Standardization News

A new standard developed by ASTM International’s leather committee (D31) provides test methods to estimate its longevity.

This new test method (soon to be published as D8137) provides a way to evaluate longevity considering everyday atmospheric conditions like smog and corrosive gases. 

ASTM International member Kadir Donmez, associate director of the leather research laboratory at the Universityof Cincinnati, explains that the test involves measuring the reduction in leather’s tensile strength when exposed to a mixture of air, moisture, and sulfur dioxide at a given exposure time, temperature, and pressure.

Donmez says that manufacturers that use upholstery leather for products like automobiles, furniture, books, and musical instruments such as pipe organs, could find the new test method useful.

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