THE ETHICS OF SHODDY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14000, 5 September 1907, Page 2

THE ETHICS OF SHODDY.

_ Among that luxuriant crop of deputations to the Minister of Customs which the recent tariff revision has produced, one bore relation to tho- uso of shoddy and cotton in garments ostensibly of woollen materials. The points at issue are clear enough in themselves, but have becfimc obscured in tho minds of the community'at 1 large, principally.through tlio misuse of certain trade terms. There is no moral principle involved, the question being really commercial more than sentimental. "The economic value of any particular piece of- cloth or. flannel, or ,qL any blanket, rug, etc., consists of several faqtors, the moat important of which are non-conductivity, absorptive powers, tensile strength, beauty of appearance, power, of retaining that beauty in the face of hard.' usage, and lowness ot cost, to the consumer. Although apart from the question of price a maternal composed,of wool throughout meets best these desiderata, yet there is 110. special sanctity attaching' to " all-wooUen " goods, even though' made entirely from wool ■ which has never before been spun and woven. ,(Thero is a distinction here which will bo explained presently.) The retail customer purchases an article which suits his purposes, his taste, and his pocket, but lie does not trouble his head further.

The merchant has nothing to gain by educating his customers up to tho desire for an ideal which really after all is not worth pursuing, and does his best to Batisfy their requirements. The manufacturer thankfully books the clothier's order, and in duo course forwards oho

article as specified. If his plant is ill- , adapted for the production of tho partialr lar class of material he either makes the necessary alterations in machinery and process, or passes the order on to some Dthet firin.' The demand throughout New Zealand far' warm and handsome textile goods,at a low prico has resulted in the ipp'earancei in our markets of what are popularly termed "shoddy" lines, and these, have undoubtedly come to stay. Now-the'term "shoddy" is properly a technicality peculiar to ' textile manufacture and quite unknown to the clothing trade. It is the name given to the teasing! from soft woollen rags. These rags may be tho sweepings and clippings from tailors' shops, or mechanically damaged lengths of otherwise unimpeachable material.' Such are "new shoddy." On ■the other hand, they may be discarded blankets' from smallpox hospitals, "old clo'" of very doubtful antecedents, or tho romains of horeo rugs which have seen long and arduous service ("old shoddy"). When derived from the disintegration of hard milted and ' felted' cloths, (thoso -with ti "iKtp") the teasings ore termed "mnngo." Fabrics containing wool . and cotiou spun together are euphemistically said to 1» of "mixed" or "blended" wool, and by treatment with cortain acids tho cotton can bo removed, the residual wool being termed "extract." 'All three —"shoddy," "aruiigo," and "ex-tracfc"-raro pure wool, and bofih can be, . and are, used in the manufacture of woollen fabrics of beautiful appearanco • and high absorptive power.* The word 7 "shoddy" has, however, been taken into everyday language and saddled with an extended significance, Wbpn one speaks of "shoddy gentility," ''shoddy sentiment," etc., one intends to convey an idea of falso und pretentious affectation. But ono has no right to transfer this extended significance to that estimablo trade product "shoddy." As a matter of fact,'there is nothing falso or pretentious about shoddy—it is a material of great value and utility, ajid the poorer section of the community has much for which to thank it. Now, .an article made from the' best-selected • qualities, of this much-maligned matorial may. be quite as dcsiriiblo in every way as ono made from \iool which has never seen the dyo vat before, but it will be little, if any, cheaper. A yarn spun front tho teasing from shop, refuse wonld be cheaper, but would probably be deficient in strength and "wearing qualities, .and to counteract , these weaknesses .cotton must be introduced,' though not to such an extent, as to materially decrease the other charac- • I,eristics. : Cotton is frequently woven in ' with now wool yarns also, especially in suitings, somo manufacturers considering that absolutely pure woollen cloths havo

