Rubbing, Perspiration or Washing: Which Colourfastness Test?

Buyer application: write the concern as an observable outcome before requesting a test. Is a dark jersey transferring colour onto another surface? Is the club worried about a colour change during sweaty wear? Or is the concern the appearance of a contrast panel after washing? These are separate approval questions, even when the order contains only one jersey style. Do not put an unexplained 'colourfastness approved' box on a purchase specification.

Build a short coverage sheet with a row for each material and colour combination that needs a decision. Include the body fabric, contrasting inserts, collar and any applied decoration. Ask the laboratory which specimens and methods suit those concerns; a buyer's description of a problem is not a substitute for selecting the test conditions. Keep visual shade approval as its own record. An approved colour swatch identifies the target appearance, while the testing brief defines which changes or transfer effects the buyer will accept.

ISO 105-X12:2016 concerns colour rubbing off textiles and staining another material. Its public scope distinguishes testing with dry and wet rubbing cloths and includes dyed or printed yarns and fabrics. Buyer inference: a result described only as 'rubbing fastness' is incomplete for a purchasing decision unless the report identifies which condition was assessed.

Buyer application: ask the supplier to connect each reported result to the submitted specimen, its colour and its finish. When a dark body fabric is paired with light panels, record that contrast in the brief and discuss the relevant assessment with the laboratory. Do not treat a home rubbing demonstration as an ISO report. It may help explain the complaint, but it does not establish the controlled result. If only a blank fabric was assessed, leave decoration approval open until the actual print or applied mark has been considered. File both dry and wet results when both were requested; do not reduce them to whichever result looks more favourable.

Evidence: ISO

ISO 105-E04:2013 addresses textile colour resistance to human perspiration. That scope concerns colour behaviour, not how quickly a jersey moves moisture or dries. Buyer inference: a perspiration colourfastness report cannot by itself substantiate a wicking or drying claim in a club-shop description.

Buyer application: describe the intended kit and its contact layers when commissioning the assessment. A rugby match jersey worn next to the skin and a travel top layered over a shirt may lead to different purchasing concerns, even if they share the same club colours. Ask the laboratory to explain the reported outcomes and applicable criteria before approval. Keep the exact material and colour references on the order record rather than forwarding an unnamed PDF. If the report covers a different fabric from the production proposal, ask why it is considered representative. Do not infer coverage merely because both materials are described as polyester or both carry the same colour name.

Evidence: ISO

ISO 105-C06:2010 concerns colour resistance during specified domestic or commercial laundering tests using reference detergent. Its scope discusses colour loss and staining and notes that optical brighteners in commercial washing products are not represented. This is not evidence for every detergent, bleach system or laundry routine a club might use.

Buyer application: give the laboratory the intended care instructions and ask which test option is relevant. Record the selected conditions in the approval brief rather than listing only the standard number. Review the colour-change and staining information that the report provides as separate outcomes where applicable. Ask how those outcomes relate to the buyer's contrast-panel concern. A controlled colourfastness assessment also does not settle every finished-garment care question: retain a separate review for fit, trim attachment and decoration appearance. If a club changes its care routine, ask whether the earlier evidence remains relevant before promising that the original approval covers the new process.

Evidence: ISO

Buyer application: map every report to a dated sample reference and the production specification it supports. Identify which items remain unassessed. For example, evidence for a navy body fabric should not silently become approval for a red collar or a newly selected sponsor transfer. Ask the supplier and laboratory whether colours can be grouped for the assessment and document their reasoning instead of assuming that all shades behave identically.

For a mixed rugby, Gaelic games and American football purchase, keep the reporting map by material and colour rather than by sport name alone. Two garments may share a tested material, while two panels in one garment may not. Mark substitutions visibly on the coverage sheet. If the fabric source, colour recipe, finish or decoration changes after sampling, request a documented decision about whether new evidence is required. This avoids paying for duplicate work without allowing an older report to conceal a material change.

Buyer application: agree acceptance criteria with the supplier and competent laboratory before samples are submitted. This article does not prescribe one numeric threshold for all sportswear. State who reviews the results, which purchase lines the decision covers and what happens if an outcome falls outside the agreement. Keep the full report, the accepted specimen reference and any approved exception together. A method number alone is neither a pass result nor a certification of the whole order.

Send Olinc Sports the style references, colourways, artwork, quantities and destination with the requested testing brief when asking for a manufacturing quote. Ask which sampling and testing arrangements can be included and how they affect the quotation and schedule; do not assume they are already included in a catalog listing. Release bulk production against the agreed revision only after open colour questions are resolved. For a reorder, retain the earlier evidence as a reference and confirm whether the proposed materials and decoration are unchanged before reusing the approval.