Called the Research Grade Test Material (RGTM) 10279, NIST’s testing set includes five four-inch fabric squares made from different fibres, both dyed and undyed.
RGTM aims to provide a physical standard that laboratories can use as a benchmark to test and compare sorting methods or assist in creating new technologies for identifying textile fibres.
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This will help ensure that textiles are sorted efficiently, increasing the volume available for recycling and repurposing, while reducing costs.
Sorting facilities interested in production quality control may also benefit from evaluating the RGTM, particularly as textile blends often comprising multiple fibre types that are difficult to distinguish become increasingly common in the market.
“This textile material will help validate sorting methods and make textile sorters’ measurements comparable from one center to another,” explained Amanda Forster, a NIST materials research engineer.
“This lays the foundation for expanding supply chains and increasing the recovery of the economic value from textiles and clothing in the U.S. This also provides a way to detect things that aren’t reported on the label – which is important for recycling.”
NIST is inviting textile sorting facilities, laboratories, manufacturers, and other related organisations to participate in a study to determine whether the RGTM can be effectively applied in real-world industrial scenarios.
Participants will use their own fibre identification techniques to analyse the RGTM, which has a confidential fibre composition, and provide feedback that NIST will use to develop an improved reference material for industry use.
NIST guest researcher Katarina Goodge added that the RGTM could also verify the composition of materials on behalf of brands. “For example, if a brand is buying a fabric that is 100% cotton, but it ends up being a cotton-polyester blend, then they would like to know the difference.”
The RGTM could also potentially be used to authenticate luxury goods, this is not something NIST researchers are currently working on.
The trial involving the RGTM is open until 30 July 2026 through the NIST Store, with participants eligible to receive the material free of charge in return for their feedback.
The study is due to conclude on 30 September 2026, after which NIST aims to use anonymous results from industry participants to refine the standard further.
