What is garment testing?

 Lab Testing-

Consumer goods are subject to a various legal regulations and standards. While these are designed to help ensure the safety of the consumer, they can be confusing and hard to stay abreast of. You can rely on the expertise and technical resources of HQTS to help ensure your compliance with relevant regulations, as well as your own technical specifications.

Testing is important, mainly for customer satisfaction of the textile product as well as to ensure product quality for the market in which the textile manufacturer competes. Testing is also important in order to control the manufacturing process and cost.

Here 2 types of test we have to do as below-

(A) Mechanical Test.

1.       Fabric Composition. 

2.       Dimensional Stability after wash- (-) Sign for shrinkage & (+) Sign for extension of garments measurements. 

3.       Appearance After wash- Garments should be laid 3hrs under 8 LBS pressure. Checking overall appearance of the garments like pilling, fuzzing, seam puckering, accessories, body fabric, deterioration of print, broken stitch, rating of color change & staining, like color change, staining on acetate. Cotton, nylon, polyester, acrylic, wool. Grey scale rating is based on the 5-step of 1 to 5 where 1 is bad and 5 is good. 

4.       Pilling Resistance (Not for denim and corduroy): Pilling Standard- 3-4 grey scale matching, A pill, colloquially known as a bobble, is a small ball of fibers that forms on a piece of cloth. 'Pill' is also a verb for the formation of such balls. Pilling is the formation of fuzzy balls of fiber on the surface of a fabric that remain attached to the fabric. ISO-12945-2:2000 Martindale Method with 415g loading mass, 200 cycles:
Grade 5 – no change
Grade 4 – slight surface fuzzing
Grade 3 – moderate surface pilling. Pills of varying size and density partially covering the surface
Grade 2 – distinct surface piling. Pills of various size and density covering a large proportion of the surface
Grade 1 – severe pilling covering whole of the fabric surface.

5.       Seam Strength & Seam Slippage- (Not for elastic fabric)- Type of machine used: CRE

Both the parameters measure the performance of seam. Seam strength refers to the strength when seam finally ruptures or when the fabric breaks. However before rupturing there is an unacceptable opening in the seam which makes the seam 'failed' commercially even when there is no visible rupture. Seam slippage measures that Seam strength depends upon stitch type, thread strength, stitches per inch, thread tension, seam type and seam efficiency of the material Seam slippage depends upon the stitch rate, the weave structure of the fabric and the width of the seam allowance There is another term called 'yarn slippage' which measures the shifting of warp yarn over weft yarn to render the garment unusable. Yarn slippage depends upon a low number of warp or filling yarn, two shallow seam allowance, too tight a fit and improper seam construction.   

6.       Abrasion Resistance (Not for denim): Yarn break (30000 RUBS) & Shade change (5000 RUBS) 

7.       Tensile Strength (Not for elastic fabric)- Warp & Weft strength check by CRE machine, weight will be KG like 22kg. 

8.       Color Fastness To Water- Rating of color change & staining, grey scale rating is based on the 5 step scale of 1 of 5, where 1 is bad and 5 is good. 

9.       Color Fastness To Light- A fabric’s degree of resistance to the fading effect of light Colorfastness to light is a measure of how permanent a color is on fabric after exposure to light. Both natural and synthetic fabrics are subject to discoloration under UV rays (sunlight) and fluorescent light In the test method ISO-105-B02 the tested sample is exposed to the influence of the light of a xenon lamp under certain conditions. Light fastness grading is determined by comparing the level of color loss of the tested sample with blue standards. For example, grade 5 means that the characteristics of color fastness of the tested sample are similar to the characteristics of the blue standard 5 Grade 5 – no fading, Grade 4 – slight fading, Grade 1 – high degree of fading Upholstery fabrics should have a minimum rating of 4 regardless of end use. Adorn upholstery fabrics have a rating of 4-5.

10.    Color Fastness To Perspiration- Resistance to color change due to perspiration.ISO-105-E104:1994 determines resistance to color change due to acidic or alkaline perspiration.
Grade 5 – no color change
Grade 1 – high degree of color change, Adorn upholstery fabrics have a rating of 4-5.

