Durability and Performance Testing
Our products are engineered to perform, and are built to last. We achieve this through rigorously testing our products both in the real world and the lab. We use a variety of ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials), AATCC (American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards to evaluate our fabrics and garments to ensure they work. We perform these tests both at our factories, and also at a third-party testing facility, Modern Testing Services just a town over from our design studio.
Abrasion Testing
MARTINDALE ABRASION (ASTM D4966)
This machine cycles swatches of fabric with a sandpaper-like weight on top, and runs between 15,000 to 25,000 revolutions to simulate daily wear. Visual inspection for fabric wear-through helps us determine how well a fabric can withstand daily abrasion.
Shrinkage Testing
DIMENSIONAL STABILITY TO WASHING (AATCC 135)
Different types of washing machines, all computer controlled can run anywhere from 1-20 wash cycles back to back to accelerate the wash/dry wear cycle. This is usually completed in tandem with the other strength tests before and after washing cycles to show how the fabric will age. Fabrics and garments are then measured to determine the stretch (positive dimensional change) or shrinkage (negative dimensional change) as percentage change of their original length.
Tear Strength Testing
ELMENDORF TEAR (ASTM D1424)
This device pulls apart two ends of a seam with increasing amounts of force until the seam begins to tear. The force where the seam tears is the maximum tear strength of the seam (expressed in weight).
Pilling Testing
RANDOM TUMBLE PILL (ASTM D3512)
This machine tumbles a swatch of fabric that occassionally will become entangled with the spikes on the rotor. After a given number of revolutions the number of pulled yarns are counted to quantify how easily the fabric will have yarn runs. The range is 1 for very severe pilling to 5 for no pilling, with ASTM photographic standards for comparison.
Tensile Strength Testing
TENSILE STRENGTH (ASTM D5034)
This machine pulls and cycles fabric to determine its elasticity, and strength over time, and can go through thousands of cycles and monitor how well a fabric maintains it’s properties after wear.
Breathability Testing
TEXTILE AIRFLOW PERMEABILITY (ISO 9237)
This testing apparatus pulls air through a fabric and modulates suction to maintain a 100kPa pressure differential. The suction volumetric flowrate is measured to determine airflow through the fabric.
