There is little connection between price and quality of clothing items, according to a first-of-its-kind study that put 47 different t-shirts through a series of durability tests.
Consumers tend to use price as an indicator of clothing quality, but spending more money doesn’t guarantee a t-shirt will last longer. “If you spend £/$5 on a t-shirt, you may find that it performs better than that of a £/$50 t-shirt,” says Kate Baker, a graduate student at the University of Leeds in the UK, who presented the research at the Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) Conference in Aalborg, Denmark in July.
While a spendier garment can in some cases be more durable, “We are trying to encourage consumers that cheap does not equal disposable,” Baker says.
Physical durability is key to a more sustainable and circular fashion industry. People need to be able to keep wearing their clothing items for longer and pass them on in good condition.
But until now, there has been no objective, reproducible way to measure durability of clothing. “There is very little a consumer can identify at the point of purchase to understand whether a garment will last,” Baker says. “The aim of our research is creating a method to measure the durability of garments which can be used by brands going forward and in turn be communicated to consumers.”
Baker and her colleagues gathered 24 men’s and 23 women’s t-shirts offered by various UK clothing brands, from discount to luxury labels. They washed and tumble-dried the shirts 50 times.
Previous studies have only looked at single indicators of durability, but they used a suite of factors weighted by the most common reasons consumers get rid of a t-shirt: pilling, overall appearance, and changes to shape and shrinkage. The researchers also assessed fading and color change, as well as the strength of the garment’s seams and fabric.
They added all these factors together for an overall score ranging from 0 (extremely poor) to 30 (excellent).
The researchers found no correlation between price and durability. Six of the 10 best shirts cost less than £15 and outperformed the most expensive shirt, which sold for £395. The most expensive shirt placed 28th out of 47; the least expensive shirt, sold for £4, came in 15th.
The most durable t-shirt cost £28, but the second-worst cost £29. The findings are in line with other research from the University of Leeds group indicating little correlation between price and durability, Baker says.
More durable t-shirts tend to contain a percentage of synthetic fibers such as polyester, polyamide, and elastane, the researchers found. All-cotton t-shirts shrink more than synthetic ones. But 100% cotton can be durable too: four of the top 10 shirts were made of this material.
Some of the durability factors are correlated. T-shirts that don’t pill also tend to look pretty good overall after 50 washes. T-shirts that don’t shrink also tend to maintain their shape.
For consumers on the lookout for a t-shirt that lasts, the researchers recommend choosing heavier rather than lighter weight cotton tees; considering a blend that includes synthetics; and resisting the assumption that higher price means better quality.
The researchers have also tested other clothing items, including casual and formal trousers, shorts, jeans, underwear, and pajamas, and aim to investigate whether the patterns of durability they identified in the t-shirt study also apply to other garments, says Baker.
Putting the findings into practice will require government action. “There are currently no laws around the performance of clothing going onto the market,” Baker says. But if clothing makers were required to conduct durability testing and report the results, consumers could have a lot more confidence in their purchases.
Source: Morris K. et al. “Measuring physical garment durability: An assessment of 47 T-shirts.” Proceedings of the 6th Product Lifetimes and the Environment Conference (PLATE2025), 2025.
Image: ©Anthropocene Magazine.
