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Buyers beware! I had bought a woollen pullover and a couple of days ago, I put it in the washing machine like I do other sweaters. When it came out, it had shrunk to half its size and I cannot use it. I feel cheated because I paid over Rs 3,000 for it. Is there any remedy since I have already washed the pullover? Unlike acrylic or other man-made fibres (which you have obviously been washing in the machine), wool tends to shrink (or felt) when washed in a machine, unless it is specially treated chemically to prevent such “felting shrinkage”. While some woollen garments need to be only dry cleaned, some can be hand-washed at home in cold water, using a detergent meant for woollens. Yet others can be machine washed but in cold water and without allowing the machine to agitate. Some others can safely be machine-washed using a cycle meant for wool or other delicate garments and even tumble dried. It is therefore imperative that the manufacture provide specific cleaning instructions through proper care labelling. A manufacturer who fails to do it has to take responsibility for that failure. Write to the retailer and the manufacturer (if the label does not have the address of the manufacturer, write to the retailer alone) and demand a refund or a replacement. In case you fail to get redress, you will have to approach the consumer court.
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My first question is: Did the pullover carried any washing or care instructions. If it warned you against machine wash and you went ahead and resorted to it, then you may not have much of a chance of recovering the money paid for it. If not, you have every right to demand that the retailer or the manufacturer give you a replacement or a refund. In other words, for failing to provide specific washing instructions or warning you about the possibility of the garment shrinking if washed in a washing machine, the manufacturer (and also the retailer) will have to compensate you for your loss. 