Shrinkage is one reason I’ve long recommended DEs resurrect the practice of noting shrinkage on their hang tags. Truthfully tho, there is a barrier to doing so, namely costs. Unless one has the capacity to print their own hang tags to match shrinkage of specific fabrics used, it’s not likely to change.

[edited: Rather than adding another comment, I'm amending this comment to respond to Laura's below]

If I compared two pairs of slacks, same style, same *color way* and they were two different lengths… well…that’d definitely be shoddy quality control. Levis had this problem a lot! I’ve stopped buying them in the last ten years because their 501’s varied so much. The only way you could compare their apples to apples was to sort through the piles, checking the tags for country of origin and *hope* it was the same contractor to make a useful comparison.

Like I said before, becoming a huge brand with contractors in many different locations creates problems. How is a consumer to know anymore or have any confidence? One used to be able to compare lot numbers. Any variations between units of the same lot number indicated poor sewing controls.

Was there a hang-tag on the pants that explained the shrinkage? Is there any viable way to educate consumers about the properties of fabrics without sounding too clinical?

You need to stay away from local dry cleaning services to wash fabric and locate a proper wash/dyehouse.

Material needs to be washed in specific ways and properly dried and rerolled.

You needn’t have to pay more than 40-50 cents per yd, often less if you do larger volumes.

Of course, I probably add that much by washing/drying it myself!

Marguerite

I want to know why black shrinks the most! I voted correctly but *only* because, as you mentioned, it seemed like the counterintuitive answer and therefore the right one.