A computerized data base of mail order garments – a contribution toward estimating the frequency of fibre types found in clothing: Part 3: The content of the data bank – is it representative?

In Part 3 of this series the authors have tried to evaluate the representativity of the Catalogue Data Base. At present this is only possible by comparing the fibre percentages obtained with figures from World Textile Production, with those of a more regional character, with existing data from alternative collections and with that from other enquiries. It is apparent that a true test for the representativity of the Catalogue Data Base is not possible. Figures which would be directly comparable do not exist. Nevertheless, it is possible to show that the most common fibre types and colours and their rank orders are the same in the different collections and production figures. The forensic value of common fibres when they appear in certain garments or combinations is presented and also the value of fibres which rarely appear in the CDB. The authors give an outlook on further activities to validate the data in the Catalogue Data Base and discuss the combination of the CDB data with that from alternative collections. Theoretical examples are presented.