A Comparative Analysis of Fabrics used for the Ghanaian Basic School Uniforms

This study compared three brands of fabrics used fo r the production of Ghanaian public basic school un iforms based on selected performance characteristics to de termine their suitability for the end-use in terms of the properties assessed. The parameters evaluated with the use of e xperimental procedures included yarn count, weight, colourfastness and shrinkage. The data collected were analysed with the use of the Predictive Analytical Software for wind ows version 22. Means and standard deviations of the fabric per formance characteristics evaluated were calculated. Analysis of Variance at 0.05 alpha level and Pearson Product Mom ent correlation were also employed. The findings sho wed significant differences among the investigated fabr ics performance characteristics. All the fabrics met the standard specifications for uniform fabrics indicated in the Ghana Standards Authority’s specification for unif orm fabrics (GS 970, 2009) for the parameters colourfastness, weight and dimensional stability. However, just as these t hree parameters cannot be used to judge the overall suitability of the fabrics for the end-use. It is therefore recomm ended that further investigations are carried out on the fabrics to ev aluate the other characteristics such as strength a nd absorbency which could help to establish the better suitability of t he investigated fabrics for the end-use (uniforms).