University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Retailing and Tourism Management Retailing and Tourism Management 2017 AN EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF MENS 100% COTTON JERSEY KNIT T-SHIRTS REPRESENTING THREE RETAIL CATEGORIES Jeanne Oakes Badgett University of Kentucky, [email protected] Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2017.289 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Badgett, Jeanne Oakes, "AN EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF MENS 100% COTTON JERSEY KNIT T- SHIRTS REPRESENTING THREE RETAIL CATEGORIES" (2017). Theses and Dissertations--Retailing and Tourism Management. 13. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/mat_etds/13 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Retailing and Tourism Management at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Retailing and Tourism Management by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Jeanne Oakes Badgett, Student Dr. Elizabeth P. Easter, Major Professor Dr. Scarlett C. Wesley, Director of Graduate Studies AN EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF MENS 100% COTTON JERSEY KNIT T-SHIRTS REPRESENTING THREE RETAIL CATEGORIES THESIS A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Merchandising, Apparel, and Textiles in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the University of Kentucky by Jeanne Oakes Badgett Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Elizabeth Easter Professor of Merchandising, Apparel, and Textiles Lexington, Kentucky 2017 Copyright © Jeanne Oakes Badgett 2017 ABSTRACT OF THESIS AN EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF MENS 100% COTTON JERSEY KNIT T-SHIRTS REPRESENTING THREE RETAIL CATEGORIES The purpose of this research was to evaluate the quality of design, materials, construction, appearance, and performance of mens 100% cotton jersey knit t-shirts from three retail categories: mass merchant, fast fashion, and better. These retail categories were represented by brands Fruit of the Loom, H&M, and Brooks Brothers, respectively. A convenience sample was comprised of 78 t-shirts. 13 white and 13 navy t-shirts from each brand were used for testing according to ASTM and AATCC standards and specifications. Evaluations and measurements were conducted before washing, and after one, five, ten, and twenty laundry cycles. The t-shirts were evaluated for fabric weight, fabric count, color change, whiteness change, crocking, smoothness appearance, bursting strength, pilling, dimensional stability, and skewness. The navy t-shirts in the ‘better’ retail category met five out of the six requirements specified by the ASTM standard. However, the navy t-shirts in the ‘fast fashion’ category met four out of five met by the ‘better’ category. In conclusion, the decision to purchase a t-shirt from these retail categories may depend on consumer expectations. KEYWORDS: Quality, T-Shirts, Mass Merchant, Fast Fashion, Better Jeanne Oakes Badgett July 24, 2017 AN EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF MENS 100% COTTON JERSEY KNIT T-SHIRTS REPRESENTING THREE RETAIL CATEGORIES By Jeanne Oakes Badgett Dr. Elizabeth P. Easter Director of Thesis Dr. Scarlett C. Wesley Director of Graduate Studies July 24, 2017 Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to Dr. Easter for guiding me through this process. Your patience and constructive feedback was much appreciated! Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Wesley and Dr. Cavender, for your time and your suggestions. Thank you to my lab mates in the Textile Lab for helping me solve problems. Much appreciation for my in-laws for spending countless hours driving back and forth, to and from Louisville, to help my family and me while I spent time on my school work. Special thank you to my friends and my sisters! Thank you to Beppy, Eleanor, and Lois for being so responsible and doing chores while I was at school. Thank you to Tom for encouraging me to go back to school and for supporting me by making it easy for me to focus on my school work. Thank you to my parents. I dedicate my thesis to my mom because she taught me how to do laundry. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... x Chapter One ........................................................................................................................ 1 Problem ................................................................................................................... 2 Purpose .................................................................................................................... 4 Objectives ............................................................................................................... 4 Research Questions ................................................................................................. 5 Justification ............................................................................................................. 5 Assumptions ............................................................................................................ 7 Limitations .............................................................................................................. 7 Chapter Two Literature Review .......................................................................................... 8 Textile and Apparel Industry .................................................................................. 8 Traditional supply chain. ............................................................................ 9 Traditional lead time. ................................................................................ 10 Changes in supply chain and lead time. .................................................... 10 Fast Fashion .......................................................................................................... 12 Fast fashion supply chain. ......................................................................... 14 Fast fashion lead time. .............................................................................. 15 Fast fashion and the consumer. ................................................................. 16 Quality in the Apparel Industry ............................................................................ 17 Dimensions of product quality. ................................................................. 18 Performance. ................................................................................. 18 Features. ........................................................................................ 18 Reliability. ..................................................................................... 19 Conformance. ................................................................................ 19 Durability. ..................................................................................... 19 Serviceability. ............................................................................... 19 Aesthetics. ..................................................................................... 19 Perceived quality. .......................................................................... 19 Apparel quality in manufacturing. ............................................................ 19 Measurement of the quality of apparel. .................................................... 20 ASTM standards. .......................................................................... 21 iv AATCC test methods. ................................................................... 21 Materials. .....................................................................................