Choosing 600 School Uniforms for a Humid Coastal Town
An aided school in a coastal Odisha town needs 600 sets of uniforms for Classes 6–8. Three suppliers sent samples. A: 100% cotton poplin, 40s count, ₹310 per set. B: 67:33 polyester-cotton, ₹265 per set. C: 100% polyester, ₹210 per set. The school's previous cotton order shrank so badly that trousers became ankle-length after three washes, though the sample had looked fine. Humidity from June to September stays above 80% and classrooms are not air-conditioned. Most students walk 2–4 km and complain of sweat patches under the arms and back. The committee can spend at most ₹2,00,000. The head teacher wants uniforms that survive two academic years and look presentable at the annual function. One member suggests buying the cheapest lot and replacing it next year. A parent asks why the school cannot simply write 'good quality cloth' in the order.
1. Evaluate the three fabric options on cost, comfort, durability and maintenance, and recommend one with arithmetic support.
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Arithmetic first: 600 × ₹310 = ₹1,86,000; 600 × ₹265 = ₹1,59,000; 600 × ₹210 = ₹1,26,000. All three fit under ₹2,00,000, so cost alone cannot decide.
- A (cotton poplin): best comfort and sweat absorption, good appearance, but shrinks and creases badly and needs ironing. The previous failure shows a sample did not predict the washed garment. Highest cost, leaving only ₹14,000 margin.
- C (100% polyester): cheapest and strongest, dries fast, but traps heat, shows sweat patches and holds odour. Poor for children walking 2–4 km at 80% humidity - a false economy on comfort.
- B (67:33 poly-cotton): polyester gives strength, shape retention and low shrinkage; cotton gives absorbency and a presentable finish. Mid-price, leaving ₹41,000 margin.
Recommend B, with written specifications and a pre-production shrinkage test. It satisfies all four criteria - cost, comfort, two-year durability, appearance - and is the standard choice for humid coastal schools.
2. What technical conditions and tests should go into the purchase order? Explain why 'good quality cloth' fails as a specification.
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Write numbers, not adjectives:
- fibre composition and blend percentage; yarn count (e.g. 40s × 40s); ends and picks per inch or GSM
- residual shrinkage ≤ 2% after three washes at 60°C, tested on a specimen cut from the bulk lot, not from the presentation sample
- colour fastness to washing, rubbing and light of at least grade 4 on the grey scale
- dimensional stability of trouser length; seam strength; shade matching across lots
- pre-shrunk fabric, or a cutting allowance for shrinkage
- a penalty or return clause if the tested lot fails, and a test report attached to each supply
Why adjectives fail: 'good quality cloth' is unenforceable and shifts all risk to the school. The earlier failure happened because the sample was not the bulk and no shrinkage limit existed. A number converts a complaint into a claim, and the school - a large repeat buyer - has the bargaining power to demand evidence.
3. Respond to the member who wants to buy the cheapest lot and replace it next year, and to the parent asking about 'good quality cloth'.
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To the cheap-replacement member: ₹1,26,000 × 2 years = ₹2,52,000, which is more than option B bought once, before counting fresh measuring, stitching and disruption each year. Polyester uniforms will also become unwearable in the heat long before they wear out, so the saving is on paper only. Reject the plan on cost arithmetic, not on taste.
To the parent: explain that quality is not one word. Show the three numbers that decide it - blend, shrinkage limit, fastness grade - and say the order will now carry them along with a test report.
This is also a lesson for the students in consumer behaviour: the school is a buyer with power. Power is used by demanding evidence and a penalty clause, not by adding adjectives to a tender.