Textile Chemistry Terminology

Courtesy of Cotton Incorporated

Performance fabrics offer special benefits to consumers, such as stain-repellency, wrinkle-resistance, or odor-control. New technologies are launched every year. CCRC is committed to keeping ahead of the technology curve, assuring that consumers will be satisfied with the home care of the fabrics, as well as the performance.

Antimicrobial Agent (AM) — A chemical compound that either destroys or inhibits the growth of microscopic and submicroscopic organisms.

Flame Resistant (FR) — The characteristic of a fabric to resist ignition and to self extinguish if ignited.

Flammability — The ability of a material or product to burn with a flame under specified test conditions.

Fleece — Fleecy fabric, weft-knitted: A general term for any plain weft-knitted fabric which has been brushed or raised on one or both sides. A specific term for a plain, weft-knitted fabric with a ground yarn in which a yarn of low twist, laid-in and secured by a binder (yarn), appears on the back of the fabric and may be brushed or raised.

Hydrophilic — Water loving; having a high degree of moisture absorption or attraction.

Hydrophobic — Water repelling; having a low degree of moisture absorption or attraction.

Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) — The minimum concentration of oxygen in a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen that will just support combustion of a material under specified test conditions.

Moisture Regain — The moisture in a material determined under prescribed conditions and expressed as a percentage of the weight of the moisture-free specimen.

Resiliency — Ability of a fabric to return to its original shape after compressing, bending or other deformation.

Reusable Protective Clothing — Garments which are capable of withstanding a maintenance procedure to remove soil and other contaminants, yet retain the garment’s protective characteristic.

Spectroscopy — The branch of physics concerned with the production, measurement, and interpretation of electromagnetic spectra arising from either emission or absorption of radiant energy by various substances.

Stoll Curve — Developed by Alice Stoll in the 1960’s it is used in many tests to predict the thermal protective performance of textile materials for FR apparel. It is essentially a plot of thermal energy and time predicted to cause a pain sensation, or a second degree burn, in human tissue.

Waterproof — Ability of a fabric to be fully resistant to penetration by water.