Why is it that when polyester and viscose is used in more expensive dresses it becomes dry clean only?

[ElderAve]

I have been trying to create a capsule wardrobe from good quality pieces that will last, aiming to buy fewer but better clothes. There are some lovely things in the sales of retailers I couldn't usually afford. People like Joseph, Jigsaw, Whistles.

But I have noticed that if you buy a viscose dress that costs £50 it will be machine washable. If the ticket price is £200 it will be dry clean only. Why is that? Do they really mean it or is it just to cover themselves?

Same with polyester, although I do try to avoid it because it's like wearing a plastic bag, but surely nothing polyester needs to be dry cleaned?

Do you dry clean your everyday work dresses? How often?

So you won’t wear it, wash it and then bring it straight back complaining it’s gone all bobbly. Or to make you think it’s special delicate polyester/viscose instead of bog standard.
These fabrics always need to be washed after each wear anyway because however much underarm deodorant you use they pong. It wold cost a fortune to dry clean instead. But I have 3 or 4 dresses from H&M, M&S(!), Next that that wash v well and dry quickly. They’re well cut and flattering. One H&M dress cost £6 in their outlet (originally £17.99).

Placemarking as I want to know the answer to this, too...

I know MamehaSan, I can't imagine anyone getting their everyday clothes dry cleaned regularly and it rather undoes my efforts to be more "environmental" by buying less if I then have to use the dry cleaners so often, quite apart from the cost and hassle. But presumably, these clothes do sell?

I have a couple of Pleats Please Issey Miyake dresses from EBay. Even second hand they are expensive. They are 100% polyester but they are hand washable or delicate machine washable. It's ridiculous polyester clothes are dry clean. I put a special ball in my machine which catches fibers. I think it works.

I used to work in a dry cleaners and was taught that anything with over 75% polyester can be washed normally without a problem.

The dry clean only was there to hike up the price and make people think their clothes were worth more money. Only woollen suits really needed dry cleaned. All the businessmen with expensive polyester suits could have been bunged U.K. the washing machine but I suppose putting them into us saved on them having to press them themselves.

Interesting cookie monster, although I do think, even a washable tailored jacket is never the same after it's been washed.

Zaraw that's interesting where is the ball from?

It's the Cora Ball I got it from a health food shop.

zaraw what do you do with the fibres once they’re caught in the ball?

Your use of a Cora Ball protects both air and water. The Cora ball’s design collects microfibers until you remove them and put them in the trash. That means they will not re-attach to clothing and fly off into the air – only to become run-off and end up in our public waterways anyway.

My sister, who works in clothing production, suggests it's cost cutting - they slap dry clean only on clothes because they don't have to do as much testing to the finished product and it reduces the number of faulty returns.

I just looked it up on amazon zaraw and it gets terrible reviews.
Do you feel yours works? I’d like to trap the micro fibres to stop them going into the water but I’m not convinced about this from
The reviews

I just won't buy anything with plastic in it. I wish I had copped on to this sooner. I've always gone for natural fibres out of preference but if something I liked was a mix I'd still buy it, now I won't.

My answer to dry cleaning is to only wear those type of clothes where they won't get dirty, wear a thin top under tops/ shirts/ jumpers, spot clean with sponge cloth or brush if necessary, hang in the shower so they get steamed and out on the line to refresh, and wash them in the washing machine when I no longer will be that bothered if it goes wrong. I'd get coats dry cleaned all right if necessary.

It's a shame I don't have many synthetic clothes and it takes a long time for the fluff to appear. There's also the mesh bag not sure what the reviews are like

myplasticfreelife.com/2017/07/review-guppy-friend-microfiber-catching-laundry-bag/

I couldn't see the Cora Ball on Amazon.

If you care about the environment do not buy polyester because it is essentially plastic and constantly sheds microparticles. Each was cycle releases billions of microparticles into the water system.

Viscose is ok as that is made from cellulose (wood chips or more commonly bamboo) and is completely biodegradable.

No idea, but anyone paying £200 for a polyester dress is nuts.

You’re right zaraw, I searched it and another one came up, which wasn’t the Cora one although I thought it was

Yeah, doesn't look like they sell thru Amazon. Maybe part of a wider ethical approach; their website supports buying from a physical shop where possible.

If you care about the environment do not buy polyester Cotton production is not great for the environment either!

You’re right, cotton production is terrible for the environment. They key has to be to buy a lot less clothing

Buying way less and buy as ethically as you can afford. Repair old clothes. Don't wash clothes that aren't dirty.

Cotton production is not great for the environment either!

That’s like telling a vegetarian that broccoli farming isn’t great either after they point out that veal farming is horrible and cruel. Cotton production is magnitudes less harmful to the environment and besides you cannot make clothes without some environmental impact. Plus many companies now use fewer pesticides and no longer use the harmful bleaches or dyes they used to due to new environmental laws that have come into effect.

I’m always shocked at the price of designers like Karen Millen etc for polyester dresses!

I normally wash - carefully - these kinds of clothes whether they are dry clean or not, unless they have some kind of special finish. I also used to work in a dry cleaners and there aren’t really many types of garment that absolutely require it.