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Superfine merino - potential quality issues found in some merino fabrics

When it comes to merino fabric, you get what you pay for.  The cheaper the price, the more short cuts will have been taken in the sorting process that eliminates as many as possible of the shorter and coarser fibres that cause pilling and itching.  

The sorting process is designed to ensure that the fibres used conform in micron count and staple (length) as well as in crimp and quality.  The higher the criteria set, the more expensive the resulting yarn, the lower the criteria, the poorer and cheaper.  

The definition of “superfine” merino has  been judged according to the average micron count of fibres used.  Until recently this has meant that for a “superfine” fabric the fibres found fell within a narrow range.  Regrettably some of the merino fabrics made in China show a much wider range of fibres, from the very thin and weak to the (for merino) very coarse.  We found fibres up to 31 micron in our sampling. This now means that the customer cannot be sure of what they are buying unless they have information as to the source of the fabric of a particular brand.

Under the microscope, you can see short fibres and coarse fibres sticking out from the surface of the fabric.  It isn’t possible to eliminate these completely, but the rule is the more of these fibres, the poorer the yarn and the fabric.  If too many of these short fibres or fibres over 22 micron are left in the wool fibre prior to spinning, it is irrelevant what the average micron count is; the fabric will pill, and it will itch.  However the yarn and therefore the fabric will have been much cheaper to produce.

Some of the images also show fibres that appear to have had their outer surfaces removed.  This does not happen in as a result of normal scouring and washing processes, but must be done using various chemical processes which include acids, chlorine and polymers - which also produce dioxins as waste products. This is done to reduce the diameter of the fibre, however apart from faking the wool’s true micron count, it also reduces the performance of the wool.

Merino fibre has a very thin, waxy, lipid coating that is naturally bonded to the surface. This bonded layer extends over the overlapping scales on the surface of the fibres. This gives  Merino fibres  a naturally low surface energy - lower than cotton, nylon or polyester and comparable with the hydrophobic surface of polypropylene. It’s this low surface energy that makes Merino water-repellent because droplets that touch lightly on the surface of Merino will bead and roll off before being absorbed into the fabric.

Most baselayer fabrics are knit using a process that gives different outer and inner faces. The outer face should be smooth and even, with few loose fibres showing.  There should be no evidence of what appear to be lines or ridges running laterally across the fabric. This is known as “cockle” or “cockling”.

It is easy to see this effect with the naked eye.  Lines or ridges appear running laterally across the fabric. This is due to a distortion of the fabric as a result of the inclusion of thicker than normal range of fibre diameters in the yarn blend, or the yarn setting, and/or loose knit density and overloaded wet finishing machines.

Cockling is therefore a sign of poor manufacturing standards.  It is a signifier for pilling, and therefore itching when worn.  Cockling is more prevalent in single jersey fabric with a gsm weight below 180.

Another thing to look for in a quality fabric is evenness of knit. The more even the knit, the smoother and more stable the fabric.  It is hard to achieve this with a single jersey fabric as this is prone to “spiraling”.  Spiraling is the effect you see most often on cheap cotton t-shirts.  After the first wash, the side seams no longer hang straight but are skewed to one side.  This also happens with single jersey merino fabrics.

Density of fabric is also important for stability and durability. The lighter the weight of fabric in terms of grams per square metre, the less durable the fabric will be. To achieve these lightweights, the knit has to be far looser, and this in turn will cause it to wear and tear far faster.

Ultimately, how good a merino garment performs is dependent on the yarn.  If this is poor, then regardless of the label, the resulting garment will also be poor. So why do big name brands use this thin, poor fabric? Simple - it’s cheap. A 150/160 weight fabric contains far less merino, and it also wears out much faster so garments have to be replaced far more frequently.  From the customer’s point of view, we believe buying garments made from this weight is false economy.

We do not use a fabric lighter than 185 gsm as in our experience these lightweight fabrics are too flimsy to give performance or durability.

Click here to see some comparisons  between the MAPP double jersey superfine merino fabric we use, and that of some other brands taken at x30 and x64 magnification.  

The problems of  the quality of products coming out of China are not restricted to merino wool.  In his books “Poorly Made in China:  An Insiders Account of the China Production Game” author Paul Midler, as an insider, reveals what can--and does--go wrong when companies shift production to China Paul Midler tells us all that is wrong with our effort to shift manufacturing to China. Now updated and expanded, Poorly Made in China reveals industry secrets, including the dangerous practice of quality fade--the deliberate and secret habit of Chinese manufacturers to widen profit margins through the reduction of quality inputs.

Importers don't stand a chance, Midler explains, against savvy Chinese suppliers who feel they have little to lose by placing consumer safety at risk for the sake of greater profit. This is an impassioned personal account, a collection of true stories, told by an American who has worked in the country for close to two decades. Poorly Made in China touches on a number of issues that affect us all.

It is also extremely difficult to know who is behind Chinese manufacturing.  We ourselves constantly receive emails from Chinese companies offering us their products.  However who are they really? One email received purports to be from “Jon from Zhejiang New Century Clothes Co. Ltd., Ningbo,”, yet the sender address is ...... @gmail.com and the web address at the bottom of the email is for Foo Brothers! Jon says they make for customers in the UK, Sweden, Norway, Germany, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, CZ, Finland etc.  We can only say that, apart from not being prepared to put any of our production out to China,  we certainly wouldn’t trust any company that can’t even be upfront about who they are, and are very surprised that anyone else would.

Pollution is another problem when considering the impact of Chinese-made goods.  Even China Daily is carrying a report on the factories that produce clothing for top brand names who are continuing to pollute China’s rivers. Five grassroots environmental organisations allege that 46 Chinese and International clothing brands are being supplied by textile companies that violate the country’s environmental laws [such as they are].

Official figures from China's environmental authorities show that the textile industry discharged 2.5 billion metric tons of sewage in 2010, making the sector the third-biggest water polluter among 39 industries.