FabricIQ
Reading the label…
01Verdict
Well-made, but plastic on skin.
Best for Outerwear or layers — not for direct skin contact.
Material B · 77Health F · 23Eco · 72Label · moderate
Why this material grade?
This product scored 77/100 on the material-quality rubric (durability, comfort, breathability, warmth, moisture-wicking, care-ease), based on its composition of 16% Tencel, 4% Elastane, 25% Recycled Nylon, 16% Tencel, 4% Elastane, 25% Recycled Nylon, 16% Tencel. Sustainability is scored separately as the Eco Rating. Blended from 16% Tencel, 4% Spandex, 25% Recycled Nylon, 16% Tencel, 4% Spandex, 25% Recycled Nylon, 16% Tencel — the score is a weighted average based on each material's proportion.
B (70-84): Good material composition — above average across most axes.
Good quality, eco-friendly
Solid fabric with strong environmental credentials. Tencel (16%) is doing the heavy lifting. This is a smart buy.
Premium fabric, premium price
$168Better-than-typical fabric, but priced above the category median.
$2.18 per quality point Category median: $97 · grade C
Fabric value only — compares material quality to price vs other shirts. Construction, fit, and brand aren't measured.
02Breakdown
Composition
16% Tencel, 4% Elastane, 25% Recycled Nylon, 16% Tencel, 4% Elastane, 25% Recycled Nylon, 16% Tencel
Plastic-based, recycled — sheds microplastics in wash
16% Tencel (82)4% Spandex (55)25% Recycled Nylon (67)16% Tencel (82)4% Spandex (55)25% Recycled Nylon (67)16% Tencel (82)
Fabric details
eVent™✓ Certified B Corp
Sustainability is scored separately — see the Eco Rating below.
⚠️
Synthetic fabrics can contain BPA, which mimics estrogen. Studies have found BPA transferring to skin through sweat contact.
🌍
This fabric will take 200+ years to decompose. That means a shirt you buy today will still exist in the year 2226.
🧺
Dryer heat destroys spandex/elastane over time. Your leggings and stretchy clothes will last 2x longer if you skip the dryer.
03Network
Performance
spec sheet- Construction
- Fleece
Brushed knit — warm, soft
Cost per wear
rough estimate$1.29/wear · 130 expected wears
Reasonable cost-per-wear
How we got there
Base for Shirts: 100 expected wears.
× 1.30 for Tencel (high-durability fiber, durability 81).
= 130 expected wears. $168 ÷ 130 ≈ $1.29/wear.
Missing GSM — this is a category-level estimate, not garment-specific. Expect ±30% variance.
Real life is messier than a formula: how often you wash, how you wash, whether you wear it inside-out, dry on low — all of it shifts the number. This is the ceiling under reasonable care.
Care Guide
Decode symbolsWash
cold (30°C)
Bleach
Do not bleach
Dry
line dry
Iron
Best For
👔Formal/Office
ExcellentExcellent durability (81) and comfort (74) for office wear
⛰️Outdoor/Hiking
ExcellentExcellent durability (81), breathability (60), and moisture wicking (63) for hiking
🏃Athletic Wear
GoodGood breathability (60) and moisture wicking (63) for light activity
👕Everyday Casual
GoodGood comfort (74) and care ease (77) for casual wear
😴Sleepwear
GoodGood comfort (74) and breathability (60) for sleeping
🌧️Rain/Weather
GoodGood moisture wicking (63) and durability (81) for weather protection
Better Alternatives
Higher-rated shirts products — each card shows how much better this alt scores vs your current product.
04Tradeoffs
Health Impact
Microplastic shedding · skin-contact synthetic load · likely chemical treatments
F23/100
High health impact — significant synthetic content or likely chemical treatments. For frequent skin-contact wear, consider a natural-fiber alternative.
Microplastics HIGH
400,000 fibers/wash
Skin contact MODERATE
58% synthetic
Chemicals HIGH
Formaldehyde
- Formaldehyde (likely): "Easy-care resin" stated on the product page — observed, not inferred.
58% synthetic (primarily recycled nylon). High microplastic shedding risk. Every wash releases hundreds of thousands of plastic fibers into waterways. Counter-intuitively, recycled polyester is not cleaner here: mechanically recycled PET fibers are shorter and more brittle, so they can shed as much as — or more than — virgin polyester. The recycled label improves sustainability, not microplastic shedding.
Biodegradability
Not BiodegradableMaterials will persist in the environment for decades.
Label Confidence
MODERATELabel confidence moderate — one signal suggests the composition may be incomplete or under-verified.
- ⚠Recycled-fiber claim without explicit certification (GRS, RCS). Chain-of-custody for recycled materials is hard to verify without one.
What this score doesn't measure
- ×Fiber grade. Staple length, micronaire, strength. "100% cotton" could be short-staple upland or long-staple Pima — same label, very different fabric.
- ×Yarn processing. Singles count, ply (single vs two-ply), spinning method (open-end vs ring-spun vs compact), mercerization. Invisible from any label.
- ×Knit / weave structure. Single jersey vs interlock, knit tightness. A loose knit pills; a tight knit lasts.
- ×Fabric weight (GSM). One construction signal among several — and high GSM can come from loose cheap yarn just as easily as from fine tight yarn. We have it for blank manufacturers, rarely for retail.
- ×Pre-shrink processing. Sanforized cotton shrinks ~1%; non-sanforized can shrink up to 10%. Not visible from the composition tag.
- ×Construction quality. Stitch density (SPI), seam types, collar geometry, manufacturing tolerances (AQL). These often matter more than the fiber itself.
- ×Specific chemical loads. Health Impact flags "likely PFAS / possible formaldehyde" from composition × category — we don't lab-test individual SKUs.
We rate the fabric, not the garment. Composition is the floor of what you're guaranteed to be getting — most shoppers don't have that.
05Action
