Tummy Control Belt Testing

Abdominal binder inspection mainly conducts scientific testing and analysis on physical and mechanical property testing, chemical safety performance testing, colour fastness testing, dimensional stability testing, functional evaluation testing and accessory safety testing, objectively assessing the product quality grade and issuing a detailed test report, providing a basis for manufacturers' quality control and downstream users' product acceptance.

Testing Items

Physical and mechanical property testing: This is the key to evaluating the basic quality of the abdominal binder. The main testing items include the tensile strength, elongation at break, colour fastness to rubbing, seam strength and anti-pilling property. These indicators are directly related to the durability, wearing comfort and the shape retention ability under the long-term use of the abdominal binder, and are the core basis for judging whether it is easy to deform, damage or wear.

Chemical safety performance testing: Evaluates whether the fabric and auxiliary materials of the abdominal binder contain the chemicals harmful to the human body. The key tests are the formaldehyde content, decomposable carcinogenic aromatic amine dyes (azo dyes), pH value, heavy metals (such as lead and cadmium) and phthalates (plasticizers). If these substances exceed the limits, they may cause the potential risks to the human health through the skin contact, which is particularly important for the special populations such as the postpartum or postoperative users.

Colour fastness testing: An important indicator for measuring the colour stability of the abdominal binder. Usually including the colour fastness to washing, colour fastness to perspiration (acidic and alkaline), colour fastness to rubbing (dry and wet rubbing) and colour fastness to saliva (for the situations that may be contacted by the infants). The poor colour fastness will cause the dye shedding, which not only contaminates the clothes, but also may cause the problems such as the skin allergy.

Dimensional stability testing: Refers to the degree of the dimensional change (such as the length and width) of the abdominal binder after washing or use. It is determined by simulating the dimensional change rate after the domestic washing or commercial washing. The unqualified testing result will cause the deformation, shrinkage or stretching of the abdominal binder after washing, directly affecting its shaping effect and wearing comfort.

Functional evaluation testing: Verifies the special functions claimed by the abdominal binder. For example, for the abdominal binders claiming the pressure function, the pressure value and the pressure distribution uniformity need to be tested; for the functional fabrics such as the antibacterial and UV protection, the special tests such as the antibacterial performance and UPF value need to be carried out in accordance with the relevant standards, to verify the authenticity of the claims.

Accessory safety testing: Checks the physical and chemical safety of all the accessories on the abdominal binder (such as the Velcro, buckles, adjustment rings and bone strips). Including the sharp edge testing of the accessories, the torque and tensile testing of the small parts (preventing the accidental swallowing risk of the infants), and the heavy metal contents in the accessories, ensuring no mechanical injury and chemical hazards during use.

Testing Scope

Classification by material: The testing scope covers the abdominal binders made of the different fabrics, mainly including the woven or knitted fabrics made of the fibres such as cotton, polyester, nylon and spandex, as well as the composite elastic fabrics. The testing emphasis of the different materials is different, for example, the natural fibres need to pay attention to the shrinkage, the chemical fibres need to pay attention to the static electricity and air permeability, and the elastic fabrics need to emphatically evaluate their elastic recovery rate and durability.

Classification by product type: Including but not limited to the postpartum abdominal binders, postoperative medical abdominal binders, sports waist binders and daily shaping waist binders. The testing standards and emphasis of the different types of abdominal binders are significantly different, for example, the medical abdominal binders need to meet the stricter biocompatibility and sterility requirements, while the daily shaping products pay more attention to the comfort and durability.

Classification by applicable object: Mainly divided into the adult abdominal binders and infant belly bands. For the adult products, the pressure comfort and support are emphatically tested; for the infant products, the safety requirements are stricter, and all the testing items (such as the chemical safety and accessory safety) need to comply with the high standards of the infant and children textiles, with special attention to the special items such as the colour fastness to saliva.

Classification by structural design: The testing objects include the full-length, segmented, wrapping, and the abdominal binders with the different structures such as the Velcro or hooks. The testing needs to be carried out for the special structures, for example, the repeated opening and closing peel strength of the Velcro, the bending fatigue resistance of the bone strips, and the comprehensive evaluation of the air permeability and moisture permeability of the multi-layer composite structures.

Classification by market circulation link: The testing scope covers the ex-factory inspection of the production enterprises, the incoming acceptance inspection of the brand merchants, the supervision spot checks of the market supervision departments, the quality control of the e-commerce platforms and the third-party verification commissioned by the consumers. The testing purposes and sampling schemes of the different links are different, but the core testing items all revolve around the safety, performance and marking conformity.

Classification by claimed function: For the abdominal binders claiming the additional functions such as the far-infrared, magnetic therapy, negative ions and antibacterial deodorization, the testing scope needs to be extended to the corresponding functional verification. The claimed functions must be scientifically and objectively tested and evaluated in accordance with the relevant national standards or the industry recognized methods, eliminating the false advertising.

Testing Methods

Physical property standard testing method: Mainly in accordance with the national standards (GB/T) and textile industry standards (FZ/T). For example, the tensile property is tested according to GB/T 3923.1 "Textiles — Tensile properties of fabrics — Part 1: Determination of breaking force and elongation at breaking force"; the colour fastness is tested according to the series standards such as GB/T 5713 (resistance to water) and GB/T 3922 (resistance to perspiration); and the pilling is tested according to GB/T 4802.1 (circular locus method).

