The influence of finishing and softening treatments on the sensory properties of denim fabric

Abstract

The notion of hand or touch of the fabric depends on several parameters starting with the raw material ending with the finishing techniques and treatments. Several treatments of finishing, accomplished on fabric have an effect on its handle. The purpose of this study is to estimate the effect of two finishing processes and softening treatment on the Denim fabric handle. The first one is a normal finishing, the second is a fifties finishing. A trained panel assessed the tactile sensory properties of treated denim fabrics. This panel took part in a training program. During this program, the panellists' performance in terms of repeatability was controlled to decrease the variability of the provided measurements. This panel assessed 16 sensory attributes already selected to find out the differences between the treated samples. The results of sensory evaluation were studied using the principal components analysis (PCA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA). According to the results, the change of denim fabric handle is more important in the case of fifties finishing than the normal finishing processes. This study also shows that the effect of softener is more legible in the case of fifties finishing and the low concentration of fabric softener did not influence the handle of denim fabric. This paper identifies the most important tactile sensory properties that are influenced by industrial finishing for the denim fabric. This paper represents as well the handle progressive changes that occur when treating the denim fabric with various finishing.