Grade 2-3 remains commercially viable.
- Strong positive correlation was identified between pilling resistance and overall visual garment appearance retention. Negative correlation emerged between dimensional stability performance and spirality measurement results.
- Eight out of ten garments failing pilling tests also demonstrated poor visual assessment scores.
- Additional correlations included positive relationship between bursting strength and dimensional stability performance.
- Threshold development used combination of existing industry standards and mean averages from collected results.
