Relationship between physical properties and preference for fabric hand of towels

The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between the physical properties of cotton towels and subjects' preferences. 52 towel samples were measured for physical properties and subjectively evaluated by 59 subjects. Subjects were classified into clusters based on their subjective evaluations, and multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between tactile and physical properties and differences in preferences. In results, subjects were divided into three clusters; the cluster (a) that emphasized fullness, the cluster (b) that valued fluffiness, and the cluster (c) that attached importance to smoothness. For the cluster (a), thickness had the greatest influence on preference. For the cluster (b) and (c), when towels had similar thickness, compressional resilience RC and mean deviation of friction coefficient MMD had the most influence on the evaluation of preference, but when the thickness were different, the cluster (b) emphasized sensations based on compressional energy WC and the cluster (c) emphasized sensations based on RC and MMD. These results will contribute to manufacturing that meets diverse preferences in the future.