The Effects of Repeated Laundering and Structural Parameters on the Terry Fabric Preference of Japanese Consumers and Comparison with Turkish Consumers

Abstract

The objective of this research is to determine the effects of weft yarn count, weft density and repeated laundering effects on terry fabric preference of Japanese participants and to compare with the preferences of Turkish participants. In addition, the terry fabric samples are evaluated by Japanese panelists in order to determine the importance of characteristics related to preference. Terry samples woven with nine different constructions are subjected to 5, 10, 20 and 40 washing cycles in a household washing machine before subjective evaluations. The subjective evaluations are performed in two steps with a total of 40 Japanese volunteers consisting 20 men and 20 women at the ages of 18-25 years. Both Japanese and Turkish participants preferred terry fabric samples woven with finer weft yarns at a higher rate. The preference rate for terry fabrics decreased with increasing washings cycles among the participants of both countries. In addition, the most important characteristics related to preference of Japanese participants has been revealed.