Training Manual — Section 7

Garment Testing & Lab Requirements

The full lab testing reference — physical, appearance, color, chemical, functional, lab reports, and brand-specific rules.

01Physical Tests 02Appearance Tests 03Color Tests 04Chemical Tests 05Functional Tests 06Garment Lab Report Requirements 07Buyer-Specific Testing Requirements 08Sampling, Conditioning & Calibration 09Safety & Compliance Testing 10Failure Investigation & Reporting

Section 01

Physical Tests

Tests measuring fabric strength, durability, and resistance under mechanical stress.

Tensile Strength Test

Measures fabric strength when pulled.

Standard: ISO 13934

Requirement: High for woven, medium for knits

Quality Check: No tearing below standard

Tear Strength Test

Measures resistance to tearing.

Standard: ISO 13937

Requirement: Ripstop must be high

Quality Check: No sudden tear

Seam Strength Test

Checks seam durability under tension.

Standard: ISO 13935

Requirement: No seam slippage

Quality Check: Seam must not open

Abrasion Resistance Test

Measures fabric durability under rubbing.

Standard: Martindale ISO 12947

Requirement: High for outerwear

Quality Check: No holes or pilling

Section 02

Appearance Tests

Tests evaluating fabric surface, dimensional stability, and shape retention.

Pilling Resistance

Checks surface fuzz formation.

Standard: ISO 12945

Requirement: Grade 3–4 minimum

Quality Check: No heavy pilling

Dimensional Stability (Shrinkage)

Checks shrinkage after wash.

Standard: ISO 5077

Requirement: ±3% tolerance

Quality Check: No distortion

Spirality Test

Checks twisting of knit garments.

Standard: ISO 16322

Requirement: < 4%

Quality Check: No side seam twisting

Section 03

Color Tests

Tests verifying color fastness across washing, rubbing, light, and migration.

Color Fastness to Washing

Resistance of color to washing.

Standard: ISO 105-C06

Requirement: Grade 3–4 minimum

Quality Check: No fading or bleeding

Color Fastness to Rubbing

Resistance of color to dry and wet rubbing.

Standard: ISO 105-X12

Requirement: Dry ≥ 4, Wet ≥ 3

Quality Check: No color transfer

Color Fastness to Light

Resistance of color to sunlight exposure.

Standard: ISO 105-B02

Requirement: Grade 4–6 for outdoor garments

Quality Check: No heavy fading

Color Migration Test

Checks color movement between panels.

Standard: —

Requirement: No bleeding in storage

Quality Check: No transfer in polybags

Section 04

Chemical Tests

Tests ensuring chemical safety, skin compatibility, and restricted-substance compliance.

Formaldehyde Test

Checks chemical safety.

Standard: ISO 14184

Requirement: < 75 ppm

Quality Check: Must be within limit

pH Value Test

Checks skin safety.

Standard: ISO 3071

Requirement: pH 4.0–7.5

Quality Check: Within safe range

Azo Dye Test

Checks banned dyes.

Standard: —

Requirement: Must be azo-free

Quality Check: No banned amines

Heavy Metals Test

Checks harmful substances.

Standard: —

Requirement: Must meet REACH standards

Quality Check: Within REACH limits

Section 05

Functional Tests

Tests measuring performance properties of technical and outerwear garments.

Waterproof Test

Measures water resistance.

Standard: ISO 811

Requirement: 5,000–20,000 mm

Quality Check: No leakage

Breathability Test

Measures moisture vapor transmission.

Standard: ISO 15496

Requirement: 5,000–20,000 g/m²/24h

Quality Check: Sufficient vapor flow

Windproof Test

Measures air penetration resistance.

Standard: —

Requirement: No air penetration

Quality Check: Full wind block

Insulation Loft Test

Measures evenness of insulation.

Standard: —

Requirement: Even loft, no cold spots

Quality Check: Consistent fill

Section 06

Garment Lab Report Requirements

The mandatory contents and checkpoints of a complete garment lab report.

Lab Report Must Include

Buyer name
Style number
Fabric details
Test methods
Test results
Pass/Fail status
Comments
Signature & date

Quality Checkpoints

Correct standards
Correct sample size
Correct test conditions
No missing results

Section 07

Buyer-Specific Testing Requirements

Buyer manuals convert legal, market, product, material, and performance risks into test packages and approval gates.

Protocol Hierarchy

Apply destination-market law first, then buyer protocol and product specification
Confirm current manual revision and approved laboratory network
Identify development, pre-production, bulk, colourway, and renewal test stages
Obtain written approval for every deviation or waiver
Link test status to material and production release decisions

Submission Control

Select representative and worst-case colours, prints, trims, and treatments
Seal samples and record style, colour, size, lot, purchase order, and supplier
Submit complete request form, specification, care instruction, and construction details
Review every result and conditional comment, not only pass/fail status
Close failures through corrective action, retest, and authorized release

Quality Checkpoints

Current buyer manual used
Approved lab and correct test package
Reports approved before shipment release

Section 08

Sampling, Conditioning & Calibration

Laboratory validity begins with representative sampling, specimen integrity, controlled atmosphere, calibrated equipment, and method discipline.

