All textile products are not created equal! The quality of textile products should take into consideration five specific criteria:


• Appearance — Color, design, drape, texture
• Perceived comfort — Feel, touch, fit
• Purchase price – How much the item cost to purchase, how long you will actually use it
• Serviceability — Durability, performance capability, fitness for use
• Safety and environment — Flammability, toxicity, allergenicity.


Durability may be the most widely used concept for quality and is determined by product features that consumers recognize as being the most beneficial. Let’s say, for example, you are examining a Patient Gown. For this product to be viewed as “high quality” it should have an acceptable style, color, and design; it must be free of flaws such as stains, fabric defects, open seams, loose threads, misaligned buttons or buttonholes, defective zippers, etc. It must fit properly for the labeled size and it must perform satisfactorily in normal use. The Patient Gown must be able to withstand normal laundering/pressing and/or cycles without color loss or shrinkage, seams must not come apart, fabric must not tear, and so on. Quality is the main ingredient in a product that meets or exceeds expectations.


Some factors that influence perception of quality are:


• Price — High priced products are perceived as having higher quality
• Technology — Construction or workmanship of the fabric, seam strength, colorfastness, shrinkage, etc. all factor in to the quality of the finished product.
• Psychology — A product that is reasonably prices and impeccably made may be viewed as lower quality if it is not aesthetically pleasing or “trendy”.
• Durability — Importance of durability varies with categories of products, e.g. towels at poolside may not carry the same level of quality expectations as towels in the suites of a luxury hotel or spa.


Perceived quality will change depending on who is using the product and the purpose they have for it. You can always buy a less-expensive product, but reducing quality for price is a slippery slope.


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