# Poly blend advantages?



## familyman (Sep 9, 2005)

All my shirts are 100% cotton. They have been since long before I started being interested in dressing well, they just feel better, age better and all that. As I was doing the laundry today I was looking at tags in my wife's and childrens clothes and almost everything is blended with poly. Why is this? There must be some advantage to it to justify the change in feel. Is the poly so much cheaper that they force it upon us? Is it a longevity issue? I've heard and experienced all the positives of 100% cotton, so why do people buy and sell so much poly blend stuff?

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I am no enemy of elegance, but I say no man has a right to think of elegance till he has secured substance, nor then, to seek more of it than he can afford. 

John Adams


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## Cantabrigian (Aug 29, 2005)

I believe it is more durable and more likely to stay looking pressed than straight cotton. Kind of like the way that asbestos clothes are wonderfully fire-retardant.



> quote:_Originally posted by familyman_
> 
> All my shirts are 100% cotton. They have been since long before I started being interested in dressing well, they just feel better, age better and all that. As I was doing the laundry today I was looking at tags in my wife's and childrens clothes and almost everything is blended with poly. Why is this? There must be some advantage to it to justify the change in feel. Is the poly so much cheaper that they force it upon us? Is it a longevity issue? I've heard and experienced all the positives of 100% cotton, so why do people buy and sell so much poly blend stuff?
> 
> ...


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## JohnnyVegas (Nov 17, 2005)

From what I learned during my short time as a uniform sales rep, poly is simply less expensive and when blended with cotton it will do a better job of giving the clothing an appearance of being ironed. Quality cotton will hold dye and breathe better (when weaved properly) than a poly/cotton blend. Stick with the 100% cotton.


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## bigCat (Jun 10, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by familyman_
> 
> All my shirts are 100% cotton.


Great. Keep it that way.


> quote:
> They have been since long before I started being interested in dressing well, they just feel better, age better and all that.


You're darn right.



> quote:
> As I was doing the laundry today I was looking at tags in my wife's and childrens clothes and almost everything is blended with poly. Why is this?


The clothes for women and children do not have aspect that mens clothes aspire to: longevity. That is why they can made with lower quality materials (and lesser construction methods) and still get repeat customers. Don't get me wrong there is plenty of mens cloting made this way (so they say, I wouldn't know where to find it [:I]).



> quote:
> There must be some advantage to it to justify the change in feel. Is the poly so much cheaper that they force it upon us?


Yes.



> quote:
> Is it a longevity issue? I've heard and experienced all the positives of 100% cotton, so why do people buy and sell so much poly blend stuff?


The same reason why so much of cloting is made in China, or why fruit in your local supermarket looks ripe but doen't taste like it.


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## familyman (Sep 9, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by hreljan_
> 
> The same reason why so much of cloting is made in China, or why fruit in your local supermarket looks ripe but doen't taste like it.


If it's just a matter of cost then why do the blend and the 100% cotton shirts cost the same as retailers such as lands end and LL bean? The ironing thing I think I can see. As for longevity..... I'm almost tempted to add a blend shirt into my rotation just to see how long it would last in comparison to my other shirts. The problem is that I'd have to actually wear it until it wore out and I'm not sure I want to do that.

_____________________________________________________________________________
I am no enemy of elegance, but I say no man has a right to think of elegance till he has secured substance, nor then, to seek more of it than he can afford.

John Adams


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## 16128 (Feb 8, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by familyman_
> 
> All my shirts are 100% cotton. They have been since long before I started being interested in dressing well, they just feel better, age better and all that. As I was doing the laundry today I was looking at tags in my wife's and childrens clothes and almost everything is blended with poly. Why is this? There must be some advantage to it to justify the change in feel. Is the poly so much cheaper that they force it upon us? Is it a longevity issue? I've heard and experienced all the positives of 100% cotton, so why do people buy and sell so much poly blend stuff?
> 
> ...


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## qasimkhan (Sep 24, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Ease of care. For people with several children, the idea of ironing all of those shirts is daunting.


