Study on the Colorfastness Properties of Underwear Manufactured in Bangladesh

Study on the Colorfastness Properties of Underwear Manufactured in Bangladesh

Dr. Engr. Mohammed Rubaiyat Chowdhury¹, Dr. Engr. Ayub Nabi Khan^2
1Department of Textile Engineering , Bangladesh University of Business and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh
²BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology(BUFT), Dhaka, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

Bangladesh is one of the leading exporters of knitted item. Bangladesh started exporting garments for almost 5 decades. Bangladesh earns around 82% of the foreign export earnings from the garments and textile sector. Which is remarkably positive for Bangladesh’s economic growth. Bangladesh exports different textile products or textile items or apparel product such as knitted and woven apparels such as t-shirt, polo shirt, ladies tank tops, sportswear and denim apparels. In this study  locally manufactured or locally produced underwear was tested. The test results indicate that local underwear could have positive impact to encourage the local manufacturers which will definitely attract the foreign buyers to place orders. It was observed that the color fastness to light, color fastness to washing , dry and wet rubbing  and color fastness to perspiration were changed and was within the significant range.

INTRODUCTION

The underwear sector is directly benefitting from the shift of work orders from China and Sri Lanka, growing silently over the last few years.Currently, underwear is the fifth item exported the most from Bangladesh. It is a glowing example of diversification of garment items in recent years. Only a few factories used to produce underwear for some select international retailers and brands as this was not a regular export item for the country.Now more than 500 factories are regularly producing underwear as demand for the locally made items is growing in the West for their competitive prices. Usually, the prices of underwear, such as like lingerie, are more than normal attires as specialized fabrics are required for their manufacture. Last fiscal earning from underwear shipments grew 31.46 per cent year-on-year to $2.34 billion, according to the Export Promotion Bureau’s data compiled by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

The export earnings from underwear accounts for 5.49 per cent of the $42.61 billion-worth garments exported last fiscal year. From this region, Sri Lanka is still famous for producing underwear meant for women as this South Asian country started exporting it many years ago. However, recently they have been steadily losing their market share to Bangladesh.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Knitting is the most common method of interlooping and is second only to weaving as a method of manufacturing textile products. It is estimated that over 7 million tons of knitted goods are produced annually throughout the world. Although the unique capability of knitting to manufacture shaped and form-fitting articles has been utilised for centuries, modern technology has enabled knitted constructions in shaped and unshaped fabric form to expand into a wide range of apparel, domestic and industrial end-uses. ^[2]

Lingerie and intimate wear garment export to the USA market has emerged as a new strength for Bangladesh’s robust apparel manufacturing industry. Bangladesh shipped $150.39 million worth of brassieres, including categories such as shapewear and foundation garments in the 11 months of 2021. Making the country the 5^th top lingerie exporter in the USA.

According to the latest official US custom data, Bangladesh brassieres export to the USA gained an impressive 43% growth in January to November period of 2021.

Meanwhile, the data also showed that the USA imported $2.57 billion worth of brassieres in the first 11-month period of 2021, observing 46.81% year-on-year growth. Marking a lingerie market boom in the USA.

Figure -1 – Top 5 lingerie exporting countries in USA for Jan-Nov 2021

Among the other top 4 lingerie exporter countries – China bragged the top position with $858.81 million, noting 48.64% Y-o-Y growth in January to November 2021 period.Vietnam exported $496.76 million brassieres to the USA, growing by 52.77% on yearly basis.Sri Lanka exported $244.73 million worth of lingerie items, gaining by 34.54%.While Indonesia shipped $238.97 million worth of lingerie and intimatewear garments. Witnessing a significant 89.64% growth in January to November period of 2021.According to industry insiders, now Bangladesh annually exports $700 million worth of lingerie globally.^[3]

A complete data is provided with yearly knit and woven apparel export to the world mentioning the country of export.

Table -1 Bangladesh’s Apparel Export to World

(FY2019-20, FY2020-21 & FY2021-22)

Export Value in Million USD^[4]

 The following table shows the export of knitted items export including underwear

Table 2- Main Apparel Items Exported From Bangladesh

Value in Million USD (Fiscal Year Basis) ^[5]

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study 100% cotton knitted underwear manufactured in a local textile mill was considered as sample. The sample was collected from a local manufacturer. This sample was then taken to the quality control laboratory of a reputed composite knit dyeing factory for testing. After that the sample was tested for the colorfastness to light for 100% cotton shell fabric, color firstness to washing and rubbing for elasticated fabric and colorfastness to washing and rubbing  dry and wet rubbing for 100% cotton  shell fabric and colorfastness to perspiration for the 100% cotton shell fabric and colorfastness to perspiration for the elasticated fabric.

Flow of the Study

RESULT AND  DISCUSSION

The test results are given below :

. The following instruments were used for the  tests.

1. Xenon Arc Light Fastness Tester
2. Gyrowash
3. Crockmeter/Rubbing Fastness Tester

The test methods that were followed as per ISO (International Organization for Standardization ) test method mentioned below[6] :

1. ISO 105-B02:2014(en)Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part B02: Colour fastness to artificial light: Xenon arc fading lamp test.
2. ISO 105-B04:1994 Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part B04: Colour fastness to artificial weathering: Xenon arc fading lamp test.
3. ISO 105-C06:2010Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part C06: Colour fastness to domestic and commercial laundering.

Table -3 Colorfastness to light for 100% cotton shell fabric

 Table 4. Colorfastness to perspiration for underwear elastic fabric in acidic and alkali medium

Table 5. Colorfastness to perspiration for underwear shell fabric in acidic and alkali medium. 

 Table 6. Colorfastness to washing  for underwear elastic fabric.

 Table 7. Colorfastness to washing and Rubbing for underwear 100% cotton shell fabric

From the table- 3 it can be said that the fastness to light range is within the required range. From table-4 and table-5 it was observed that the colorfastness to washing is acceptable for both the shell fabric and for elasticated fabric in acidic and alkali medium . From table 6 and table -7 it was evident that the color fastness to washing and rubbing (dry and wet rubbing) for both the shell fabric and for elasticated fabric was also within the range.

CONCLUSION:

The study showed that the locally manufactured underwear are produced in a very controlled quality standard which were found from the test results. It would have been very good if more samples could be tested. However, the test results are a good indication that the local manufacturers are capable to promote underwear specially for mens in a large volume. If more entrepreneur step forward then the demand for the underwear can be achieved locally. This will absolutely have an impact in Bangladesh. Furthermore, it should be kept in mind that the quality of the fabric as well as the underwear must be maintained in a regular basis. This will also help the local manufacturers to export their own brands to different countries.

REFERENCES

1. https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/underwear-5th-most-exported-item-3170446Wed Nov 16, 2022 12:00 AM Last update on: Wed Nov 16, 2022 08:10 AM
2. Spencer J David,(2001) Knitting Technology A comprehensive handbook and practical guide.Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing Limited
3. https://www.textiletoday.com.bd/bangladesh-lingerie-export-brags-5th-usa/https://www.textiletoday.com.bd/ bangladesh-lingerie-export-brags-5th-usa/Posted on January 24, 2022 3:10:09 pm Last updated at January 25, 2022 12:50:49 pm Access Date : 16.11.2002
4. https://www.bgmea.com.bd/page/AboutGarmentsIndustry Access Date : 16.11.2002
5. https://www.bgmea.com.bd/page/AboutGarmentsIndustry Access Date : 16.11.2002