ISO 20942:2019

Leather - Full chrome upper leather - Specification and test methods

This document specifies requirements, methods of test and methods of sampling for full chrome upper leather. This document is applicable to upper leather which is used in general purpose sports footwear, school footwear, casual footwear, men's town footwear, women's town footwear, cold weather footwear, fashion footwear, infants' footwear and indoor footwear.

Cuir — Cuir à dessus entièrement chromé — Spécifications et méthodes d’essai

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 08-May-2019
• ICS: 59.140.30 - Leather and furs
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 120/SC 2 - Tanned leather
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 120/SC 2 - Tanned leather
• Current Stage: 9092 - International Standard to be revised
• Start Date: 21-Nov-2025
• Completion Date: 13-Dec-2025

Overview

ISO 20942:2019 - Leather - Full chrome upper leather - Specification and test methods defines requirements, sampling and test methods for full chrome upper leather used in a wide range of footwear (general purpose sports, school, casual, men’s and women’s town, cold weather, fashion, infants’ and indoor footwear). The standard sets physical and chemical performance criteria and references the established ISO test methods laboratories and manufacturers use for quality control and compliance.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Physical characteristics: Specifies required properties such as tensile strength, elongation at break, tear strength, flex resistance, distension at crack, grain crack load, seam strength, colour fastness to rubbing and water, and water vapour permeability/coefficient. Values vary by footwear type (e.g., sports vs. town vs. infants’ footwear).
• Chemical characteristics and limits:
  • Chromium(III) (Cr2O3): ≥ 2.5% (ISO 5398-1)
  • Chromium(VI): < 3 mg/kg (ISO 17075-1 / 17075-2)
  • Soluble matter in dichloromethane: 2.5–7% (ISO 4048)
  • Formaldehyde: ≤ 150 mg/kg (ISO 17226-1)
  • Azo colorants: ≤ 30 mg/kg (ISO 17234 series)
  • Total chlorinated phenols: < 0.1% (ISO 17070)
  • pH and ΔpH requirements (ISO 4045): if pH < 4 then ΔpH ≤ 0.7
• Sampling and test piece location: Sampling rules per ISO 2588 and test-piece locations per ISO 2418.
• Packaging and marking: Leather must be packaged to protect from humidity, heat and light; the flesh side must be marked with area, manufacturer ID, month/year of tanning and a reference to ISO 20942.

Practical applications and users

ISO 20942:2019 is used by:

• Footwear manufacturers for material specification, incoming quality control and product design decisions.
• Leather tanneries to certify full chrome upper leather meets industry requirements.
• Testing laboratories for performing standardised test methods and issuing compliance reports.
• Procurement teams and brand quality managers to define supplier contracts and accept/reject criteria.
• Regulatory and compliance professionals ensuring chemical and performance limits (e.g., chromium VI, formaldehyde, azo dyes) are met for market access.

Using ISO 20942 helps reduce product failures, improve consumer safety and ensure consistent leather quality across footwear applications.

Related standards

Key referenced standards include ISO 3376, ISO 3377-2, ISO 3379, ISO 4045, ISO 4048, ISO 5398-1, ISO 11640, ISO 11642, ISO 5402-1, ISO 14268, ISO 17070, ISO 17075 (parts 1 and 2), ISO 17226-1, ISO 17229 and ISO 17234 (parts 1 and 2). These define the specific test methods cited by ISO 20942:2019.

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 20942
First edition
2019-05
Leather — Full chrome upper leather
— Specification and test methods
Cuir — Cuir à dessus entièrement chromé — Spécifications et
méthodes d’essai
Reference number
©
ISO 2019
© ISO 2019
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
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ii © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 2
4 Characteristics . 3
4.1 Physical characteristics . 3
4.2 Chemical characteristics . 6
5 Sampling . 6
6 Packaging and marking . 6
6.1 Packaging . 6
6.2 Marking . 6
Bibliography . 7
Foreword
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electrotechnical standardization.
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described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
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This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 120, Leather, Subcommittee SC 2, Tanned
leather.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/members .html.
iv © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

Introduction
Leather is widely used in the footwear industry. Although different tanning agents can be used to
produce leather, chromium III is still the most important agent in the tanning of leather for footwear.
This document specifies requirements for various types of full chrome upper leather which are used in
the footwear industry.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 20942:2019(E)
Leather — Full chrome upper leather — Specification and
test methods
1 Scope
This document specifies requirements, methods of test and methods of sampling for full chrome upper
leather. This document is applicable to upper leather which is used in general purpose sports footwear,
school footwear, casual footwear, men’s town footwear, women’s town footwear, cold weather footwear,
fashion footwear, infants' footwear and indoor footwear.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 2418, Leather — Chemical, physical and mechanical and fastness tests — Sampling location
ISO 2588, Leather — Sampling — Number of items for a gross sample
ISO 3376, Leather — Physical and mechanical tests — Determination of tensile strength and percentage
extension
ISO 3377-2, Leather — Physical and mechanical tests — Determination of tear load — Part 2: Double
edge tear
ISO 3379, Leather — Determination of distension and strength of surface (Ball burst method)
ISO 4045, Leather — Chemical tests —  Determination of pH and difference figure
ISO 4048, Leather — Chemical tests — Determination of matter soluble in dichloromethane and free fatty
acid content
ISO 5398-1, Leather — Chemical determination of chromic oxide content — Part 1: Quantification by
titration
ISO 5402-1, Leather — Determination of flex resistance — Part 1: Flexometer method
ISO 11640, Leather — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to cycles of to-and-fro rubbing
ISO 11642, Leather — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to water
ISO 1
...