What Is It?

Composition analysis identifies the components of a natural material.

How Is The Test Performed?

A specific weight of material is hand separated into component categories.

The test has two parts:

• The first separation classifies larger components into the following categories fibers and residue.
• The second separation classifies smaller components from a sub-specimen of animal or plant fibers category.

What Do The Results Mean?

The content analysis report gives the percentages by weight of each component category.

Why Do It?

Governments and buyers require labeling of finished products. The component percentages are the basis of the product label. The various systems for labeling help consumers and manufacturers buy and sell different quality products in a fair and level marketplace.

What Is It?

This test identifies the fibers present in a filling sample.

How Is It Done?

A sample is either examined under magnification, burned, treated with special solutions or chemically separated. Fibers are identified by distinct characteristics evident under magnification, observed during combustion or revealed during chemical separation (each fiber can be dissolved using specific chemicals).

What Do The Numbers Mean?

Results are generally given as a percentage of the fiber(s) found during testing. It can be a single fiber (#1) or a blend of two or more fibers (#2).

Why Do It?

This test is used to determine the fiber content of a filling and is generally
required for labeling. A label must state the ratio of multiple fibers.

WHAT IS IT?

Fiber Diameter (Denier) is the linear density of a natural fiber. It is defined as the weight in grams per 9000 meters of natural fiber. It correlates to the thickness of the natural fiber.

HOW IS IT DONE?

A 50g representative sample of the natural fill is prepared. 300 natural fibers are chosen at random from that selection. The 300 fibers are then weighted to the nearest 0.0001g.

WHAT DO THE NUMBERS MEAN?

The Fiber Diameter is reported in Denier. Denier is a unit of measurement of the fineness of a fiber and is equal to the fineness of a fiber weighing one gram for each 9000 meters. 

Example: A 5 Denier Wool Fiber is finer than a 10 Denier Wool Fiber.

WHY DO IT?

Fiber Diameter is used to determine the natural fiber thickness. A higher denier count tends to equate to thicker, sturdier, and more durable material, while a lower denier count tends to equate to a sheerer, softer, and silkier material.

Recommended for natural fill material.

What Is It?

Color separation tests the amount of white and dark natural material in a sample.

How Is The Test Performed?

A sample is hand separated into white, dark, and borderline colors. How white a piece is depends on how it compares to a grayscale level. Depending on requirements, the borderline category can be re-classified into white or dark natural material according to specifications.

What Do The Results Mean?

Percentages of white, dark, and borderline are reported. The percentages are based on weights.

Example:

99% white means that 99% of the weight of the sample was classified as white.

Why Do It?

Many companies request only white natural material. Dark natural material that shows through fabric can dissuade a consumer from purchasing a product. The test gives a quantitative value of how much white natural material is in the plumage sample.

WHAT IS IT?

A fiber length is one individual natural fiber. This test measures the average length of the fibers in a sample of manufactured natural staple fibers.

HOW IS IT DONE?

A 50g representative sample of the natural fill is prepared. 25 staples are chosen at random from that selection. The length of each individual staple is manually measured.

WHAT DO THE NUMBERS MEAN?

The average of the 25 staples is used to calculate the natural staple length. Results are reported as the average length of the staples in the sample.

Example:

Average: 38.3 mm

WHY DO IT?

The staple length of a fiber sample can be used to determine the relative number of natural fibers above and below a specified length. If a fiber is too long, it will not process well in spinning, and if there is a preponderance of short fibers, the yarn might have a lower-than-normal breaking strength.

Recommended for natural fill material.

What Is It?

Natural fill power is a volumetric measurement which is used to determine the approximate insulation value of natural material fillings. It measures the volume a specific amount of material occupies, when compressed with a specific amount of weight.

How Is The Test Performed?

1. Samples are conditioned according to one of the following standardized methods:

• No conditioning
• Tumble Dry Conditioning (Europe)
• Steam Conditioning (IDFB, Japan, USA)
• Water Rinse (helps determine fill power after laundering)
• Oven Bake (Chinese)

2. Samples are placed in a climate controlled room for a set period of time.

3. A specific amount of material is weighed, compressed, and measured for volume according to the test method being performed.

What Do The Results Mean?

Fill Power is reported in either volumetric units (cubic inches per ounce or cubic cm per gram), or with the volume as a height measurement taken from the fill power device (mm or cm). Using either measurement, the numbers are a representation of volume; and the greater the volume, the better the material will insulate.

Common values for fill power range from 300 to 900 cubic inches per 30g. (75mm-225mm per 30g).

Why Do It?

Natural Fill Power is one of the best performance metrics used to distinguish different qualities of natural materials. Many products use fill power in marketing to differentiate one product from another. Also, many labeling standards have Natural  Fill Power requirements.

What Is It?

Fill power measures the volume of a specific amount of filling material occupied when compressed with a specific amount of weight. Compression deals with the compressibility of the filling material under a certain weight for a set amount of time. Recovery is the value at which a material rebounds after a set amount of time after compression. These tests are for ANY loose-fill materials (down or synthetics).

How Is The Test Performed?

1. Samples are conditioned and placed in a climate-controlled room for a set period of time.

2. Normal fill power is performed according to IDFB 10-B.

3. Samples are compressed for a set amount of time to obtain the compression value.

4. Samples are allowed to recover for a set amount of time to obtain the recovery value

What Do The Results Mean?

Fill Power, Compression, and Recovery are reported in either volumetric units(cubic inches per ounce or cubic cm per gram), or with the volume as a height measurement taken from the fill power device and the compression/recovery device (mm or cm).

Why Do It?