Chemical substance limit testing method: In accordance with the national mandatory standards GB 18401 "National general safety technical code for textile products" and GB 31701 "Safety technical code for infants and children textile products". The formaldehyde content is determined by GB/T 2912.1 (water extraction method); the azo dyes are detected by GB/T 17592 (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method); and the pH value is determined according to GB/T 7573 (water extraction method), ensuring the chemical safety meets the requirements.

Dedicated method of the functional evaluation: The pressure performance testing usually adopts the airbag-type pressure sensors or fabric pressure testers, simulating the wearing state of the human body to measure the pressure values and gradients of the specific parts. The antibacterial performance testing is according to GB/T 20944 (agar plate diffusion method or absorption method). The UV protection performance testing is according to GB/T 18830, using a UV spectrophotometer to determine the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) and transmittance.

Dimensional change rate testing method: In accordance with the GB/T 8628~8630 series standards (Textiles — Determination of dimensional changes after washing and drying). The abdominal binder sample is marked with the dimensions, placed in a standard washing machine, simulated-washed with the specified procedure, detergent and drying method, and after drying, the dimensional changes are measured, calculating its shrinkage or elongation, evaluating the dimensional stability.

Accessory safety testing method: In accordance with the requirements of the standards such as GB 31701. A torque gauge and a tensile gauge are used to carry out the torque testing (0.45 N·m) and tensile testing (70 N) on the small accessories such as the buttons and Velcro, checking whether they fall off or produce the small parts that can enter the mouth. At the same time, the hand feel method or instruments are used to check whether the accessories have the sharp edges and sharp points, preventing the scratching of the skin.

Wearing comfort subjective and objective combined method: The objective methods include using the skin models (such as the "sweating thermal manikin") or fabric testers to determine the air permeability, moisture permeability, thermal resistance and evaporative resistance. The subjective methods recruit the eligible users for the trial wearing, and through the questionnaire interviews and other means, the comprehensive evaluation is carried out from the multiple dimensions such as the pressure feeling, stuffy feeling, restraint feeling and movement convenience.

Testing Standards

Domestic Standards:

1. GB/T 3923.1, Textiles — Tensile properties of fabrics — Part 1: Determination of breaking force and elongation at breaking force using the strip method

2. GB/T 3922, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to perspiration

3. GB 18401-2010, National general safety technical code for textile products

4. GB/T 7573, Textiles — Determination of pH of the aqueous extract

5. GB/T 2912.1, Textiles — Determination of formaldehyde — Part 1: Free and hydrolysed formaldehyde (water extraction method)

6. GB/T 17592, Textiles — Determination of prohibited azo dyes

7. GB/T 4802.1, Textiles — Determination of fabric propensity to surface pilling — Part 1: Circular locus pilling tester method

8. GB 31701, Safety technical code for infants and children textile products

International Standards:

1. ISO 105, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness

2. ISO 13934-1, Textiles — Tensile properties of fabrics — Part 1: Determination of maximum force and elongation at maximum force using the strip method

Note: The applicable standard can be selected according to the product use and customer trade requirements; standards agreed in the contract take precedence over general standards.

Testing Instruments and Equipment

Universal material testing machine: Used to determine the mechanical properties such as the breaking strength, elongation at break and peel strength of the abdominal binder fabric and seams. This equipment can precisely control the tensile speed and record the load-displacement curve. It is the core equipment for evaluating the durability and tensile resistance of the product, ensuring that the abdominal binder can withstand a certain tensile force during use without being easily damaged.

Colour fastness tester series: Including the washing fastness testing machine, rubbing fastness tester and perspiration fastness tester. The washing fastness testing machine can simulate the different washing conditions; the rubbing fastness tester carries out the dry/wet rubbing between the standard white cloth and the sample, evaluating the dye shedding situation. These equipment are the key to controlling the appearance quality and chemical safety of the product.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometer: A precision analysis instrument for detecting the hazardous chemicals such as the prohibited azo dyes, formaldehyde and plasticizers in the abdominal binder. The GC-MS has high separation efficiency and high sensitivity, and can carry out the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the trace or ultra-trace hazardous substances in the complex matrices, providing the data for the chemical safety control.

Fabric air permeability/moisture permeability tester: The air permeability tester measures the air flow passing vertically through the specimen of a unit area per unit time under the specified pressure difference. The moisture permeability tester is used to determine the ability of the water vapour to pass through the fabric. These two types of instruments directly evaluate the wearing comfort of the abdominal binder, preventing the skin dampness, stuffiness and even rash caused by the poor air permeability and moisture permeability.

Digital fabric thickness gauge and elasticity tester: The thickness gauge is used to precisely measure the thickness of the various layers of the abdominal binder. The elasticity tester (such as the fixed elongation repeated stretching instrument) is used to determine the elastic recovery rate and plastic deformation rate of the fabric, which is crucial for evaluating whether the abdominal binder can maintain the good shaping effect after the long-term use.

Standard light source cabinet and appearance evaluation auxiliary equipment: The standard light source cabinet provides the standard light sources such as D65 and TL84, used to evaluate the colour, colour difference and appearance defects (such as the stains, holes and thread ends) of the abdominal binder under the uniform lighting conditions. Combined with the rating grey cards, defect sample photos and other tools, the objective and consistent evaluation of the appearance quality is realized.