2018 new AATCC Laundering Conditions approved
In January 2018, several AATCC research committees approved revised test methods with aligned, standard laundering conditions. These conditions will be applied to additional methods over the following months and are not expected to change again for some time. The standard conditions will ensure more repeatable testing within and among labs over time.
- TM88B-2018, Smoothness of Seams in Fabrics after Repeated Home Laundering
- TM88C-2018, Retention of Creases in Fabrics after Repeated Home Laundering
- TM124-2018, Smoothness Appearance of Fabrics after Repeated Home Laundering
- TM135-2018, Dimensional Changes of Fabrics after Home Laundering
- TM143-2018, Appearance of Apparel and Other Textile End Products after Home Laundering
- TM150-2018, Dimensional Changes of Garments after Home Laundering
For those wanting more options, new laboratory procedures provide both standard and alternate conditions. The alternate tables include conditions for high-efficiency washing machines and detergent.
- LP1-2018, Home Laundering: Machine Washing (supersedes Monograph 6)
- LP2-2018, Home Laundering: Hand Washing (supersedes Monograph 5)
LP1 and LP2 are complete laundering protocols that may be used in coordination with appearance evaluation, flammability preparation, durability testing, or other procedures. LP1 replaces M6 but provides considerable additional information.
For 2018 only, the downloadable AATCC 2018 Home Laundering Supplement includes all eight official AATCC laundering standards approved since publication of the 2018 AATCC Technical Manual. These documents are available ONLY as downloadable PDFs for 2018. The supplement will be discontinued at the end of 2018 and all standards contained therein will appear in the 2019 AATCC Technical Manual.
Order new laundering standards here
https://members.aatcc.org/store/launder/2214.
Laundering Equipment
New washing machines and tumble dryers reported by the manufacturers to meet the parameters in LP1 are listed on the AATCC website. AATCC does not verify the specifications of washing machines or dryers and cannot provide information on obtaining these machines.
See washer and dryer lists here
Background
For many years, laundering conditions and washing machine specifications were included in various AATCC Test Methods. They were updated by the test method committees as needed.
In 1984, machine parameters were moved to M6, Standardization of Home Laundry Test Conditions and maintained by AATCC Research Committee RA88, Home Laundering Technology.
From 1984 to 2017, M6 gradually expanded to include parameters for a wide range of home washing machines. There was no clear correlation among these machines. As technology changed, it became difficult for labs to obtain washers meeting the published specifications.
Options
As laundering became more confusing and machines more difficult to find, committees began looking for ways to make test methods and monographs more practical for lab use.
One option was to replace all laundering details in the methods with a reference to M6. This eliminated conflict between test method parameters and monograph parameters, but still left labs with a choice of seven tables and the prospect of more to be added every year or so as home laundering technology advanced. Most of those present at a recent RA88 meeting rejected this approach. Labs adopt standard test methods to make it easier to compare results; constantly-changing conditions only make valid comparisons more difficult.
The proposal eventually adopted was to return all relevant laundering details to the test methods.
Standard Conditions
Each test method now indicates one set of standard laundering parameters and instructions. These are the same parameters that were historically included in the methods and those used to establish precision values. The intention is to keep these standard conditions in place for the foreseeable future.
As for most other test methods, laundering equipment and procedures are now standardized. These parameters may not represent the exact laundering practices of every consumer, but they provide a common baseline for comparison. Imagine if you changed the force of a crockmetre to correspond with the average weight of your consumer in any given year!
Even when lab tests do not perfectly replicate real-life scenarios (they rarely do), a well-designed method provides meaningful relative evaluations of various materials. Every consumer will not experience exactly the 1.4 % dimensional change reported in lab testing of a fabric, but most of them probably will experience less change for this material than for one that showed 5.4 % dimensional change in lab testing.
Alternate Conditions
Of course, it is not practical for all labs to immediately replace multiple washing machines purchased over several years with those meeting standard conditions.
As noted above, LP1 includes alternate conditions as well as the standard conditions included in the test methods. Labs who choose to use the alternate conditions for established test methods should indicate this as a modification.
The laboratory procedures for laundering also serve another purpose. There are several common evaluations performed before and/or after laundering that until now, had to reference dimensional change or other unrelated test methods for laundering instructions. The withdrawn M6 document was insufficient because it did not include information such as how much detergent or how large a load to use. LP1 includes all the materials and instructions required for home laundering in a washing machine. LP2 covers hand laundering.
AATCC is the world’s leading not-for-profit association serving textile professionals since 1921. AATCC, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC, USA, provides test method development, quality control materials, and professional networking for members in about 50 countries throughout the world.
https://www.aatcc.org/test/washers/
AATCC Adds New Sponsor Browzwear to 2018 C2C Student Design Competition
A new sponsor, Browzwear, has been added to the 2018 Concept 2 Consumer® Student Design Competition, “All Day Adventures in Activewear”. Browzwear will award the first prize entry with a Macbook Pro, a VStitcher software license, and a paid internship. They will also award the second prize entry with a VStitcher software license and a paid internship. The Browzwear internship will be an opportunity to work closely with the Browzwear 3D product specialist team and learn the most advanced 3D software for apparel. The interns will learn to use 3D in the design process and gain an understanding of how important 3D is within the fashion industry today, from design all the way through to merchandising and sales. The skills and knowledge gained will prepare the interns for great jobs and other opportunities in the industry. Interns may choose to work in either the NYC or Corvallis, OR office.
The 2018 “All Day Adventures in Activewear”- themed competition will challenge students to design a line for a specific outdoor or indoor athletic activity (cycling, running, group fitness, hiking, etc.) that must be able to transition to everyday wear. This new line should enhance the athletic enthusiast’s experience while also transitioning to everyday wear.