a tendency to "bag." ' ' It is the clothier's practice to buy from I samples submitted to his inspection. Ho may,- of .course, to suit his own particular, ends, select an article of the highest price, but ho has no right to take credit to. himself for so doingi Neither does the -customer buy against a chemical analysis. - He accepts tho statements of the clothier concerning the wearing qualities' of tho stuff, and for the rest' consults Ms own private tastes. Often he Insists upon being served with an article from a .particular factory. It does not mutter one iota to either of them what tho actual composition of tho fabric may be; and both parties realise that tho trado in cloth-is free from the "spring sale" clement. If tho customer is a woman, (he proportion of wool to ootton as an influencing agency is still • less, cogent, since sho scarcely intends to continuo wearing'tho coat or skirt under consideration until it is threadbare. Thus far, certainly nothing has been adduced to jusify tho uso of; terms of opprobrium in this connection, provided always that only new shoddy has,been employed. But tho troublo is that unscrupulous manufacturers—or, rather, those who feel most, ltcenly the pressure of competitionwork up any woollen rags, however foul their origin or disgusting their antecedents. (There is nothing to prevent these rags being ellectivoly sterilised at Bomo point during the f manufacturing prothough it" is questionable whether theso in themselves • suffico as ordinarily conducted.) Tlris is, of coureo,.largely a matter 'of sentiment, _ and since new ' shoddy is more expensive than old the bargain-hunter must talio what comes and ask no quostions. Thore are ccrtain other unpleasant features with regard to tho employment of niungo: When milled cloths leave tho loom they aro of very open tcxtnre,' and to firodnco the; smooth and handsale surface of the! finished articlo tliey axe lieatod, strongly pressed ov beaten, "awl well rolled, oil and- other substances being used t-o assist' ill -this and M add to tho weight, "Other substances" in this (connection means absolutely any ingredients w|)icli tho' manufacturer's squoamishhess may permit tiiin ito employ. Tho exact natiuro of tlieso ' may bo left to tho reader's imagination. But. again, this is largely a 'matter'of, sentiment- and the buyer of the"ultracheap article must not complain. In addition to tliis, miingo is often reduced iilmost to a stale of dust- during its disintegration, and the resulting yarn would bo very weak indeed unless a large quantity of cotton were introduced. So fatas imported' stuffs ' are concerned, it is impossible to speak definitely on some of tlieso -points, tot can cither the importer or tho Executive exercise any control over factories abroad; but it is consoling to know that the latest-Bluo Book contains no record of tho importation of woollen rags, so that it is safe to assume that local products are free from some of the most objectionable features of tho cheapest imported goods. The four rags, o? whose distribution Hamburg is the centre, certainly do not enter into the composition of real Now Zealand tweeds. It is worth noting, howovsr, that- less than 50 tons of the gleanings of the, ragpickers of this country wcro exported Inst year. What became of the remainder must bo left to conjecture, U would thus appear that there is no way of ■••establishing' the presence of shoddy material in an " all-woollen, fabric. Less- even is there any method of proving that old shoddy has been worked ft.' To prove the presence, of cotton requires no expert examination. Anv intelligent peison can determine so much for himself with a lighted match, since cotton ignites readily and burns •vith a flame, whilo wool will merely smoulder. In any case, these points' are of small importance. A Government brand on each piece—as: suggested, by the Minister—would certainly tell the consumer" that cotton had not been .used, but it could not givo him, wdiat. is of vastly creator moment, the life-history ol cach individual particle of wool present.- Such histories would often make interesting reeling. . . ' It must, however, be admitted that, as regards tlio material use for children s .

underclothing, ■ nightdresses, etc., the question of the 'introduction of cotton is of some momeiit. So many-children had been jiadly burnt in England through "flannelette"- garments igniting while the wearers were standing at the nursing fire, that regulations were introduced concerning the salo of this article, which, though soft and woolly in appearance, is almost pure cotton. This, however, has nothing to do with the use of "shoddy" and cotton in the vast majority of textile • fabrics. It is beyond questiqn that any citizen can secure the best quality articles by paying the high prices, but no legislation can protect him against himself.