Wool ComfortMeter to identify comfort levels for garments

The wearer trials, conducted by DAFWA, provide a very accurate measure of consumer comfort but are very expensive and time consuming. They have however provided a set of fabrics of defined comfort for calibration of simpler testing systems.

An intermediate step between the comprehensive wearer trial and the ComfortMeter machine measurement is a ‘sleeve trial’ system developed by the CRC’s Wool Program.  This uses the fact that the forearm is the most sensitive part of the body to wool comfort. Two fabrics can be compared in a single test – with the left and right arm. 

The sleeve trials conducted with volunteers at the Curves Armidale gymnasium is proving to be valuable method of testing a broad range of fabrics and results appear to compare well with the full wearer trial protocol.

Objective measurements delivered by the ComfortMeter and validated through wearer and sleeve trials are providing very accurate predictions of wearer comfort.

The ComfortMeter opens the way for industry to deliver objective garment ratings to consumers as a means of over-coming perceptions about the comfort and “prickle factor” of woollen products.

“By identifying levels of next-to-skin comfort for garments that meet consumer expectations, industry has the opportunity to adopt quality control and quality assurance levels, and link these to price points at retail,” Prof. Rowe said.

Australian Wool Innovation (AWI)