Students can enter the contest individually or work in teams. Complete guidelines for the contest are available online.
AATCC is delighted to welcome Browzwear as a sponsor along with existing sponsors, Pantone, Spoonflower, Datacolor, and CLO 3D fashion design software. Team entries will divide the below prizes among all members.
- 1st place earns USD 1000 from AATCC, Macbook Pro with a 1-year VStitcher software license, and a paid internship from Browzwear, Pantone Cotton Passport, USD 100 Spoonflower Gift Certificate, Datacolor Spyder5, & 1 year of CLO 3D fashion design software.
- 2nd place earns USD 750 from AATCC, 1-year VStitcher software license and a paid internship from Browzwear, Pantone Cotton Passport, USD 100 Spoonflower Gift Certificate, Datacolor Spyder5, & 6 months of CLO 3D fashion design software.
- Honorable Mention (2 prizes) each earns USD 100 from AATCC, 1-year VStitcher software license from Browzwear, USD50 Spoonflower Gift Certificate, Datacolor Spyder5, & 3 months of CLO 3D fashion design software.
Entries are due April 11, 2018 and winners will be announced by May 14, 2018.
AATCC is the world’s leading not-for-profit association serving textile professionals since 1921. AATCC, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC, USA, provides test method development, quality control materials, and professional networking for members in about 50 countries throughout the world.
AATCC honours Hauser with the Olney Medal
Peter J. Hauser is this year’s recipient of the AATCC Olney Medal Award for his substantial work, as industry scientist and textile chemistry Professor, in industrial textile wet processing research and development.
Hauser’s early research involved developing and commercially verifying a mathematical model for continuous indigo yarn dyeing. He went on to develop cationic bleach activators for cotton bleaching, as well as demonstrating that cationized cotton is a viable, sustainable approach to dyeing cotton with fobre reactive dyes, which eliminates the need for electrolytes and produces deeper shades with less water and energy. Most recently, Hauser has been pioneering research in the practical use of atmospheric pressure plasma for textile finishing.
Hauser has authored or co-authored 120 peer-reviewed papers, three book chapters, one book on chemical textile finishing, and edited two books on textile wet processing. He and co-workers have been issued 10 US patents.
Hauser has been a member of AATCC since 1977. He served as AATCC President-Elect (2011-2012), President (2013-2014), and Immediate Past-President and chair of the Appropriations Committee (2015-2016). He chaired AATCC Foundation Board of Directors while President of AATCC and continues to serve on the Foundation Board. Currently, he serves on the Appropriations, Building and Grounds, and Employee Benefits Committees. He also serves on various research committees.
Established in 1944, in honour of Louis Atwell Olney, the founder and first president of AATCC, the Olney Medal recognizes outstanding achievement in textile or polymer chemistry or other fields of chemistry of major importance to textile science. The award consists of a gold medal, a scroll, and an honorarium.
Presentation of the medal each year is a highlight of AATCC’s International Conference. This year, the conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency, Greenville, SC, USA from 6-8, 2018. Hauser will deliver the traditional Olney Medal Address on March 8 at 8:15 a.m. The title of his talk is “Cationized Cotton: Opportunities and Challenges.”
2018 Content added to Online AATCC Standards Subscription
Organizations can subscribe to multi-user online access to current and historic AATCC test methods, evaluation procedures, and other technical documents. Those documents now include all new and revised standards published in the 2018 AATCC Technical Manual.
Besides convenient, online access, subscriptions include current and historic version (since 2016) and a version comparison tool to instantly identify changes with color-coded highlighting.
You can search, bookmark, and set up alerts for the standards you use most often. The platform even allows you to add notes and annotation to share with colleagues.
Cross-referenced AATCC standards can be accessed simply by clicking the referenced document number. Because the AATCC Standards Collection is on the ASTM Compass platform, you can also jump directly to cited ASTM methods.
New Methods for 2018
- TM207-2017, Seam Twist in Garments Before and After Home Laundering
- TM208-2017, Water Resistance: Hydrostatic Pressure Test Using a Restraint
Revised Standards for 2018
- TM20A-2017, Fiber Analysis: Quantitative
- TM22-2017, Water Repellency: Spray Test
- TM30-2017, Antifungal Activity, Assessment on Textile Materials: Mildew and Rot Resistance of Textile Materials
- TM42-2017, Water Resistance: Impact Penetration Test
- TM66-2017, Wrinkle Recovery of Woven Fabrics: Recovery Angle
- TM89-2017, Mercerization in Cotton
- TM127-2017, Water Resistance: Hydrostatic Pressures Test
- TM128-2017, Wrinkle Recovery of Fabrics: Appearance Method
- TM154-2017, Thermal Fixation Properties of Disperse Dyes
- TM159-2017, Transfer of Acid and Premetallized Acid Dyes on Nylon
- TM169-2017, Weather Resistance of Textiles: Xenon Lamp Exposure
- TM179-2017, Skew Change in Fabrics After Home Laundering
- TM182-2017, Relative Colour Strength of Dyes in Solution
- TM189-2017, Fluorine Content of Carpet Fibers
- TM200-2017, Drying Rate of Textiles at their Absorbent Capacity: Air Flow Method
- EP9-2017, Visual Assessment of Color Difference of Textiles
- M1-2017, AATCC Standard Reference Detergents and Laundry Detergents in General
- M4-2017, Overview of Liquid Fabric Softeners Used in Home Laundering
For more information about AATCC Standards on ASTM Compass, visit https://members.aatcc.org/store/2017c/1867/ or https://www.astm.org/BOOKSTORE/COMPS/SUB-AATCCONLINE.htm