Can you justify paying over $40 for a pair of underwear? If you would’ve suggested this to me a year ago I would’ve thought you were crazy, I mean, you can buy a decent shirt for this price! But think about it, an underwear gets the most use out of everything in your closet, you wear it daily without exception. With this much wear, you’d think that we would take a little more thought and consideration into purchasing such a prevalent piece of our wardrobe, instead we tend to cheapen out and go for the usual Fruit of the Loom 4 for $14 pack.
The Problem with Cheap Underwear
Other than the obvious moral issues that entails cheap clothing items (you can read this article for a grim look into cheap clothing production) cheap underwear tends to not last you very long. Another issue is how this one clothing article can cause so much discomfort throughout the day, and in extreme cases put you in a bad mood. Some of the most uncomfortable traits of bad underwear include:
- Sticking to yourself (this is usually caused by cheap fabrics that don't breathe well)
- Hair pinching (usually when underwear shrinks)
- The famous wedgie (from old stretched out underwear)
- Waistband impressions on the skin
- Lack of support
Most of these unwanted and uncomfortable side effects come from one main cause; cheap quality underwear. Cheap quality does 3 things, shrinks after the first wash (usually causes pinching and serious constriction), stretches out after several wears since the elasticity wears out (this causes wedgies and lack of support, aka your package dangles), and finally sticks to your skin when your body naturally perspires. To prove this I ran a little test, I decided to pick up 2 high-end underwear from Tani (these bad boys cost $45 a pop) and 2 regular Fruit of the Loom from my local Walmart. 1 Pair from each group will be the base or reference underwear and the second pair will go through a torture test.
I will run 3 tests on each group of underwear. I have a size medium from both companies, from the Fruit of the loom the light blue/grey boxer will be the test garment, From Tani it will be the thin blue striped underwear.
Testing Shrinkage
I will run 3 tests on each group, the first one will be to test how the underwear fares against shrinkage. For this test I googled whats the best way to shrink clothing; it said that if you dip a garment in boiling water then automatically put it in the dryer on high heat, this will really shrink your garments. Here are my results
|
|
Keep in mind that this method of shrinking is very intense and set to represent various months of wear and washes. Notice how considerably smaller the Fruit of the Loom underwear got, easily 2 sizes smaller. Tani almost retained its original size.
Testing Stretching
The second test will check for stretching; I will stretch each pair with an exact pull weight of 15lbs 5 times for 5 second holds. We will match up the stretched pair to the “reference” pair and document the results. This test is set to simulate how well an underwear retracts back to its original shape after several uses.
Notice how the Fruit of the Loom underwear almost stretched out back to its original size (this is the same pair that was shrunk 2 sizes too small seen above) Imagine if I would've ran this stretch test with a new pair? It would easily be 1-2 sizes too big. As for the Tani underwear, I noticed a little stretching occurred, however its minimal compared to the Fruit of the Loom.
Testing Breathablilty
Breathability "is the ability of a fabric to allow moisture vapor to be transmitted through the material." I tried various methods to see how I could "scientifically" test which garment breathes better and wicks away moisture. Sadly they all failed to be unbiased or just weren't practical enough. I couldn't really measure the results. So for this you will have to take my word for it, I used both garments for a cardio workout at the gym (2 mile run) on separate occasions. While both garments were considerably wet, the Tani garments did a better job keeping me cool and not sticking to me, while the Fruit of the Loom just felt really damp and soggy. I did a little research as to why this was the case, and found this article on How Stuff Works. In summary it explained that while natural fabrics "breathe" better, their down fall is that they don't wick away moisture and instead absorb it (this is why you get those bad armpit sweat stains). As opposed to synthetic fabrics that are designed just for that purpose, to breathe and ultimately wick away any moisture (this is why most Nike training apparel is made from synthetic "sweat technology" and not natural fabrics).
Why This Works
Like I mentioned originally, its all about the quality of the fabric. Fruit of the Loom (like many other mass produced clothing brands) is made with disposability in mind. They’re business model is based around the concept of high volume sales, which is achieved by the consumer constantly needing a new pair and maintaining low sales prices the consumer is willing to pay constantly. On the other hand, when we searched for the right high end underwear we made sure it had an honest production, and great quality materials. We found Tani, they are the only underwear brand that uses Micro Modal AIR fabric, according to their website it is thinner, finer, and more durable than regular silk. Its also made from natural materials which means it’s biodegradable. From the results of our short test you can see why they out perform the regular underwear and as for my personal opinion, they’re super soft to wear!
In conclusion, the mindset of the millennial is changing, unlike generation X that didn’t mind disposability as long as the instant gratification of a low price was there, we want quality garments, honest production, and environmentally friendly choices and we are willing pay a little extra for this, and feel comfortable as heck doing it!
I'm curious to hear your thoughts, would you spend $40 on underwear over the traditional $4?
Jose Zuniga
I'm curious to hear your thoughts, would you spend $40 on underwear over the traditional $4?
Jose Zuniga