The Bradford-based Society of Dyers and Colourists is a world leader in its field.

One of its main roles is promoting international standards through its technical committees. One of these, the Fastness Tests Committee, is made up of co-opted members from all sectors of the coloration industry and is a working group of the British Standard Institution committee on chemical properties.

Through the BSI, the Society's Fastness Tests Committee represents the UK in Europe, as well as worldwide at the International Standards Organisation.

Representatives of the FTC recently attended the eighteenth meeting of the ISO committee responsible for the development of international methods of test relating to the colour of textiles.

The UK delegation was headed by Frank Moore form the John Lewis Partnership and included Dr Carol Graham, the Society's technical officer.

The meeting, held in Charleston, USA, resulted in various FTC members being given key roles to play in no less than six important ISO projects.

The FTC delegation presented its own work - already the subject of a British Standard - on developing alternative pigment printed light fastness standards to replace the existing blue wool standards.

Used to determine the fastness of dyeings to light, these blue wool standards have been used extensively over many years, but are now becoming difficult to produce due to the world-wide shortage of dyes used in their manufacture.

Agreeing to evaluate these standards, the ISO committee appointed Carol Graham leader of an international project to examine and report on their eventual introduction as the new ISO light fastness standard.

Another Society committee has been busy in recent weeks.

The Industrial Resources Committee has seen the fiftieth person attend the Society's Colour Centre course leading to the award of the certificate of competence in the colour fastness testing of textiles.

Sarah Johnson, who is quality control manager at Pendle Dyers, deals with the testing of all woven fabrics and babywear.

Sarah said: "I use these tests on a daily basis and this is the first formal training I've had outside the company."

"I'm the only person who does the testing, so it's been particularly valuable and I would recommend the course to anyone in my position."

The Society's Colour Centre was opened in early 1997 as part of its on-going commitment to education and training.

It contains a laboratory area fitted out with the equipment necessary to conduct training courses for technicians and technical managers in standard BS/ISO methods of colour fastness testing of textiles.

The aim is to pass on the professional expertise of the course leaders whose everyday work involves colour fastness testing in NAMAS accredited laboratories.

Colour Centre co-ordinator John Wyles said: "The whole course is geared to creating greater standardisation of fundamental techniques, and an understanding of where problems leading to lack of reproducibility can occur."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.