FabricIQ
Reading the label…
01Verdict
Well-made, but plastic on skin.
Best for Outerwear or layers — not for direct skin contact.
Material C · 61Health D · 43Eco · 51Label · moderate
Why this material grade?
This product scored 61/100 on the material-quality rubric (durability, comfort, breathability, warmth, moisture-wicking, care-ease), based on its composition of 90% Recycled Polyester, 10% Elastane. Sustainability is scored separately as the Eco Rating. Blended from 90% Recycled Polyester, 10% Spandex — the score is a weighted average based on each material's proportion.
C (55-69): Average material composition — typical blend, reasonable for everyday wear.
Average quality, high synthetic content
Decent for everyday wear, but the synthetic content means microplastic shedding and it won't biodegrade. Consider natural alternatives for your next purchase.
Budget pick
$58Below-typical fabric quality, but cheaper than the category median.
$0.95 per quality point Category median: $89 · grade C
Fabric value only — compares material quality to price vs other shorts. Construction, fit, and brand aren't measured.
02Breakdown
Composition
90% Recycled Polyester, 10% Elastane
Plastic-based, recycled — sheds microplastics in wash
Added Apr 1, 2026 · Data last updated Apr 1, 2026
Sustainability is scored separately — see the Eco Rating below.
🔬
Every wash of synthetic fabric releases up to 700,000 microplastic fibers into waterways. Use a Guppyfriend bag to catch them.
🌍
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
Cost per wear
rough estimate37¢/wear · 156 expected wears
Strong cost-per-wear
How we got there
Base for Shorts: 120 expected wears.
× 1.30 for Recycled Polyester (high-durability fiber, durability 81).
= 156 expected wears. $58 ÷ 156 ≈ 37¢/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
Better Alternatives
Higher-rated shorts 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
D43/100
High health impact — significant synthetic content or likely chemical treatments. For frequent skin-contact wear, consider a natural-fiber alternative.
Microplastics HIGH
600,000 fibers/wash
Skin contact HIGH
100% synthetic
Chemicals LOW
Antimony
- Antimony (trace): Recycled polyester carries reduced (but non-zero) antimony residue from upstream PET feedstock.
100% synthetic (primarily recycled polyester). 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
