Jeans worth £15 are more durable than £150 pair, University of Leeds experts have found

Research carried out by University of Leeds in partnership with Primark has revealed that a £15 pair of women’s jeans performed better in a durability test than a pair worth £150.

After testing 65 different products, the study uncovered that price is not necessarily an indicator of quality, as other budget items (such as a men’s t-shirt priced at £5) scored well in durability tests.

Kate Morris, a researcher from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures at the University of Leeds who was involved in the project, said: “We have equipment that can mimic years and years of wear and tear of garments in a matter of hours. For jeans, we focused on things like fabric friction and seam strength, while with hoodies, we looked at pilling — the small bobbles that form on fabric.

“Historically, people think that if you pay more, you’ll get a longer life out of the garment. We found no correlation between price and durability. That doesn’t mean that if you go out and buy something really cheap it will last forever, and vice versa, but rather that price alone doesn’t dictate how durable an item will be.”

Primark plans to integrate the new findings into its “Durability Framework”.

Vicki Swain, product longevity lead at Primark, said: “We developed the framework to ensure that customers know items are going to last, no matter how much they can afford to spend. We’ve been investing in making our clothes more durable and also using more sustainable materials.”

Commissioned as part of a wider aim by environmental charity Hubbub, the project is one of the largest of its kind.

Most Read

Love Island finalist Ron Hall has a new girlfriend – and it’s an Islander he was in the villa with!

Nathan breaks silence on MAFS UK split and reveals Lacey left him ‘heartbroken’

Omg, one of the MAFS UK couples has ‘secretly reunited’ to ‘give relationship another go’

Despite providing the clothes, the University of Leeds experts emphasised that Primark did not influence the independent testing process with all analysis and data interpretation handled in-house.

The team is now planning on further studies to determine which factors contribute most to the lifespan of specific garments.