Compression and Recovery provide a benchmark for the compressibility and durability of filling materials. This is especially useful in choosing materials for finished products. These tests are recommended for loose-filling materials and not for batting.

What Is It?

Fat and Oil measures the amount of lipids (fat and oils) in a sample.

How Is The Test Performed?

A sample is placed in a soxhlet extractor. A solvent is boiled and then distilled onto the sample. This process removes the lipids from the material. After the extraction process is completed, the remaining solvent is removed and the lipids are weighed.

What Do The Results Mean?

Fat and Oil are reported as a percentage. This calculation is based on weight. A range of 0.5 to 1.5% is generally thought to be best.

Why Do It?

A certain amount of lipids are required for natural materials to be resilient. Lipids on natural materials help them resist water and also protect them.

Natural materials that do not have enough lipids will become brittle and break apart prematurely. On the other hand, too many lipids will cause an odor that is mostly offensive to consumers.

There are some countries that require a fat and oil range in order to import or export the product.

What Is It?

Microbiology or Bioburden tests for the biological activity, or viability, of certain microorganisms known to be harmful to humans when found in high concentrations (such as salmonella, fecal streptococci, etc.).
When material is washed and sterilized these microorganisms are killed and pose no threat to humans. The bioburden test is one of the means for testing the cleanliness of material and verifying the washing and sterilization process.

How Is The Test Performed?

A sample of material is cultured on a growth medium. It is incubated for a certain period of time in conditions that are favorable for microorganism growth. After the incubation period, colonies of growth are counted and categorized.

What Do The Results Mean?

Four categories that are reported:

1. Mesophilic Aerobic Bacteria
2. Fecal Streptococci Count
3. Sulfite Reducing Clostridia Count
4. Presence of Salmonella

The numbers are reported in CFU (Colony Forming Units) per gram.
For example: 3.4 x103

Why Do It?

It is a requirement for some countries’ labeling programs. It is also an additional way to verify the cleanliness of material and verify the washing and sterilization process.

What Is It?

Moisture content measures the quantity of water present in a sample.

How Is The Test Performed?

A sample is placed in a pre-dried beaker and weighed. The beaker with the sample is then transferred to a preheated oven (105-110 ºC) where the sample is dried for one hour. After cooling, in a desiccator, the sample is reweighed. The process is repeated until the weight is constant. Moisture content is then calculated on a wet basis.

What Do The Results Mean?

Moisture is reported as a percentage, which is obtained by dividing the amount of water by the total weight of the sample.

A range of 8% to 12% is generally thought to be optimal.

Why Do It?

Natural filling materials is usually bought and sold in bulk and measured by weight. The moisture contained in a sample may greatly affect its weight. Testing the moisture allows buyers and manufacturers to buy and sell in a fair marketplace.

What Is It?

Turbidity is a cleanliness test that gives an indication of the amount of inorganic, organic, or biological particles on a sample.

How Is The Test Performed?

A set amount of the sample to be tested is placed in a tumbler jar with distilled water and agitated for a set amount of time. The sample is then filtered out leaving the loosened particles in the water.

The turbidity can then be tested in one of two ways:

The resulting water is poured into a metered glass tube with a target at the bottom. The water is slowly let out until the target becomes visible, and the turbidity value is recorded in mm, at the height of the water in the tube.
The resulting water can also be read with a nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU). The NTU meter measures the deflected light of a sample. The more light deflected, the higher the turbidity will be.

What Do The Results Mean?

With the metered glass tube: the higher the number, the cleaner the sample. Very clean samples register a value of 550+ mm.

With the NTU meter: the lower the number, the cleaner the sample.
A NTU value of less than 10 is considered clean.

Why Do It?

Governments require that products meet certain cleanliness requirements.

What Is It?

Oxygen Number indicates product cleanliness by providing a measurement of organic material coating the fill material.

How Is The Test Performed?

A set amount of fill material to be tested is placed in a tumbler jar with distilled water and agitated for a set amount of time. The fill material is then filtered out leaving the loosened particles in the water. Sulphuric acid is added and the resulting solution is titrated with potassium permanganate until the solution remains pink for 60 seconds. The oxygen number is calculated from the amount of potassium permanganate added, and is reported as mg of oxygen per 100 g of sample.

What Do The Results Mean?

The lower the Oxygen Number the cleaner the fill material. Most countries require the Oxygen Number to be less than 10.

For a product to be labeled hypoallergenic in the USA, the Oxygen Number must be 4.8 or less.

Why Do It?

Governments require that products meet certain cleanliness requirements.

What Is It?

pH Value is an important ecological assessment indicator that more and more consumers are paying attention to. The human skin has a layer of weak acidic substances that help prevent invasion from disease. Therefore, it is most beneficial for the skin to keep pH Values between neutral range (pH Value of 7) and slightly acidic (pH Value lower than 7). pH Value is an important indicator when involved with human health and safety in natural fillings.

How Is The Test Performed?

At room temperature, a pH meter is used to extract the pH value from the textile water.

What Do The Results Mean?

A) Type of Products for Infants (children under 36 months) have a pH of 4 – 7.5.
B) Type of Products for Direct Contact with Skin (e.g. underwear, towel, bedding, ect) have a pH of 4 – 8.5.
C) Type of Products for Indirect Contact with Skin (e.g. window curtains) have a pH of 4 – 9.

Why Do It?

When natural fills are in the condition of neutral range (pH of 7) or slightly acidic (lower that pH of 7), it is beneficial for human skin. It protects the skin and maintains a balance of permanent bacteria. It prevents invasion of harmful bacteria. Natural fills that contain stronger conditions of acidity or alkalinity are not only easily damaged, but irritate the skin and could lead to an allergic reaction.