Flame Retardant Fabric

Flame Retardant, Flame Resistant - and Why Testing Decides

The terms name a family rather than a single fabric. Flame resistant cloth resists ignition and self-extinguishes when the flame source is removed; flame retardant cloth has been treated, or built, to slow burning. Two production routes reach the result. Inherently resistant fabrics are made from fibers that are FR by chemistry - aramids, modacrylics, FR viscose and their blends - and their protection cannot wash out, because it is the fiber itself. Treated fabrics start as ordinary cloth, usually cotton or cotton blends, and receive a chemical finish that confers the resistance; a durable treatment survives a stated number of washes, a non-durable one does not, and the difference is the first question a buyer must ask. Between the routes sit the blends and the inherently resistant mineral cloths - this section's Basalt Fabric and Fiberglass Fabric among them - which do not burn at all. The formal Flame Retardant Materials Definition states the terminology precisely, and the site's Flammability and Testing pages frame the subject.

One warning matters more than anything else on this page: Apparel Search suggests that you do fabric testing of all fabric that claims to be flame resistant or flame retardant. The companies in this section are listed because they claim to have fabric that meets FR requirements; however, the Apparel Search Company has never tested fabric from these companies - please do your own testing to verify all fabric qualities. Protective clothing is certified as a garment system against named standards for its industry and country, and a mill's claim is the beginning of that process, never its end. For safety standards and regulations, contact the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Division of Regulatory Management, 5401 Westbard Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20816, phone 301 504-0400 - the contact is given in the references below and linked in this page's menu.

Where FR Fabrics Are Used and How to Specify Them

FR cloth protects where heat and flame are occupational facts: oil, gas and petrochemical workwear, electrical utility clothing against arc flash, welding and foundry garments, racing suits, military clothing, and the furnishings and drapes of public buildings, aircraft and ships, where regulations rather than employers set the requirement. Children's sleepwear is its own regulated branch in the United States, governed by flammability rules rather than FR workwear standards. Specifying begins with the hazard and its standard - flash fire, arc, molten splash and radiant heat are different tests - then the route: inherent fibers for garments laundered hard and often, treated cloth where cost leads and the wash count is controlled. Weight, blend and comfort follow; an FR garment too hot to wear properly protects nobody, which is why modern FR shirting and knits work as hard on breathability as on burn figures, and why mills in this list span heavy protective weaves and light FR knits alike.

This directory lists eleven mills and suppliers across Belgium, Israel, the USA, Taiwan, Canada and the Netherlands and beyond, each linked to its own profile in the Fabric Mills by Name section. No listing here should be read as a certification of any company's fabric. The Fabric Directory hub indexes the full section for readers comparing FR cloth against the wider fabric family. When you enquire, name the standard your end use must meet and ask for the mill's test reports against it, on the current production, before sampling. Thank you for using the Apparel Search Fabric Mill Directory.

Flame Retardant Fabric Mills Listed in This Directory