Sample Control

Use a documented sampling plan across lots, colours, positions, and production stages
Avoid selvedges, creases, faults, and biased specimen direction unless the method requires them
Identify warp/weft or wale/course direction and avoid overlapping yarn systems
Condition according to ISO 139 or the governing method
Maintain chain of custody and retain tested and reserve material

Equipment Assurance

Calibrate force, mass, length, temperature, humidity, pressure, time, pH, and speed instruments
Perform daily verification with traceable check standards
Control consumables, detergents, adjacent fabrics, solutions, and reference scales
Record maintenance, environmental excursions, and out-of-tolerance impact reviews
Participate in proficiency testing and method correlation

Quality Checkpoints

Representative sample
Conditioning recorded
Calibration valid on test date

Section 09

Safety & Compliance Testing

Product safety testing addresses regulated chemicals, mechanical hazards, flammability, labelling, and vulnerable-user risks.

Flammability

Evaluates ignition and flame spread for the product category and market.

Standard: Market-specific regulation

Requirement: Meet applicable classification

Quality Check: Correct product category and conditioning

Small Parts & Attachment

Assesses detachment and choking hazards, especially for childrenswear.

Standard: Market/buyer protocol

Requirement: No hazardous detachment

Quality Check: All trims and production methods represented

Restricted Substances

Screens materials against legal and buyer chemical limits.

Standard: REACH / market RSL

Requirement: Within every applicable limit

Quality Check: Risk-based material and colour selection

Sharp Points & Edges

Detects accessible hazards from trims, components, or workmanship.

Standard: Market-specific method

Requirement: No accessible hazard

Quality Check: Finished product assessed as sold

Section 10

Failure Investigation & Reporting

A failed result triggers containment, technical review, root-cause analysis, corrective action, and controlled retesting.

Investigation Sequence

Verify calculation, units, conditioning, equipment, method, and specimen validity
Retain failed specimens and compare with control, approval, and bulk samples
Map affected material lots, colours, processes, styles, and orders
Separate material, construction, processing, handling, and test-system causes
Run controlled confirmation trials before bulk disposition

Report Integrity

State sample identity, condition, method edition, results, units, limits, and decision
Report individual readings as well as averages where required
Disclose deviations, subcontracted testing, uncertainty, and conditional observations
Protect report revision, authorization, distribution, and record retention
Never alter or selectively omit an unfavorable result

Quality Checkpoints

Failed lot contained
Root cause supported by evidence
Retest uses corrected representative material

Continue your training

Review color fastness standards or explore the full module library.

Color fastness

Advanced reference

Technical controls & troubleshooting

Laboratory Governance

Use ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratories where buyer programs require it
Maintain method revisions, uncertainty awareness, calibration, and proficiency records
Use representative samples identified by style, colour, size, lot, and production stage
Condition specimens and document atmosphere, preparation, direction, and repetitions
Retain tested specimens and reports according to buyer and legal retention rules
Investigate anomalous results before retesting; never replace an unfavourable valid result

Technical Test Matrix

Physical: GSM, tensile, tear, burst, seam strength, slippage, abrasion, and pilling
Dimensional: shrinkage, spirality, skew, bow, appearance after laundering
Colour: washing, rubbing, water, perspiration, light, saliva, and migration
Chemical: pH, formaldehyde, restricted aromatic amines, metals, phthalates, PFAS where applicable
Functional: waterproofness, repellency, breathability, thermal resistance, stretch recovery
Safety: attachment security, cords, flammability, sharp points, and small parts by market

Result Controls

Verify laboratory testing at incoming, first-output, inline, end-line, and final stages
Separate critical, major, and minor defects using the approved defect library
Use risk-based sampling; increase frequency after a failure or process change
Maintain shade, size, lot, roll, and bundle traceability throughout production
Quarantine nonconforming output until disposition and corrective action are approved
Confirm corrective action effectiveness on consecutive production checks

Failure Analysis

Contain affected test output and identify the last verified-good checkpoint
Use 5 Why and fishbone analysis across material, machine, method, people, and environment
Compare failed output with the sealed sample, specification, and machine settings
Correct the root cause rather than relying on repeated inspection or repair
Run a controlled trial, validate results, then release the updated process setting
Update SOP, control plan, training record, and preventive-maintenance requirement

Garment Testing & Lab Requirements

Contents

Physical Tests

Tensile Strength Test

Tear Strength Test

Seam Strength Test

Abrasion Resistance Test

Appearance Tests

Pilling Resistance

Dimensional Stability (Shrinkage)

Spirality Test

Color Tests

Color Fastness to Washing

Color Fastness to Rubbing

Color Fastness to Light

Color Migration Test

Chemical Tests

Formaldehyde Test

pH Value Test

Azo Dye Test

Heavy Metals Test

Functional Tests

Waterproof Test

Breathability Test

Windproof Test

Insulation Loft Test

Garment Lab Report Requirements

Lab Report Must Include

Quality Checkpoints

Buyer-Specific Testing Requirements

Protocol Hierarchy

Submission Control

Quality Checkpoints

Sampling, Conditioning & Calibration

Sample Control

Equipment Assurance

Quality Checkpoints

Safety & Compliance Testing

Flammability

Small Parts & Attachment

Restricted Substances

Sharp Points & Edges

Failure Investigation & Reporting

Investigation Sequence

Report Integrity

Quality Checkpoints

Continue your training

Technical controls & troubleshooting

Laboratory Governance

Technical Test Matrix

Result Controls

Failure Analysis