Why Finding a Quality White T-Shirt Now Feels Like a Chore

This is Checking Out, a column about how we shop, what we buy, and how it all makes us feel. Email tips and ideas to checking.out@slate.com.

There is perhaps no more universal wardrobe staple than the plain white T-shirt: It can be dressed up or down. Most of the time, a tee won’t cost you an arm and a leg (although that’s not always the case). But even though the price hasn’t changed for a while, something else has. The most reliable basic for almost every outfit seems to be getting less and less reliable.

The problem? White tees are increasingly flimsy and frustratingly transparent. Certain pieces are intended to be lightweight—like flowy chiffon tops, delicate lace skirts, or tops built for layering. Wearing sheer clothing is even a trendy way to show off what’s underneath. But Reddit forums and clothing reviews in online stores are full of customers who didn’t sign up for the sheer look. Users describe having to return their white T-shirt purchases—which appeared opaque in the product listing—or suggest makeshift solutions such as layering with camisoles and singlets, or skin-toned and pinkish-red bras that are less noticeable.

T-shirts seem to be just one part of a far bigger problem. Earlier this year, Nike was criticized for outfitting Major League Baseball players in uniforms that didn’t cover much at all. Even the high-end athleisure label Lululemon has tried to sell see-through yoga pants, blaming quality control for the mishap. All of this sheering is a symptom of just how much fast fashion has reshaped our wardrobes.

Fabric is the single biggest expense in producing a T-shirt, even ahead of labor—which remains cheaper because of the heavy reliance on low-cost and sometimes exploitative labor abroad. Because consumers aren’t willing to pay more for clothing, there seems to be a simple solution: using less raw material. The less fabric used, the less an item weighs, the less the costs to make and ship, and, of course, the thinner it appears.

Experts agree that the decline in fabric weight is hard to miss. Because of the time pressures of fast fashion, “we also see that quality decline in many other attributes, whether it is the construction of the garment or the number of steps that are used in the actual production of the garment,” says Elizabeth Easter, a textile chemist at the University of Kentucky. Consumers have noticed that clothing doesn’t last as long as it used to, fabrics are generally thinner, and the quality of clothing has decreased. Two decades ago, “the ‘heavy’ T-shirts might have weighed 8 to 10 ounces per square yard of fabric,” explains Easter. “Today, we see half that,” she says.

In one analysis, a white H&M T-shirt had the lightest fabric weight among three brands representing fast fashion, mid-range, and high-end clothing labels. But the most expensive, a Brooks Brothers T-shirt, wasn’t necessarily the heaviest. That’s because a light fabric might indicate a more expensive, finer cotton. But ultimately it comes down to what consumers expect. For a basic white tee—those meant to be opaque, and that appear so online—shouldn’t be arriving sheer.

Other pieces of clothing haven’t been spared either. “Pretty much everything is lighter and thinner,” explains Sean Cormier, a professor of textiles at the Fashion Institute of Technology, who said chinos that used to weigh 8 ounces per square yard of fabric might be 6 ounces today.

“It’s a trend in the industry, and not one that’s sustainable, because obviously the thinner the garment, it’s not going to last as long,” Cormier says.

By minimizing the weight of a fabric, manufacturers are also cutting down what the industry calls “covering power,” essentially referring to how opaque or transparent fabric is. Picture 100 straws versus 50 straws in one square foot; “it’s not going to have as much covering power,” explains Karen Leonas, a professor of textile sciences at North Carolina State University. Color also must be factored into this equation because it affects the opacity of a fabric, making white particularly vulnerable. T-shirts are also sold in styles that are more fitted than they used to be, says Leonas, meaning they leave little space between fabric and skin and make what’s underneath more visible.

After nearly two decades as a commercial textile engineer, Cormier says he has observed that how brands are creating clothes has also fundamentally changed. In the past, brands had more freedom to pick and choose their own materials, even if it meant dealing with production mismatches—such as an oversupply of fabric, or an uneven number of buttons. Now, factories offer brands a limited menu of fabric options that come in a package—meaning that the factory controls everything that goes into making the one garment. But they’re choosing what works for them, not necessarily what’s best for the customer, Cormier says. There are standards for the performance of materials which are published by the American Society for Testing and Materials, but adhering to these standards is voluntary.

All of these production changes are an effort to keep prices low for consumers and profits high for clothing companies. Several major fast-fashion brands such as Zara’s parent company Inditex, Fast Retailing (which owns Uniqlo), and Mango have reported increasing profits despite the rising costs of production. The price of cotton has been volatile over the past decade because of severe weather. High inflation and rising labor costs should also be pushing up the price of clothing. But that’s not what’s happening. Compared to 1990, prices for clothes are only 6 percent higher now. To get a sense of how little that increase is, the price of eggs has more than doubled in that time frame. And remarkably, women’s clothing in particular is actually cheaper now than it was back then.

There’s some evidence that consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable clothing or locally made products, but in the end, low prices win against all other factors, especially for frequent consumers of fast fashion. That’s how you end up with a thin white tee whose fibers begin to loosen with each tumble in the washing machine. The fabric rubs against other clothes in the wash, leaving pills along the surface or stretching out the garment. Soon enough, it loses its shape and our patience wears thin. The white tee doesn’t sit the same way, or inevitably accumulates a yellowish stain in the armpit crease. Eventually, it gets thrown away.

The once reliable white tee has become just as disposable as the packaging it came in, no longer practical. That’s because we don’t tend to think twice about what goes into making a T-shirt. Cotton needs to be grown, cleaned, spun into yarn, and bleached before it’s even ready for the fabric to be cut and sewn. From there, it’s packed, shipped, and stored. “It’s a lot of work,” says Cormier. “We take clothes for granted, everybody wears them, but nobody understands what they really are.”

“If somebody had made a better fabric selection, you could have worn it a lot longer,” Cormier says.

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