Why is textile testing important?
If you have ever thought “why is it necessary to test fabrics or garments”? This is the article for you!
As an undergraduate student, I never considered textile testing as any sort of profession. The more popular areas of study were Merchandising, Product Development, or Design. While those are all necessary functions of an apparel company, there is still one “behind the scenes” function of apparel production that nobody really thinks about: Textile Testing.
Textile testing, chemistry (wet processing), or manufacturing has gained a lot more importance over the years and is certainly one of the less glamorous functions of the apparel industry. Despite this, I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Behind the curtain, these are overseas factories with large-scale manufacturing taking place. They are typically hours away from any airport by car, some very remote. There are guides, or sometimes large groups of employees to show you around. You see the incredibly monotonous hard work that takes place in these loud, hot, steamy warehouse type settings. If you have traveled to anything resembling this, you know what I mean. Then, if you are lucky, you get a tour of the third party laboratories, located in the cities that test the product. It all happens like clockwork, without any thought to the U.S.-based corporate office making decisions that dictate their work activities.
Some folks think, why should fabric or finished garments go through testing at all? Why not just save money by letting them go through production, straight to the end user (customer)? Ahhh! So glad you asked.
The #1 reason to have a testing plan for fabrics and finished garments is to ensure quality. How can you be sure the garment you are selling will hold up through normal wear and tear during the first uses? What about after it is laundered? Textile testing provides information about the physical properties of a fabric while predicting if performance will meet or exceed customer expectations. Customer returns or dissatisfaction with a product is a result of some type of failure that has occurred. Maybe the garment shrank too much after home laundering and now it’s too small. Maybe a seam broke or a hole formed after only a few uses. Whatever the case may be, there are ways to ensure quality for apparel at the very beginning stages*. This is important because after the product is manufactured, you don’t want your customers to be your quality control, discovering problems and returning it to you!
Setting product standards (Pre-Production)
Every product category needs a set of expectations such as garment size measurements, fabric performance, and any compliance-related requirements. These are typically communicated in a tech pack. This article mainly focuses on the fabric performance aspect.
Fabric/Garment specifications
Having a minimum set of requirements that each test must acheive in order to be acceptable for production and ensure quality for the product. It is during this stage that is critical: setting and agreeing upon the minimum acceptable performance with suppliers.
*The items listed above are examples of quality assurance measures that can be followed.. It is not intended to be the sole guidelines for textile quality.
Testing fabric or garments during the pre-production (development) stage and post-production are especially important if your company is claiming to have high-quality craftsmanship or a marketing claim on a website or hang tag. Having a credible, third party test report showing that the fabric or finished garment meets or exceeds the minimum requirements set forth is crucial. A quality mindset will set your company apart from the rest. You can be confident that your product stands up to whatever conditions it is exposed to. For example, outdoor fabrics for patio furniture that is marketed as “fade-resistant” should have excellent lab test results for colorfastness to light. If your company has performance marketing claims, it is important to have current test report in your files.
Lastly, It is essential to have a written record or testing standards and performance specifications for any business that is producing fabric or garments. A quality manual is an example of this. There are many resources out there to help educate about textile testing (e.g. test methods, standards for finished products, third party testing services). I have listed all my go-to resources over the years, including testing standards, equipment suppliers, and trusted third party global labs.
Testing standards & certification::
Accredited Third Party Testing Laboratories & Equipment:
https://www.sgs.com/en/our-services/connectivity-and-products/softlines-and-accessories
https://www.intertek.com/textiles-apparel/
https://www.cps.bureauveritas.com/retail/product-line/softlines
https://www.hohenstein.com/en/
https://www.eurofins.com/consumer-product-testing/industries/textile-leather/
Thank you for reading my article. If you have any suggestions to add or comments, please feel free to share or contact me.