Why does an extra piece of fabric come with clothes?

When you buy new clothes or even underwear, that it often comes with a tiny Ziploc bag containing about 1 square inch of matching fabric. Most people believe that this tiny piece is provided in case you get a small hole in your clothes and need to patch it up. Well, this is a nice use for the fabric swatch, but it’s only a secondary one.

The main purpose of the fabric is for you to test out your cleaning products on. The manufacturer includes that little sample of material so you can test how different laundry detergents will react to your new garment.

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What are your thoughts on this subject?

11 Comments

Johnny Rock

"When you buy new clothes or even underwear"? Maybe I've been out of the loop as far as buying clothes goes but I've never seen a 1" square patch of matching fabric before. Underwear? Give me a break, Maybe David buys all of his clothes (including underwear) from a suave retailer?

David Roy

If I ever got a one inch hole in my underwear, I don't think anyone would be patching it up.

Ramrod

Had always considered the bit about using it as a patch but to test detergent? Like someone mentioned I read the tag for laundry or cleaning information.

Suzanne Wilson

My clothes musn't be fancy enough to warrant such an addition! An extra button in a tiny ziploc bag is common but I've never seen a small square (or any shape) of extra fabric included in my Australian-bought clothes.

Kim Hernandez

When did you ever get a piece of fabric to test for fabric softner?

Louella Wilson

Johnny Rock, I don't think that it is the norm, but I have a blouse and some jackets which came with fabric pieces. Extra buttons, as per the photo, are more common.