Nine apparel fabrics varying in fiber (cotton, wool, polyester) and knit structure (1 × 1 rib, interlock, single jersey) were investigated for their retention of axillary odor following wear. As axillary odor results from bacterial metabolism of apocrine and sebaceous secretions, counts of total aerobic bacteria and corynebacteria on the fabrics were carried out. Odor intensity was strongly associated with the fiber type, with polyester fabrics rating high in odor intensity and cotton and wool mid-low odor intensity. A structure effect was apparent for polyester fabrics, with the lightweight single jersey fabric rated less odorous than the heavier-weight interlock and 1 × 1 rib structures. The relationship between fiber type and odor was not influenced by bacterial numbers present, with counts after one day similar for all fabrics. However, the number of bacteria declined more rapidly on polyester fabrics than on either the cotton or wool fabrics. Counts of odor-associated corynebacteria subgroup (A) remained largely unchanged on wool fabrics for 28 days.

The objective of this work was to develop a pre-treatment (cleaning) procedure for a wide range of apparel fabrics and to determine whether differences observed in the properties of fabrics which had and had not been pre-treated were significant. Properties relevant to the manufacture and/or performance of apparel included mass per unit area, thickness, bending length, flex-ural rigidity, drape coefficient, air permeability, water vapor permeability, liquid absorptive capacity, drying time, ‘dry’ thermal resistance, ultra-violet transmission. Results for the same property on the same fabric measured when the fabrics had and had not been pre-treated generally differed significantly, confirming the importance of pre-treatment prior to measuring these properties, particularly when claiming in-use attributes of fabrics. A procedure for pre-treatment is recommended: six consecutive cleaning cycles following procedure 8A of British Standard EN ISO 6330: 2001 (i.e. not dried between cycles), and dried flat following procedure C of this standard.