Notice of the "Quality Tour in Silk Town" Series of Public Welfare Training in Dec2024

Textile Products in Outdoor Sports Scenes

Textile products in outdoor sports scenes are required to have more and more functions. Taking advantage of the popularity of ISPO, today we'll talk about the properties of sun protection, waterproofing, and heat shielding.

Sun Protection

Sun protection is a very important consideration in outdoor sports. With the popularity of outdoor sports such as camping, frisbee, and land surfing, consumers have attached unprecedented importance to rigid sun protection. From common umbrellas to best-selling sun-protective clothing, sun-protective arm sleeves, and then to sun-protective masks, there are numerous hot-selling products in the market. As outdoor sports have increasingly become a part of ordinary people's lives, we can see that the entire sun protection market, especially in the clothing field, has entered an irrational competitive environment regarding sun protection indicators. Everyone has started to compete for new heights in sun protection indexes. Currently, there are still products with UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) values of 100+, 500+, 1000+, and even 2000+ on the market. But does a higher data value mean better sun protection effects?

In fact, the national standard GB/T 18830 "Textiles - Evaluation for Ultraviolet Protection" has long stipulated that when UPF > 40 and T(UVA)AV < 5%, it can be called an "ultraviolet protection product" . When the UPF value of a piece of clothing is greater than 50, it is considered a sun protection product with professional sun protection functions. When the UPF value exceeds 100, the difference in ultraviolet blocking will become smaller and smaller, and for consumers' perception, the difference is not significant. We also hope that material enterprises and brand enterprises can develop and design products with reasonable quality according to actual scenarios and needs, avoid excessive quality misleading consumers, and make consumption return to rationality and authenticity.

Waterproof Performance

5.4 Waterproof Performance

5.4.1 Basic Requirements

Finished products should choose appropriate evaluation methods according to specific performance and usage scenarios. For finished products claimed to be "water-repellent", generally it is only necessary to meet the test requirements of the water spray method. However, for finished products claimed to be "waterproof", if the water spray method is selected, it is also necessary to consider using other methods to comprehensively evaluate the waterproof performance together.

Note: "Water-repellent" refers to the ability of fabric to resist absorbing sprayed water. "Waterproof" refers to the ability of fabric to resist being wetted and penetrated by water.

In fact, the new version of the standard GB/T 21295 - 2024 "Technical Requirements for Physical and Chemical Properties of Garments" has clear definitions for "water repellency" and "waterproofness". In the future, if brand enterprises want to promote the waterproof performance of their products, they should pay attention to both promotional language and choose appropriate evaluation standards according to usage scenarios.

Heat Shielding

In fact, the functional indicators in the new version of the standard GB/T 32614 - 2023 "Outdoor Sports Garments - Windbreak Jackets" have already provided a good guide for everyone. For functionality, attention should not only be paid to before and after washing, but for some indicators, attention should also be paid to fabrics and seams. Currently, with all kinds of publicity in the market, on the one hand, enterprises need professional guidance and sorting out, and on the other hand, consumers also need to learn to distinguish and screen.

It's nice to enjoy the cool under an umbrella. Wouldn't it be more perfect if clothes could also shield heat? Because sun protection only blocks the ultraviolet rays in sunlight and does not block the heat brought by sunlight. Therefore, the heat-shielding property of clothing is also a new demand arising in outdoor scenes. The standard GB/T 41560 "Textiles - Determination of Heat Shielding Performance" released in 2022 has provided a testing basis for the development of the heat-shielding performance of products. However, there is still no evaluation basis so far. Enterprises need to adopt appropriate ways to promote the heat-shielding function of their products.

United Testing Service (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.

United Testing Service (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. has been deeply engaged in the field of outdoor product testing for many years. Currently, it has the testing capabilities and qualifications for common waterproofing, breathability, moisture permeability, moisture absorption and quick-drying, heat preservation, as well as some new functional items such as antistatic, antibacterial, antifungal, and cool touch. We also hope to inject professional strength into the continuously booming outdoor market.