Two products defined by one number each
A coat hanger is defined by hook strength. A laundry basket is defined by airflow.
Everything else — colour, shape, the brand moulded into the shoulder — is decoration. A hanger whose hook opens under a wet coat drops the coat; a basket with a solid wall traps damp and smells within a day. Both failures are decided by a millimetre or two of geometry that nobody puts on a quotation.
Hangers: the hook is the specification
The hook carries the entire load in bending, and it is the thinnest section of the part. Three numbers decide whether it works:
| Parameter | Typical value | Failure if missed |
|---|---|---|
| Hook opening | 32–42 mm | Below 32 mm it will not clear a 30 mm wardrobe rail |
| Hook section | 4.5–6.5 mm diameter equivalent | Thinner, the hook straightens under load |
| Static load, 24 h | 5–8 kg without permanent set | Lower, a wet overcoat deforms it permanently |
| Hook-to-shoulder transition | Fillet R2–R3 | Sharp transition cracks first |
| Shoulder width | 380–420 mm (adult) | Narrower, jacket shoulders crease |
The static load test matters more than any impact test. Hangers do not get dropped; they get loaded and left. A PP hook that holds 8 kg for a minute and 4 kg for a month is a normal outcome, because PP creeps at room temperature under sustained load. Test at 24 hours, measure the residual opening, and reject anything that has opened more than 1 mm.
Material. PP homopolymer is standard: cheap, tough enough, and it takes a coloured masterbatch cleanly. PS gives a harder, glossier, glass-like finish that sells well in retail and cracks the first time it is dropped on a hard floor — which is exactly what happens in a wardrobe. ABS sits between them: better gloss than PP, better impact than PS, higher cost than both. For thin decorative hangers, PS with a small amount of impact modifier is a common compromise.
Recycled PP works well here because the section is thick relative to the load. Colour consistency is the weak point; a batch of 20,000 hangers in "black" can arrive in three shades, and on a retail shelf that is visible.
Shoulder and clip design by garment type
| Garment | Shoulder width | Feature that matters |
|---|---|---|
| Shirt, blouse | 380–400 mm | Contour curve, no sharp edge at the end |
| Suit jacket | 400–420 mm | Wide, rounded shoulder to support the pad |
| Trousers | 350–380 mm | Bar with a non-slip surface, or spring clips |
| Skirt | 350–380 mm | Two clips at 25–35 mm opening |
| Delicate knitwear | 380–420 mm | Flat, wide shoulder — narrow hangers stretch knits |
Notches are the detail buyers ask for and then discover is wrong. A notch 8 mm deep holds a strap; a notch 15 mm deep lets the strap slide out again. The useful range is 10 to 12 mm, with a slight undercut so the strap sits below the shoulder line.
Spring clips are a separate component with their own specification: clip opening force 8–15 N, grip surface with teeth or a TPE pad, and a spring that survives 5,000 cycles. A clip that marks the garment is a return; a clip that lets go is a worse one.
Laundry baskets: ventilation and volume
| Parameter | Typical | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Nominal volume | 40–90 L | Below 40 L it fills in two days for a family |
| Vent opening area | 12–25% of side wall | Below 12%, damp laundry stays damp |
| Vent slot width | 6–12 mm | Narrower clogs with lint, wider loses stiffness |
| Base clearance | 10–20 mm on feet | Flat base traps water and marks the floor |
| Handle opening | 4 fingers, ≥ 90 × 35 mm | Smaller, a full basket cannot be carried one-handed |
| Load when full | 8–15 kg | Dry laundry is light; wet towels are not |
The structural problem is that ventilation and stiffness pull in opposite directions. A wall with 25 percent open area loses roughly half its bending stiffness, so a ventilated basket needs either a thicker wall or a rib pattern around the openings. The cheap solution is a ring of ribs at the rim and a horizontal rib between vent rows — this is the first thing a low-cost tool omits, and it is why cheap baskets flex and then crack at the rim.
Nesting decides shipping cost. A 2:1 nest halves the container volume for empty stock. Most retail hampers nest 1.5:1 to 1.8:1 because a deeper taper looks cheap on the shelf.
Handles and hinges
Laundry baskets fail at the handle more than anywhere else. A moulded-in handle with a 3–4 mm wall and a 10 mm radius at each end carries 15 kg without yielding. A flat strap handle with sharp ends tears out at the first heavy load.
For lidded hampers, the lid hinge is the second failure point. A living hinge needs 0.4–0.6 mm thickness and a PP grade with good flex-crack resistance; a separate pin hinge costs more but survives far longer and can be replaced.
Mould and smell
Warm, damp, still air grows biofilm, and the design decisions that prevent it are the same ones that improve drying: vent area, base clearance, no enclosed cavities, and — most importantly — no sharp internal corners where lint collects. A 5 mm internal fillet everywhere costs nothing in the tool and makes the basket washable.
Avoid double walls with a gap under 3 mm. That gap cannot be cleaned and always turns dark.
RFQ checklist
- Garment types the hanger must carry, and the heaviest single item.
- Static load and hold time, with an acceptance limit on residual hook opening.
- Wardrobe rail diameter, or the hook opening range required.
- Shoulder width and notch depth; clip force if clips are used.
- Basket volume, vent area percentage and slot width.
- Load when full, and whether it must be carried one-handed.
- Nesting ratio and pack density per carton.
- Material and recycled-content claim, with the masterbatch approval route.
Where the cost hides
Hangers are sold by the thousand and shipped in cartons, so pack density dominates landed cost: a hanger that stacks into a 40 mm pitch ships three times as many per carton as one with a deep hook. Ask for units per carton rather than unit price.
For baskets, it is nesting ratio and cycle time. A basket with a full vent pattern needs a tool with many core pins, and each pin adds cooling time and maintenance. A quote that is 15 percent cheaper usually has 30 percent less vent area, which is visible in the finished part and invisible in the quotation.
Related product categories
The materials and part types discussed above are grouped in our sourcing directory:
