Assessment of Flammability Hazard and Its Relationship to Price for Women's Nightgowns

Abstract

The flammability hazard and its relationship to price were assessed for 27 styles of women's nightgowns, purchased retail. Though the industry has commonly indicated that higher prices must be paid for safer garments, it was hypothesized that this would not hold among garments for which no mandatory standard beyond CS 191-53 has been imposed. Hazard was measured as the percentage of body area sustaining second degree bum, predicted through burning the nightgowns on a thermally instrumented mannequin. In general, predicted hazard was highest for cotton gowns, followed by ones of polyester/cellulosic and acetate/nylon blends, and lastly by ones of 100% polyester or nylon. Graphical and statistical analysis indicated an inverse but weak relationship between hazard and price, so the conclusion was that little if any necessary relationship exists between flammability hazard and price for the women's nightgowns. An apparent reason was the strong association between hazard and fiber content, but no discernible relationship between price and fiber content.