Textile & Fabric Testing Solutions

Meet Quality & Regulatory Standards of Your Destination Market

Our full-range quality assurance solutions will help you meet the quality and regulation standards of your destination market. We offer laboratory tests for all modern textiles, including:

• Textile and canvas rolls

• Home textiles, carpeting, curtains, and upholstery

• Textile checks on finished products (garments, apparel, accessories, toys)

Our testing services help textile mills, manufacturers, importers, and retailers ensure that their products meet their own quality standards and the requirements of their destination markets.

Risk Mitigation for Textile & Fabric Manufacturing

Changing regulations and varying enforcement for different markets presents a compliance challenge for mills, manufacturers, importers, and retailers. Our team of experts is here to help you mitigate risk with the appropriate inspections, tests, and certifications.

Common challenges we help our clients overcome:

• Understanding regulatory compliance

• Selecting the right tests for your market

• Conducting independent third party testing

• Delivering lab test reports

• Attaining recognized product certifications

• Creating corrective action plans

Our Textile & Fabric Testing Expertise

Mechanical Testing

Our experts conduct thorough checks of your merchandise, following detailed checklists compiled based on your requirements, international regulations, safety standards, and our extensive know-how.

We offer the following physical and mechanical tests to assess the quality of your textiles:

• Performance: abrasion or piling (Martindale, ICI)

• Dimensional stability: torque, shrinkage, elongation, stretch and recovery

• Weather testing: waterproof, windproof, thermal, spray test

• Thermal and water vapor resistance / permeability

• Burn test (for 100% cotton textiles)

• Stiffness and bending

• Seam strength (for sewn articles)

• Tearing strength, penetration resistance

• Thickness, compression, and recovery (for floor coverings)

• Tensile properties

• Optical evaluation (appearance after the desired care treatment)

Laboratory Testing

Our laboratory tests help you navigate the safety requirements and meet the standards of your destination market. We have labs around the world and our experts stay up-to-date with the latest regulatory requirements and test methods.

General Lab Tests for Textiles

• APEO testing

• Recycled polyester (rPET) fabric testing

• Restricted substances screening for raw materials

• Fiber identification

• Eco-textile testing

• Banned azo dyes and colorants

• Colorfastness check (CF to light, ozone, burnt gas fumes, phenolic yellowing perspiration, water, bleach, abrasion)

• Antibacterial and antimicrobial testing

• Formaldehyde testing

• Pentachlorophenol (PCP) testing

• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) testing

• Dimensional stability and appearance evaluation after laundering cycles

• Heavy metals in surface coatings

EU Textile Standards & Regulations

• General Product Safety Directive (2001/95/EC)

• REACH (Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals)

• Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) Screening

• Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 on textile fibre names and related labelling and marking of the fibre composition of textile products

USA and Canada Textile Standards & Regulations

• AATCC 8 Colorfastness to Crocking (wet & dry)

• AATCC 15 Colorfastness to Perspiration

• AATCC 16.3 Option 3 Colorfastness to Light

• AATCC 106 Colorfastness to Sea Water

• AATCC 107 Colorfastness to Water

• AATCC 116 Colorfastness to Crocking (rotary)

• AATCC 135 Dimensional Stability of Fabric for Home Laundering

• AATCC 150 Dimensional Changes of Garmet to Home Laundering

• AATCC 162 Colorfastness to Chlorinated (Pool) Water

• AATCC 112 Formaldehyde Release from Fabric (quantitative) – sealed jar method

• AATCC 94-2017 Formaldehyde (spot test)

• 16 CFR 1610 Flammability of Clothing Textiles

• 16 CFR 1611 Flammability of Vinyl Plastic Film

• 16 CFR 1615 & 1616, Flammability of Children’s Sleepwear

• 16 CFR 1500.51-53 Attachment Strength

• 16 CFR 423 Care Labeling

• 16 CFR 303 Fiber Content Label

• ASTM D 1230 Standard Test Method for Flammability of Apparel Textiles

• ASTM D 4151 Standard Test Method for Flammability of Blankets

• Canadian Textile Flammability Regulations (SOR/2016-194) – Bedding Textile

• Canadian Textile Flammability Regulations (SOR/2016-194) – Non-bedding Textile

• Canadian Toys Regulations (SOR/2011-17) Item 34, Flammability Requirement of Hair or Mane

• Canadian Toys Regulations (SOR/2011-17) Item 32, Flammability Requirement of Outer Covering

• Canadian Toys Regulations (SOR/2011-17) Item 33, Flammability Requirement of Yarn

• Canadian Toys Regulations (SOR/2011-17) Item 21, Celluloid or Cellulose Nitrate

• CPSIA Lead Content in Surface Coatings

• CPSIA Lead Content in Substrates

• CPSIA Phthalates Content

• Cross Cut Adhesion – ASTM D3359

• Polymer Identification – FTIR

Other Standards and Regulations

• China – GB 18401 testing

• China – GB 31701 testing

• CPAI-84, Flammability of Camping Tents

Don’t see what you need? Send us a note with your request. This is a limited list of tests we can conduct.

