Luggage are used to carry and store personal belongings especially when traveling. There are numerous types of luggage such as:
- suitcase
- trunk
- wheeled upright luggage
- garment bag
- rolling luggage
- carry-on luggage
Additional features like locks and wheels are added for security purposes and easy handling. Most luggage are made from nylon, polyester, strong clothing materials and fabrics, polypropylene, wood products, durable plastics, aluminum, and metal alloys. As luggage are not replaced that often, it is crucial for manufacturers to apply the standards sets by various organizations, agencies and independent laboratories to avoid any recalls and to ensure the safety and quality of its luggage.
Some of the standards that we take under consideration when developing luggage inspection and testing protocols include:
Consumer Product Safety Act
The Consumer Product Safety Commission declares that the paint materials for luggage that contains lead compounds cannot exceed 0.06 percent of the weight of the total nonvolatile content of the paint.
ASTM D6613 - 08
The ASTM D6613 - 08 Standard is used for the Determining of the Presence of Sizing in Nylon or Polyester Fabrics. This standards features a staining scale from 1 to 5 which is proportional to the amount of sizing in the nylon or polyester fabric.
ASTM D3826 - 98
The ASTM D3826 - 98 is used for the Determining Degradation End Point in Degradable Polyethylene and Polypropylene.
AATCC Test Method 30-2004
The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists developed the AATCC 30 - 2004 for two purposes which are to determine the susceptibility of the textile materials to mildew and rot and to evaluate the efficacy of fungicides on textile materials used on luggage.
AATCC Test Method 111-2009
The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists developed the AATCC 111-2009 Test for the weather resistance of textiles. This test method provides several testing methods for determining the weather resistance of textile materials used in the manufacturing of luggage.
Association of Contract Textiles
The ACT developed Testing Standards such as Flame resistance tests, Crocking resistance tests, Ultra-violet light resistance tests, Physical properties tests, and Abrasion tests used during the production stages of manufacturing.