If you have several children, why not make the children iron your shirts for you? Tell them, no TV until they have ironed all of Daddy's shirts and extra dessert if they do the creases nicely.


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## SartoNYC (Feb 22, 2005)

Its cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer.


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## Earthmover (Jan 3, 2005)

In my experience, poly blends last longer and holds dyes better (assuming that the poly-yarn is already dyed). If it's an advantage, it does retain heat better, which is a nice way of saying it doesn't breathe. For kids and women's, there's some advantage with elasticity (polyester and related synthetics tend to be more stretchy), and of course, it's cheaper, considering that you can make it in a beaker in a chem lab.


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## ice (Sep 2, 2005)

Remember that polyester was a big innovation in fabric when it came out. Lots of people thought it was terrific because it wrinkled less and had a shiny, flat appearance that seemed tidy and modern. People still buy it for those reasons.
But, cotton has come a long way too. Modern cotton fabrics are softer, wear better, and are easier to care for than ever before. Turns out modern technological can be applied to ancient fabrics as well!


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## EL72 (May 25, 2005)

I always check the labels before buying my kids' clothes and never buy any poly. Kids stuff, although it's not around for very long, takes considerably more abuse than my dress shirts. The stuff is constantly being soiled and laundered, several times a week in some cases. The poly-blended stuff pills and looks like crap after a couple of washings so only 100% cotton here. Also, is it fair to make them wear fabrics I would hate to put on? 

That said, I don't buy more than one or two button-up shirts for my son (he's only 3.5) for special occasions given that they need to be ironed. I have to admit that in the large kid's clothes chains i.e. Gap, Children's place, Old Navy... I very seldom see any poly-blended stuff. And when you buy stuff on sale in these places, how much cheaper can it get? 

I think buying all cotton for kids is a worthwhile investment. I remember wearing poly-blended stuff as a kid and, even though I didn't know why back then, I didn't like how the garments look and felt.


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## Srynerson (Aug 26, 2005)

As noted, poly blends unequivocally require less ironing. They also very rarely suffer any sort of shrinkage or dye bleed in my experience. The suggestion that they are hot or stiff is based on either examining exceptionally cheap shirts or outdated knowledge, IMHO. (No one will believe me, of course, but it's true.) Whether they are marginally less durable or not, I can't say, as I have too many dress shirts in rotation to notice small variations.

EDIT: Deleted discussion of durability so it would not appear I was attacking EL72.


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## 16128 (Feb 8, 2005)

I don't have children, but I'm speculating that the ease of care issue is the main one. It could be a PERCEIVED concern about this rather than the reality. 

My friends see dry cleaning and handwashing as inconvenient. Women often have to do clothing care along with the lion's share of housework and cooking as well as full-time work. I've also rejected dry-clean-only shirts many times for this reason; it just creates another errand. Formal clothing is an exception. 

A lot of women's clothing does also contain synthetic materials. I think that along with the care issue, some things, like trousers, are now made to have a certain amount of "give" for stretch and drape, and many are meant to be washable, even if they should not see a dryer. 

Women generally do not cotton to (ha!) the concept of brushing out suits and hanging them up to wear again. 

I prefer natural fibers, but I won't rule out trousers/skirts with a blend for business travel.


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## josepidal (Jul 24, 2005)

I hated poly shirts when I was a kid. I live in a very warm climate, so you readily notice how much hotter they are compared to cotton.


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## 16128 (Feb 8, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Cantabrigian_
> 
> I believe it is more durable and more likely to stay looking pressed than straight cotton. Kind of like the way that asbestos clothes are wonderfully fire-retardant.


For a striking example of acrylic/polyester/nylon/rayon/spandex masquerading as asbestos, see the women's forum!


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## GBR (Aug 10, 2005)

Polyester merely cheapens the garment for the manufacturer. It may have some marginal benefits on ironing but I doubt it.

Avoid it.


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## Rich (Jul 10, 2005)

"Polycotton" blend usually means at least 50% polyester. However, if the amount of polyester is lower, you get the advantages of polyester, as stated above, without the drawbacks (also stated above). I have some old Burberry and Yves Saint Laurent shirts with 30% polyester, and they feel and look like cotton shirts (well, almost) but iron more easily and dry quite a bit faster.


