P&G Explores The Science Behind Loving Our Clothes at the Future Fabrics Event

Influence Central was invited to attend the P&G Future Fabrics Event and received some sample items. All opinions are our own.

Recently, we were invited to attend the P&G Future Fabrics Event in Manhattan. Attendees learned a great deal about the science behind taking care of your fabrics, and how smarter fabric care can extend the life of your garments, as well as the positive feelings you have about them.

According to P&G Research, women wear 20 percent of the clothes in their closet 80 percent of the time. I can definitely relate to this statistic – I certainly have several “go to” items that I find myself wearing over and over again, and other items that I can’t bare give away, but do not make it into my wardrobe rotation nearly as often as they probably should.

P&G is committed to identifying why we love our clothes – and why others lose their appeal. By crafting their formulas to reduce some of the factors that make clothes less appealing, P&G wants to find a way for us to love all of the clothes in our closet!

I learned that there’s a great deal of science behind preserving and caring for your fabrics.

“When choosing a garment you may think your choice will be based on what you’re seeing, but think again,” said Dr. Lawrence Rosenblum, Cognitive Psychologist from the University of California. “You face a myriad of cross-sensory influences on your experience – what you see, how it feels to touch, what your nose smells – the look, feel and scent of your clothes all combine to impact the relationship you have with them and your final decision on what to wear.”

The look and “hanger appeal” of our clothes can shape our perception, literally. If a garment loses its shape and sits awkwardly on the hanger, we won’t be as likely to pick it up out of the closet. Touch also plays an important role in perception, as the feel of our clothes informs us how a garment will behave or handle on the body. Therefore P&G is working to preserve the smoothness and flexibility of fibers. Tide formulas help protect that “like new” feel of clothes through Fiber Preservation Technologies. These technologies specialize in optimizing the ash conditions and preventing hard water minerals from compromising fiber integrity. The new Tide 4in1 Pods take the process even further by aligning and polishing fibers to remove soil, binding parts that are a cause of fiber damage and can lead to premature degradation.

Scent is also important in how we experience fabrics and our clothes, too. P&G’s Margarita Bahrikeeton, the Global Research and Development Leader for P&G Fabric Care, shared information on a study that showed how women who were presented with two identical silk stockings preferred the pair that had been doused with perfume, showing that scent really plays a role in helping us love our clothes. The team shared that cognitive science research shows that the brain is activated by odors long after you stop noticing them, which means that smell is a sense that is “always on.” P&G FiberSCIENCE experts are taking this research that even the subconscious impacts our decisions, as they develop new formulas. Downy scientists have applied the latest learning in cognitive science to enhance the scent of clothes at a fiber level.

New products hitting the market this winter and spring that incorporate the research that P&G has put into garment care include Tide Pods Plus Febreze, Tide HE (high-efficiency) Turbo, and Downy Fresh Protect.

 Tide Pods Plus Febreze use 4-in-1 technology with a formula that is twice as compacted as the current 2x Tide Liquid. Tide Pods Plus Febreze marks the first time that P&G has launched a detergent that combines hueing dye for whiteness and special perfume capsules for freshness.

Tide HE Turbo offers the first-of-its-kind HE Turbo Seal, available on select Tide products, allowing consumers to identify the detergents especially designed for their HE washers. These detergents can save time and energy due to their potency. Laundry now can rinse clean without sending HE washers into 25 additional minutes of rinse cycles.

Downy Fresh Protect deodorizes your clothes with powerful two-hour protection. Just add some of the Downy Fresh Protect beads to your wash, and the beads will infuse your fabrics with powerful odor shield technology.

Be sure to look for these new products the next time you are shopping for fabric care (the Downy product will be available in April, with the Tide products launching in February!), and keep in mind how preserving your fabrics can help you preserve, and savor the love you have for, your clothes!