11.    Color Fastness To Rubbing ( Dry staining & Wet staining)- Transfer of color from the surface of a colored fabric onto another surface by rubbing or repeated contact Test method ISO-105×12:2001 uses a standard white cotton fabric in both dry and wet state that is rubbed against the surface of the test fabric. After rubbing under controlled pressure for a specific number of times the amount of color transferred to the white test squares is compared to a color chart and a rating is established. Grade 5 – no color transfer Grade 1 – high degree of color transfer For upholstery fabrics ACT guidelines recommend dry crocking Grade 4 minimum and wet crocking Grade 3 minimum. Adorn upholstery fabrics have a rating of 4-5 for both dry and wet crocking /rubbing.

12.    Twisting

13.    Fabric Weight

14.    Elastic Behavior

15.    Tear Strength

16.    Odour Test (Only for China Order)- Smelling of mould, Smelling of high boiling point petroleum, Smelling of fish, Smelling of aromatic hydrocarbon

 

(B) Chemical Test:

1.       Formaldehyde- Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable, strong-smelling chemical/gas that is used in building materials and to produce many household products. It is used in pressed-wood products, such as particleboard, plywood, and fiberboard; glues and adhesives; permanent-press fabrics; paper product coatings; and certain insulation materials. In addition, formaldehyde is commonly used as an industrial fungicide, germicide, and disinfectant, and as a preservative in mortuaries and medical laboratories. Formaldehyde also occurs naturally in the environment. It is produced in small amounts by most living organisms as part of normal metabolic processes.

When formaldehyde is present in the air at levels exceeding 0.1 ppm, some individuals may experience adverse effects such as watery eyes; burning sensations in the eyes, nose, and throat, coughing; wheezing; nausea; and skin irritation & long-term exposure can lead to cancer. Some people are very sensitive to formaldehyde, whereas others have no reaction to the same level of exposure. 

2.       PH Value- PH is measure of the hydrogen ion concentration of a solution. A PH of 7 is neutral where less than 7 is acidic & more than 7 is basic. 

3.       AZO dye Stuff (24 amines)- Azo dye, any of a large class of synthetic organic dyes that contain nitrogen as the azo group −N=N− as part of their molecular structures; more than half the commercial dyes belong to this class. Depending on other chemical features, these dyes fall into several categories defined by the fibers for which they have affinity or by the methods by which they are applied.

               The oldest methods for applying azo dyes to cotton involved successive      treatments with solutions of two chemical components that react to form the dye within the fiber or on its surface. Dyes applied in this way are . (100 of 307 words)

4.       Phenols (For Natural fiber and Leather)- Application of concentrated phenol to the skin can cause severe skin damage. Short-term exposure to high levels of phenol has caused irritation of the respiratory tract and muscle twitching in animals. Longer-term exposure to high levels of phenol caused damaged to the heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs in animals Phenol is a colorless-to-white solid when pure. Commercial phenol is a liquid that evaporates more slowly than water Phenol has a distinct odor that is sickeningly sweet and tarry.

5.       Total Lead (For Scrapable print- Rubber Print, Water Print, Coating & Print)- Lead is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children. Lead in the body is distributed to the brain, liver, kidney and bones. Lead in bone is released into blood during pregnancy and becomes a source of exposure to the developing fetus. 

6.       Total Cadmium (PU/PVC fabric & Rubber print, Water Print)- Effects of Cadmium Exposure. Cadmium is of no use to the human body and is toxic even at low levels. The negative effects of cadmium on the body are numerous and can impact nearly all systems in the body, including cardiovascular, reproductive, the kidneys, eyes, and even the brain.

Cadmium is a highly toxic substance, exposure to which can produce a wide range of health effects. Cadmium can replace zinc in the body and can bind strongly to certain biological systems, making it difficult to remove. It can build up in the kidneys and cause kidney damage. It is also been found to cause several types of cancer.

7.       Carcinogenic Test- “The term carcinogen denotes a chemical substance or a mixture of chemical substances which induce cancer or increase its incidence” (UNECE, 2004, p. 167).Carcinogens are classified according to their mode of action as genotoxic or nongenotoxic carcinogens

8.      Heavy Metals (Extractable)- Antimony, Arsenic, Barium, Cadmium, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Lead, Mercury, Nickel.

STAY WITH US WILL SEE WHY!!