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## JohnnyVegas (Nov 17, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by GBR_
> 
> Polyester merely cheapens the garment for the manufacturer. It may have some marginal benefits on ironing but I doubt it.
> 
> Avoid it.


Want to see the difference when it comes to ironing, boys and girls? Take a shirt with at least 40% polyester and a 100% cotton shirt. Wrinkle them both... really, REALLY wrinkle them both. Steam them for 15 minutes (use the shower, not your iron). Throw them in the dryer for 15 minutes on medium heat. Your cotton shirt will still need plenty of ironing, but the poly shirt will not have that many wrinkles in it.

I've seen how they "iron" clothing at the uniform company I worked for. Poly/cotton blends are slowly brought through a steam tunnel, and 100% cotton shirts had to be pressed (by machine, of course). Considering how cheaply these garments were made, the poly/cotton always looked better.


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## guitone (Mar 20, 2005)

Poly is plastic and it does not breath well, so you do sweat more. 

In addition, poly pills around the collar quickly...I stopped wearing poly blends years ago and have never had a problem with a collar pilling since.

As a cyclist I wear very little plasitc tops because they stink after a short use, I am much more apt to wear thin or thick wool depending on the weather (even in summer), and wool shorts. I do wear some lycra tuype shorts when I ride as well as wool, for this purpose I am not totally apposed to the plastic type shorts.

guit


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## JHBSA (Apr 7, 2005)

Some of the poly cotton blends here are of the 65% cotton/35% polyester. They seem to work well, look good with less ironing, stay crisp for longer. I don't notice the difference in body heat or other "discomforts" mentioned here between them and 100% cotton shirts.

Speaking of blends..... spotted a 97% cotton /3% lycra blend. With only 3% less cotton I don't see any major cost savings. It does have a sense of "stretch", so maybe its for slimmer cuts..... Im not sure. Any comments on this type of blend ? Its purpose/objectives/benefits ?


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## josepidal (Jul 24, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by JohnnyVegas_
> Wrinkle them both... really, REALLY wrinkle them both. Steam them for 15 minutes (use the shower, not your iron). Throw them in the dryer for 15 minutes on medium heat. Your cotton shirt will still need plenty of ironing, but the poly shirt will not have that many wrinkles in it.


We solve that by hand washing and sun drying.


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## guitone (Mar 20, 2005)

Lycra will give that stretch and the shirts I have seen it in are indeed tighter cut, slim cut would certainly describe the ones I have tried on and left behind. My 54 year old physic, while still trim, cannot handle a tight fit, or at least I am not comfortable in them any longer.



> quote:_Originally posted by JHBSA_
> 
> Some of the poly cotton blends here are of the 65% cotton/35% polyester. They seem to work well, look good with less ironing, stay crisp for longer. I don't notice the difference in body heat or other "discomforts" mentioned here between them and 100% cotton shirts.
> 
> Speaking of blends..... spotted a 97% cotton /3% lycra blend. With only 3% less cotton I don't see any major cost savings. It does have a sense of "stretch", so maybe its for slimmer cuts..... Im not sure. Any comments on this type of blend ? Its purpose/objectives/benefits ?


guit


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## JohnnyVegas (Nov 17, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by josepidal_
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That'll work great in your neck of the woods. New England is not so accomodating, shall we say.


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## EL72 (May 25, 2005)

> quote:_Originally posted by Rich_
> 
> "Polycotton" blend usually means at least 50% polyester. However, if the amount of polyester is lower, you get the advantages of polyester, as stated above, without the drawbacks (also stated above). I have some old Burberry and Yves Saint Laurent shirts with 30% polyester, and they feel and look like cotton shirts (well, almost) but iron more easily and dry quite a bit faster.


I have found that even small amounts of poly*ster 10%-15% make a difference in how the shirt feels and how the fabric ages.

Given that I have my dress shirts laundered and pressed, I really don't see any benefit to any polyester, no matter how little.


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