BS EN ISO 17700:2019

What is ISO 17700 — Colour fastness of footwear to rubbing and bleeding about? 

ISO 17700 is an international standard that covers specifications for good quality footwear.  

ISO 17700 specifies three test methods (method A, method B and method C) for assessing the degree of transfer of a material’s surface colour during dry or wet rubbing and a method (method D) for determining the likelihood of colour bleeding. 

ISO 17700 includes the following methods: 

• Method A: to-and-fro square rubbing finger fastness testing machine 
• Method B: rotative rub fastness testing machine 
• Method C: to-and-fro circular rubbing finger fastness testing machine 
• Method D: colour fastness to bleeding 

Method D is also applicable to sewing threads and shoelaces. 

Note: The methods are applicable to all footwear uppers, linings and in-socks, irrespective of the material.  

Who is ISO 17700 — Colour fastness of footwear to rubbing and bleeding for? 

ISO 17700 on Colour fastness of footwear to rubbing and bleeding is useful for: 

• Leather industries 
• Footwear production companies  
• Footwear industries 
• Test laboratories for checking the footwear quality 

Why should you use ISO 17700 — Colour fastness of footwear to rubbing and bleeding? 

The colour fastness of footwear is an ability of a footwear material or component, to maintain its colour after subjecting to the action of various agents.  

ISO 17700 lays down the technicalities for three methods to assess the colour fastness of footwear by rubbing and a method (method D) for determining the likelihood of colour bleeding, when it is subjected to various agents. This helps you to check the degree of transfer of a material’s surface colour during dry or wet weather. 

ISO 17700 gives you elaborated information about the apparatus used and materials required to perform the test, explains the principle of the test methods, as well as helps the users with the sampling and conditioning to conclude the final test report.  

Colour fastness can influence the quality and cost of footwear, which directly affects the gain/loss of the manufacturer, thus, assessing the colour fastness helps eliminate the damage to the footwear as well as the reputation of the manufacturers. 

What’s changed since the last update? 

BS EN ISO 17700:2019 supersedes BS EN ISO 17700:2005, which is withdrawn. The main changes compared with the previous edition are as follows: 

• A new method (method C) to perform the colour fastness to rubbing has been introduced 
• In method D, the possibility to perform the colour fastness to bleeding in shoelaces and yarns has been introduced