Physical Testing of Textiles: From Fiber to Finished Product

Fibers, yarns and threads are the essential elements of the textile industry, and, in this order, they represent the stages of textile production: identifying the ideal raw fiber; creating a fabric; and tying together the finished product.

It's important to establish regular testing habits from the very start, so you can guarantee product quality to your consumers without second-guessing whether a fiber or stitch will hold up to repeated use.

Fibers

Fiber Identification is an important first step when developing the base for your textile product. Various laboratory methods are available to identify the structural, physical and chemical properties of a fiber, including microscopic, burn and solubility tests.

Establishing the identity of the fiber helps the manufacturer to first understand whether or not it is suitable for its intended end use and, if so, what is the best way to take care of the fabric made with these fibers. This in turn will inform label making and any further applicable care instructions required by the product.

Once the precise properties of the fiber have been identified, further strength tests can be performed to determine a fiber’s other qualities, such as:

• Tensile strength - the amount of stress a fiber can endure before it fractures

• Yield strength - the amount of stress required to cause permanent damage to the fiber

• Elongation - the length a fiber will gain under stress before it fractures

QIMA uses all national and international physical testing standards for fibers, which simulate real life conditions associated with your particular product and can help you make performance predictions about the fiber's intended end use.

Yarn

Once the proper fiber has been selected, the next concern for textile production is the spinning of yarns - the intermediate stage in the transformation of raw fibers into finished products. Physical testing can bring more quality checks to the raw fibers and measure the quality of fabric production.

More tensile strength testing can be applied at this stage, as well as fabric abrasion testing, which is particularly important for heavy-use items, such as upholstery and carpeting. Abrasion testing for textiles has had a lot of time to develop valid, real-use simulation methods since its first use by Bell Telephone Laboratories to test the braided coverings of telephone wires.

ASTM D4158 Testing Standard for textile abrasion recognizes the multitude of factors contributing to a fabric’s resistance to abrasion, like fiber properties and dimensions, yarn structure, and added treatments such as chemicals. Still, it concludes with the assertion that: “Experience has shown in many instances, that relative results obtained with this instrument when used on a series of fabrics, agreed with those obtained based upon performance in end use.”

The most rigorous testing procedures performed by a knowledgeable testing service can put you in the best position to make informed design and production choices which will ensure your end product can stand up to repeated use.

Thread Quality: Sewing It All Together

For apparel, sewing thread accounts for only around 1% of an item’s total mass. However, its importance to the longevity of the garment cannot be overstated. High-quality fibers and fabrics will be wasted without the right quality thread and sewing methods designed to hold items together without fraying, unraveling or losing dimensional stability.

Sewing threads must stand up to an extremely high-speed sewing process - as fast as 12,000 stitches per minute - without becoming warped or weakened in the process. The integrity of your sewing thread can be measured with a range of physical tests, including:

• Thread diameter

• Shrinkage (sewing thread is subjected to high heat during machine stitching)

• Thread friction

• Uniformity

• Tensile strength and elongation

• Thread count (for finished products)

Inspecting the thread count of your merchandise as it is being produced will counter any attempt by the factory to short-change you on either production time or materials. You’ve likely spent a great deal of effort consulting with textile manufacturing experts to determine the optimal thread count for your product, and any deviation from that standard, whether purposeful or negligent, would undermine the quality you strive for. QIMA's comprehensive factory inspection service will help you keep eyes on the production line so you can know for sure that your established production methods are being followed.

Get Your Textiles Tested by QIMA

Tell us your product type and destination market — we'll recommend the right tests.

Certifications for the Textile Industry

Show your customers your products have superior quality with a recognized certification. We provide certification for all types of fabrics and textiles. We can help you certify your products have been manufactured with adherence to good chemical management practices and sustainable sourcing principles. You may choose one of the following certification schemes: In-house/fit-for-use quality and test marks

Book new tests, view pending orders, and access results from your mobile device through our online platform.

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