It said each square measures 4 inches (10.2 centimetres) on a side, and the material is designed for use by the research, recycling and sorting communities to assess whether fibre-identification methods are accurate.
The US National Institute of Standards and Technology has developed RGTM 10279 to assess fibre-identification methods used in textile sorting.
The five-fabric test material can help recycling centres, labs and manufacturers validate NIR, computer vision and AI-enabled systems.
For brands and sourcing teams, it may support fabric-composition checks before production and improve recovered.
More than half of clothing and other textiles are suitable for recycling, but much of this material is not repurposed because donation volumes are high and manual fabric sorting remains slow and labour-intensive, added NIST.
The institute said RGTM 10279 can help validate sorting methods and algorithms, making measurements more comparable across sorting centres.
Most recycling centres use handheld scanners based on near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, while automated systems can use conveyor belts with cameras, sensors and algorithms to identify and sort fabrics.
Other technologies include computer vision sorting by colour and appearance, and hyperspectral imaging, which combines NIR with camera sensors.
For textile sorting facilities, the material may support production quality control, particularly where fibre blends are difficult to identify.
NIST also said it could help brands verify fabric composition before production, including cases where a fabric sold as 100 per cent cotton is actually a cotton-polyester blend.
The institute’s next steps include assessing whether the RGTM can be used by industry in real-world settings through a study involving labs, manufacturers and other organisations using their own fibre-identification methods.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk
