The Effect of Fabrics and Designs on the Physical Comfort of Children Clothes in the Accra Metropolis

Abstract

Safety and comfort are considered as top priority when selecting fabrics for manufacturing children’s apparels. Delicate skin of children reacts to certain fabrics which make them less comfortable to wear. The study aimed at examining the effects of fabrics and designs on the physical comfort of children clothes. The study adopted a descriptive study design. A total of 100 respondents, 30 fashion designers and 70 parents and guardians, were sampled for the study. Simple random sampling was used for the fashion designers, whereas accidental sampling was used for the parents and guardians. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used to analyse the data. Crosstabulations were also used to examine the relationship between variables. The study found that more parents considered the appearance of their children before other factors such as safety and comfortability. However, majority preferred cotton fabrics to be used for their children’s apparels. A majority of the fashion designers did not know that children’s skin reacts to certain fabrics. The main factors considered by the fashion designers in the selection of fabrics for constructing children’s apparels were colour, design, and purpose of apparels. The majority of the fashion designers adopted a number of safety measures, such as linen of apparel, light-weighted zippers and use of few buttons, to enhance the comfortability of children’s apparel. The study recommends that the NVTI, and the Ghana Fashion Designers Association should educate fashion designers on the reaction of children’s skin to fabrics from certain sources. The NVTI in collaboration with the Fashion Designers Association of Ghana should sensitise or train fashion designers on safety measures in apparel making through improved finishes.

Keywords: fabrics, designs, safety, comfort, children, clothes, apparels