Sensory analysis of textiles: Case study of an assortment of stretch denim fabrics

Abstract

The manufacturers, in their strategy to expand the garment collections, as a prompt reaction to the global market changes, are aware that the sensorial comfort is of the utmost importance, next to the quality profile of fabrics, and depends on the personal perception of purchasers.This research focused upon the sensory assessment of the tactile properties of an assortment of seventy stretch denim fabrics produced from seven articles in the loom-state phase. By combining two types of right-hand twill, with 100% cotton yarns in the warp and six mixture types as core-spun yarns in the weft, the fabrics were subjected to six pre-finishing processes and subsequently, to four washing techniques. The standards' guidelines on conducting the sensory analysis trials as descriptive tests were respected, with one exception: the panel consisted of sixteen assessors without experience. The statistical analysis of the extensive amount of sensory data was approached by the interactive ICT-based learning tools previously developed STAT-Hand and STAT-ConCor. The results showed changes in the six bipolar sensory attributes, as fabric hand descriptors, for the wide range of stretch denim fabrics. Since these changes of the sensorial comfort were perceptible for a panel of naive assessors, the potential stretch denim jeans' purchasers could also notice them. Therefore, this could be a good strategy for denim manufacturers to get the right feedback in their effort to continuously upgrade the fabrics sensorial comfort.