Consumer perceptions of textiles

Fifty women from Woodland, California, selected by a stratified proportional sampling plan, rated 46 fabrics for their appropriateness on 48 attributes. Patterns among fabrics and attributes were determined by factor analysis, using similarity statistics derived from mean appropriateness ratings. Four dimensions were found for fabrics—“synthetic,”“cotton,”“wool,” and “silk”—accounting for 87 percent of the variance among fabrics, and four dimensions for attributes—“desirable characteristics,”“problem areas,”“fragile charac teristics,” and “summery”—accounting for 84 percent of the variance among attributes. Dividing the respondents by age indicated the same perceived structure but some evidence that older women more than younger distinguished between synthetic and natural fibers.