Durability testing and verification marks

Prolonging a product’s life through quality, maintainability and reparability are now considerations of an eco-design. There is a focus on this strategy by Governments intent on minimising waste by reducing the need to dispose of products.

Durability is part of the information that is recommended to form a component of the digital product passport proposed by the EU. The EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) initiative is one of the key pieces of the EU Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan as the world aims to meet ambitious targets for carbon neutrality by 2050.

Durability-related legislation

Textile durability standards

Within the EU, France has published durability criteria for textiles setting standards for clothing, bath, bed and kitchen textiles, curtains, floor coverings, upholstery fabrics and mattress ticking, concluding that inferior quality will reduce the lifespan of these products.

Sustainability-driven durability regulation

There are a number of pieces of legislation referring to the requirement for consumer products to be durable

• European Union’s (EU) Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles; published in 2022
• EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation; expected to come into force in 2024, with its requirement for a Digital Product Passport (expected to come into force in 2027), which must display the durability of a product
• EU Waste Framework Directive, with its requirements for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rules for textiles; expected to come into force in 2027
• France’s AGEC law (in force); already in force, awards a bonus to companies that can prove that their products are more durable, leading to a reduction on their mandatory ecomodulation fee.
• US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has product specific data for durable goods and states that durable goods last three years or more

Eurofins can help demonstrate the durability of consumer products

The Eurofins technical team has created durability testing specifications for different products where extended life would deliver significant, positive impact reductions. The products that Eurofins offer this extended-life durable testing for are listed below. If you have a product that is not listed, where you would like to have durability testing conducted, please contact us to discuss.

Durability testing specifications

Durability testing verification marks

To support the achievement of testing against these more durable, longer-lasting product specifications, Eurofins has developed two durable testing marks, these are “Durable SILVER” and “Durable GOLD”.

Durable SILVER products are ones which typically achieve 1.5 x the accepted published industry standards during durability testing. Durable GOLD products are ones which typically achieve 2.0 x the accepted published industry standards during durability testing.

In the case of workwear, the products need to typically achieve 2 x for Durable Product SILVER and 4 x for Durable Product GOLD against typical published clothing standards.

Durable textiles (fashion and household linen) are tested after 40 washes for Durable SILVER and 50 washes for Durable GOLD.

Benefits of Eurofins durability verification Marks

• Differentiate products in the market via credible, independent 3rd party assessment
• Added-value by demonstrating elevated performance above normal industry standards justifies premium pricing
• Helps support sustainability claims and appeals to consumers who prioritise eco-friendly practices
• Raise customer satisfaction in product performance and longevity and confidence
• Supports your compliance journey for existing and forthcoming sustainability-related legislation and principles e.g. EU Green Claims Directive, AGEC Law, ESPR, and EPR laws for textiles

Eurofins durability testing services

In addition to our durability testing verification scheme for products intended for the European and other global markets, we offer a range of services to enable our customers to assess the durability of their products and understand their end-of-life characteristics

• Full suite of quality testing for textiles, leathers, plastics, metals, synthetics
  • Advanced durability testing on multiple materials and products
  • Highly accelerated lifetime testing
  • Temperature and humidity testing
  • Temperature and shock testing
  • Solar and UV exposure testing
  • Salt spray exposure
  • Mechanical impacts and ingress protection
• Recyclability assessment
• Biodegradability, compostability and disintegration testing
• Validation of recycled content.

To find out more about our durability testing services and how these could contribute to improvements in product sustainability contact us on the details below.