A series of technical developments from Cotton Incorporated’s Textile Chemistry Research Department have led to a new concept for a wrinkle-resistant finish known as Tough Cotton.  This concept is said to enable an all-cotton fabric to look good and last longer, while maintaining a smooth appearance after home laundering.

The Tough Cotton finish will fulfil an industry need to improve the wear life of durable press cotton garments,” states H. Kenneth Greeson Jr., manager, textile chemistry research, Cotton Incorporated. For 100% cotton fabrics, achieving the best performance from durable press finishing has always been a balancing act. With Tough Cotton, the scales are now tipping in our favour,” he added.

Traditional wrinkle-resistant finishes lower the strength of cotton and tend to reduce abrasion resistance. Compared with these finishes, Tough Cotton has about 20% better tensile and tear strength and boosts abrasion resistance typically by 300%. Other benefits of the finish are shape retention, shrinkage control, quicker drying, easier pressing, inhibiting pilling and fuzzing, and improved crease edge abrasion.

Mr Greeson stated, The Tough Cotton finish has completed a set of successful mill trials and we are looking forward to an industry adoption by the end of the year.”