gullible

Many people are gullible, and we can expect this to continue. P. T. Barnum.

I have been giving thought to all of the bogus, erroneous products that are and have been promoted for the past 50 years in the garment industry. I did not know how to start the article so I researched P.T. Barnum for his thoughts and this one appealed to me.

For 50 years or more now the W.L. Gore company has demonstrated, proven that people, masses of people are gullible.

You can explain and demonstrate scientifically that no fabric or combination of fabrics will be waterproof and vapor permeable [breathable] as one. But Gore gotten rich by selling people on a concept that does not exist.

They have been so successful that more than a dozen companies have promoted their version of an equal product to Gore that does not exist. Some of these companies have also been successful.

However, selling to the gullible has continued in other areas of the garment business. When it comes to insulation one product when used correctly made all other forms of insulating materials obsolete 60 years ago. Yes, it is continuous filament fiber. But there were, are companies that produce chopped staple fiberfill for insulation that made erroneous claims about their product that could never be substantiated, but they appealed to the gullible.

The same holds true about the down processors. When down came about as a form of insulation in jackets in the 1930’s there was nothing else available. All these years later there are other forms of insulation that make down obsolete.

Down has to be quilted when used as does chopped staple polyester fiberfill. You could make a polyester fiberfill jacket that is easily as comparable as down with respect to warmth retention but far superior with respect to not failing if it got wet. So, we have gullible people today buying down garments based upon what was done in the 1930’s. [for this article I am not interested in the fashion aspect].

The concept of looking at the buying public as a mass of gullible people has taken hold in other garments.

For several years now I have as I am sure many of you for underwear with the tag “they breath.” Once I was out of diapers about 2 or 3 years of age until now 80 years of age, I have worn underwear that is vapor permeable [breaths] made from cotton. I know that every male and female in the USA wears underwear that is vapor permeable because you cannot as far as I know get underwear that is not vapor permeable.

Underwear has been made for how many years, from ancient Rome times and it has always been made from cotton I believe. Believe it or not it still is. Except ladies’ lingerie which is nylon but in recent times the lady’s underwear is made from cotton.

The point is these companies are noticing gullible marketing. Tell the customer something they never gave thought to and they make it sound like they are doing something new.

Cooling bedding. Now we have sheets and pillowcases that supposedly cool you when you get hot. Many of the sheets and pillowcases are made from a polyester cotton blend. Polyester is a synthetic and absorbs heat and when used as a sheet on the bottom that heat has no place to go so it stays with you. the answer is “outlast” the beads of paraffin applied to the fabric which is phase change technology that absorbs the heat. The outlast phase change material was tried in clothing and successfully failed. It has been tried in a variety of products only to equally fail but I do not know about bedding. I do see it advertised on TV. Those who have bought into this non-sense are gullible. There is nothing better than pure cotton sheets.

He was right it will continue.

P.T. Barnum died in 1891 at the age of eighty so who knows how far back he said what he did. I leave you now with another of his quotes.

You can fool most of the people most of the time. P.T. Barnum