Lumenfield New Zealand: Football Academy Training Kit Laboratory Test Report
Lumenfield is a New Zealand-based brand whose football academy training kit is one of its most demanding programmes. This report documents the laboratory qualification of the silver ion antibacterial knit supplied to Lumenfield for its football academy training kit. Every figure below was produced on bulk fabric, not on an approval swatch.
Lumenfield: Silver Ion Antibacterial Knit in use during daily squad training in all weather
Evaluation background
The programme covers training shirts, shorts and warm-up tops, used for daily squad training in all weather. The environment is contact, sliding and heavy perspiration and the requirement written into the brief was tear resistance with colour consistency across a squad. Fabric was selected on that basis rather than on price alone.
Fabric under evaluation
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Silver Ion Antibacterial Knit |
| Composition | nylon spandex with silver ion filament |
| Weight | 260 GSM |
| Width | 165 cm |
| Primary function | stops the bacteria that turn sweat into odour |
| Target | bacterial reduction above 99% |
| Test method | ISO 20743 |
| Additional note | performance retained after 30 home washes |
| Certification | OEKO-TEX Standard 100 |
Silver Ion Antibacterial Knit close-up showing the fabric surface
Samples and conditioning
Three bulk lots were sampled at random and conditioned for 24 hours before testing. Results are reported as the worst of the three, which is the number a brand should plan around.
Test methods
The primary method was ISO 20743, supported by dimensional change to AATCC 135, pilling to ISO 12945-2 and colour fastness to ISO 105-C06.
Evaluation session with the Lumenfield team
Results
The fabric reached bacterial reduction above 99%, with performance retained after 30 home washes. All supporting tests passed the agreed limits, and the report carries the lot numbers so the results can be reproduced.
Interpretation
Numbers only matter against the use case. For football academy training kit the relevant result is that the fabric keeps stops the bacteria that turn sweat into odour after conditioning, which is what protects the wearer during daily squad training in all weather.
Test records and inspection notes for the Football Academy Training Kit
Scorecard
| Criterion | Result |
|---|---|
| Primary function | 4.4 / 5 |
| Dimensional change | 4.9 / 5 |
| Pilling grade | 4.5 / 5 |
| Colour fastness | 4.7 / 5 |
| Consistency | 4.3 / 5 |
“Fifty washes later the fabric still performs. That is what convinced our buying team.” — Lumenfield Technical Team
Packed bulk rolls before shipment to New Zealand
Verdict and recommendation
The bulk fabric met every agreed target. The lot is released and we recommend repeating the same test set on each future delivery of the silver ion antibacterial knit. For Lumenfield the practical next steps are to keep the current specification for the repeat, retain the shade standard, and issue ISO 20743 results with every lot so any claim can be supported with data.
