NO THANKS
You know that little itty bitty tag; that itty bitty tag made out of polyester and sewn on with plastic thread that factories put on your angora or cashmere or wool or cotton clothing . . . a tag that is perhaps 1/1000th the size of the entire garment creating a most bothersome situation. What's with that?
I bought a lovely pair of pyjamas, made out of a soft silk and cashmere blend; the kind of pyjamas that you dream about; the kind of pyjamas that one says, "I am blessed to have such lovely pyjamas." I washed them by hand, gently pushing the organic laundry suds through them and then rinsing them in lavender water. I hung them to dry and even ironed them. I imagined the feel of the fabric next to my skin. I was happy. I put on my beautiful pyjamas and fell asleep.
I think it was 2:00 A.M. or maybe a few minutes after when a bothersome itch woke me. The point of annoyance was at the nape of my neck. An annoying scratchy feeling returned each time I tried to push it aside. I finally removed my pyjama top and found the culprit: the manufacturer's tag all golden polyester sewn on with plastic thread. It is difficult to find the right tools at two in the morning to remove a tag that has been diligently sewn on with more thread than the entire garment. I decided to wait until morning and finished the night sleeping in a mismatched cotton flannel top.
So what is with that? I began looking at all the tops that I had removed the labels from. This has been a recurring hindrance in my life. Never mind, if you have hopes of taking gently used items to a consignment store.
I remember a woman who related to me that she removed all the tags from her children's clothing because of the bothersome itchiness. It's hard to concentrate at math when the tag is annoying you. I can relate.
There are several ways this can be avoided. Manufacturers need to use a fabric that is softer so that you don't feel it. And plastic thread should be banned. Why would they use plastic thread on the tag when the entire garment was made out of natural fabric and the other thread was at least unobtrusive if not also natural? Or they could place the tag on another side seam that may not come into constant direct contact with the skin. But I am preaching to the converted or at least to an audience that may have the same frustration. The likelihood of a manufacturer making their way to this blog is remote and so I will stop here and simply continue cutting out the labels on any of the tops I buy.
Oh dear girl, you have hit on one of my pet peeves! This situation is particularly with children's clothing from Joe Fresh. There are THREE tags sewn in a clump directly into the side hem of each and every item. Two are cotton cloth, approximately three inches long. The third, a stiff paperlike material one by one half inch, with extremely sharp edges. My grandchildren have me cut them out before they will even wear them. So annoying! There must be a better way for manufacturers to label their clothing!
ReplyDeleteThe Joe Fresh t-shirts for adults I have bought have stamped identification directly on the cloth at the nape of the neck - the difficulty with those "stamp ons" is ironing - if you iron your t-shirts. I ran the hot iron over the stamp and it smeared. That was not the issue as much as the residue I had to clean off the iron. However, that is a better alternative than three separate tags. Washing instructions usually take up one tag - that too should be stamped on, rather than printed on a scratchy paper tag.
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