Athletic Sock Performance Test

Procedure:The construction characteristics of three sock brands: Under Armour, Danskin, and BCG were evaluated. Construction characteristics evaluated included fiber content, care instructions, yarn structure, weight, thread count, and weave structure. To test dimensional stability, one garment of each brand in the same size was set aside. Four marks were made with thread knots in each. One set of marks were made on the heel and the toe of the sock to measure shrinkage in the courses, and the other set of marks were made on the top and bottom of the sock to measure shrinkage in the wales. Following the care instructions, each sock was laundered one time, then three, and then ten. The marks were subsequently measured after washes to evaluate shrinkage. The appearance retention of each sock was also evaluated after the three categories of washes. AATCC reference standards were used to rate the socks. Crocking was tested by taking one original sock and one laundered sock in each brand and performing the test according to the AATCC test method. The AATCC scale was used to rate the crocking results. Colorfastness of the socks to chlorine and non-chlorine bleach, perspiration and laundering were tested. For the perspiration and laundering tests, the results were rated using the AATCC gray scale for staining with 5 being the least stained and 1 being the worst. The chlorine and non-chlorine bleach tests were rated on a pass of fail basis with any resemblance of staining. The ability to of the fabrics to release stains during laundering was evaluated by applying peanut butter, applesauce, grape jelly, butter, red wine, oil, mustard, ranch dressing, and chocolate sauce to the socks. These substances were allowed to dry on the socks then the socks were washed. The stains were rated using the AATCC staining scale, with 5 being the least stained and 1 being the worst. Wickability was tested by holding the tip of a 5-inch strip of each sock in a glass of water. Each strip was timed for 5 minutes, and then the distance that the water traveled was measured after the time was up.

Purpose: The Purpose of this project was to compare the performances of similar products of three brands with varying price points based on textile properties.

Hypotheses:H1: The Under Armour socks will wick the best, BCG second, and Danskin the poorest. H2: The Under Armour socks will have the least shrinkage, BCG will shrink more than Under Armour, but less than Danskin and Danskin will have the most shrinkage

Discussion:Performance is affected by several factors including fiber content and fabric construction. Despite the Under Armour being priced at $14.99 a package, BCG being priced at $6.99 a package, and Danskin $6.97, BCG had the highest thread count at 25X25, followed by Danskin and Under Armour both being 20X20. The most expensive brand and the least expensive brand both had the same thread count. All brands passed the chlorine bleach test and the non-chlorine bleach test. When testing for colorfastness to perspiration, all brands had the highest possible score of 5 with no staining, exceeding the minimum industry standard of 3. All three brands also proved resistant to staining with a score of 5, indicating that no residue remained after laundering. The minimum industry standard for dry crocking is a 4 and for wet crocking a 2.5. All brands out performed the dry standard as well as the wet standard. Compared to BCG and Under Armour, Danskin transferred the least amount of color to another due to abrasion. When testing for dimensional stability the industry standard for a knit garment cannot shrink more than 5%. BCG and Under Armour did not meet industry standards, Danskin passed with shrinking 0% in the wales after 10 launderings, and 5% in the courses. Under Armour shockingly had the greatest shrinkage after 10 washes shrining 20% in the courses, and 0% shrinkage in the wales. Our hypothesis was that Under Armour would have the least amount of shrinkage. Our data did not support our hypothesis. Danskin had the least amount of shrinkage, even though we predicted it would have the most. Industry standards for wickability is for the water to move 10 inches in less than one minute. All three brands failed to meet the industry minimum. Danskin performed the best by moving 4.5 in in 5 minutes, however none of the brands would be considered a highly wickable fabric. Our hypothesis was the Under Armour would wick the best however, the data did not support our hypothesis. Actually, Danskin had the best wickability even though we predicted it would perform the worst. The fiber content in Danskin and BCG were both very similar causing the results in both of these brands to be consistently the same. Danskin contained 97% polyester and 3% spandex while BCG contained 96% polyester, 3% spandex, and 1% rubber. Under Armour had a different fiber content containing, 80% nylon, 18% polyester, and 2% spandex. This attributed to Under Armour performing worse than the other two brands.

Store:Danskin

$6.97

Store:BCG

$6.99

Store:Under Armour

$14.99

Mininmum Industry

Standards

Fiber Content 97% Polyester3% Spandex

96% Polyester3% Spandex1% Rubber

80% Nylon18% Polyester

Care Instructions Wash before wearingMachine wash cold

with like colorsDo not iron or dry

cleanUse only non-chlorine bleach when needed

Machine wash warm with like colors

Only non-chlorine bleach when needed

Do not dry clean

Machine wash warm Tumble dry low

Non-chlorine bleachNo iron

Yarn StructureWales

CoursesSimple Single Staple Simple Single Staple Simple Single Staple

Specimen WeightOz/yd2 14.08 oz/yd2 18.65 oz/yd2 11.3 oz/yd2

Thread Counts (In.)Wales

CoursesTotal:

202040

252550

202050

Weave Structure Interlock with a weft insert

Interlock with a weft insert

Interlock with a weft insert

Dimensional StabilityWales

Courses

After 1 After 3 After 100% 0% 0%5% 5% 5%

After 1 After 3 After 108.3% 8.3% 8.3%10% 10% 10%

After 1 After 3 After 1020% 20% 25%0% 0% 0% 3% Woven

Appearance Retention After 1 After 3 After 10SA-5 SA-5 SA-5

After 1 After 3 After 10SA-5 SA-5 SA-5

After 1 After 3 After 10SA-5 SA-5 SA-5 SA-3

CrockingDry Wet

Original Laundered5 54.5 5

Original Laundered4.5 4. 54.5 4.5

Original Laundered5 4.55 4.5

42.5

BleachingChlorine

Non-Chlorine PassPass

PassPass

PassPass

Resistance to Staining Peanut Butter

ApplesauceGrape Jelly

ButterRed Wine

OilMustard

Ranch DressingChocolate Sauce

5.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.0

5.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.0

5.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.0

3.03.03.03.03.03.03.03.03.0

Colorfastness to Perspiration 5.0 5.0 5.0 3.0

Wickability 4.5 in / 5 min 3 in / 5 min 0 in / 5 min <1 minute

Colorfastness to LaunderingSpun Diacetate

Modacrylic (SEF)Triacetate

Bleached CottonCreslan Acrylic

Dacron 54 PolyesterDacron 64 Polyester

NylonOrlon 75 Acrylic

Spun SilkPolypropylene

RayonWorsted Wool

5.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.0

5.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.0

5.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.05.0

3.03.03.03.03.03.03.03.03.03.03.03.03.0

Conclusion:All three brands out performed the minimum industry standards except for wickibility and Danskin was the only brand to meet dimensional stability. We concluded that Danskin was the over all better sock for customers. The price of Danskin socks were only $6.97 which was significantly lower than that of under Armour $14.99 that performed the worst. Danskin proved to have the best wickability and less shrinkage than the other brands, which is very important to customers. It also did not loose color when washed. It had perfect resistance to staining and abrasion. Even though BCG weighed more and had similar product performance, we believe that Danskin will have the highest customer satisfaction.

Dankskin BCG

Under Armour

Results of Shrinkage After 10 Launderings

Measuring out marks to test shrinkage

Testing colorfastness by soaking fabric samples in vinegar and water

Results

Hannah Craig1, Kallie McBryde1, Charnel Smith1, Kathleen Heiden Ph.D21Undergraduate Students, School of Human Ecology, Louisiana Tech University2Associate Professor, School of Human Ecology, Louisiana Tech University