ISO 5162:2023

Textiles - Quality labelling specification for dehaired cashmere

This document specifies the terms and definitions, labelling requirements, test methods, inspection rules, packaging, labelling and test report of pure virgin dehaired cashmere. This document is not applicable to dehaired cashmere tops, skin cashmere, recycled cashmere and products after spinning, including yarns, fabrics, garments, apparel and accessories, household textiles, etc.

Textiles — Spécification d'étiquetage qualité du cachemire épilé

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 27-Apr-2023
• ICS: 59.060.10 - Natural fibres
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 38/SC 23 - Fibres and yarns
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 38/SC 23/WG 5 - Fibres - Natural proteins
• Current Stage: 6060 - International Standard published
• Start Date: 28-Apr-2023
• Due Date: 07-Jul-2023
• Completion Date: 28-Apr-2023

Relations

• Consolidated By: ISO 18589-7:2025 - Measurement of radioactivity in the environment - Soil - Part 7: In situ measurement of gamma-emitting radionuclides
• Effective Date: 07-Jan-2025

Overview - ISO 5162:2023 (Textiles - Quality labelling specification for dehaired cashmere)

ISO 5162:2023 defines a harmonized framework for the quality labelling, testing, inspection, packaging and reporting of pure virgin dehaired cashmere. The standard applies only to 100% unused, industrially scoured and dehaired raw cashmere (pure virgin dehaired cashmere) and explicitly excludes dehaired cashmere tops, skin cashmere, recycled cashmere and any products after spinning (yarns, fabrics, garments, accessories, household textiles).

Key technical topics and requirements

• Product classification and labelling
  • Cashmere colour classes: W (white), G (grey), B (brown).
  • Five product types A–E classified by mean fibre diameter and sub‑grades for mean fibre length, short fibre content, guard hair content and foreign matter.
  • Labelling code structure: e.g., cashmere-d-W-(L)-B2232 (example from the standard).
• Terms and definitions
  • Clear definitions for key metrics: raw cashmere, dehaired cashmere, pure virgin cashmere, guard hair, foreign matter, dark fibre, short fibre content, damaged fibre content, and others.
• Mandatory quality limits
  • Coefficient of variation (CV%) of mean fibre diameter ≤ 24%.
  • No other animal fibre permitted.
  • pH requirement: 6.0–7.5.
  • Residual surfactant APEO (OP, OPEO, NP, NPEO) < 50 mg/kg.
  • Dark fibre limits for white cashmere (specified counts per 5 g).
• Test methods and inspection
  • Referenced test standards include ISO 137, ISO 139, ISO 18596, ISO 20705, ISO 17751 (parts 1 & 2), ISO 18254‑1, and IWTO methods for fibre diameter.
  • Tests covered: mean fibre diameter, mean fibre length, short fibre content, guard fibre content, foreign matter count, dark fibre, damaged fibre, moisture regain, grease content, pH, APEO, and conditioned weight calculation.
  • Sampling, sample preparation and inspection rules are specified for lot acceptance and test reporting.
• Packaging, labelling and test report
  • Requirements for packaging and the content of test reports are defined to ensure traceability and uniform communication.

Practical applications and users

ISO 5162:2023 is intended for:

• Cashmere processors, dehairing facilities and scours
• Quality control laboratories and testing labs
• Textile manufacturers, traders and brands sourcing raw dehaired cashmere
• Import/export compliance teams and regulatory bodies
• Procurement/specification teams creating supplier quality agreements

Benefits include consistent quality communication, reliable labelling codes, reproducible test methods and reduced trade disputes.

Related standards (normative references)

Key referenced documents include: ISO 137, ISO 139, ISO 18596, ISO 20705, ISO 17751‑1/2, ISO 18254‑1, IWTO methods (IWTO‑12, IWTO‑47) and others cited by ISO 5162:2023. These provide the specific test and conditioning procedures referenced by the standard.

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 5162
First edition
2023-04
Textiles — Quality labelling
specification for dehaired cashmere
Textiles — Spécification d'étiquetage qualité du cachemire épilé
Reference number
© ISO 2023
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Quality labelling requirements . .3
4.1 Product classification . 3
4.2 Product type . 3
4.3 Other quality parameters . 4
4.4 Quality labelling . 4
5 Test methods . 4
5.1 Standard atmospheres . 4
5.2 Mean fibre diameter test . 4
5.3 Mean fibre length and short fibre content test . 4
5.4 Guard fibre content test. 5
5.5 Foreign matter content test . 5
5.6 Dark fibre test . 5
5.7 Damaged fibre content test . 5
5.8 Animal fibre, other animal fibre, non-animal matter and polymer matter content
test . 6
5.9 Moisture regain test . 6
5.10 Grease content test . 6
5.11 pH value test . 6
5.12 APEO test . 6
5.13 Calculation of conditioned weight . 6
6 Inspection rules . 6
6.1 Sampling . 6
6.1.1 Lot sample proportion and number . 6
6.1.2 Drawing of samples. 7
6.1.3 Test specimen preparation . 7
6.2 Inspection . 7
7 Packaging and labelling . 7
8 Test report . 8
Annex A (informative) Identification of skin cashmere . 9
Bibliography .13
iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
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ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
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
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to
the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see
www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 38, Textiles, Subcommittee SC 23, Fibres
and yarns.
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
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 5162:2023(E)
Textiles — Quality labelling specification for dehaired
cashmere
1 Scope
This document specifies the terms and definitions, labelling requirements, test methods, inspection
rules, packaging, labelling and test report of pure virgin dehaired cashmere.
This document is not applicable to dehaired cashmere tops, skin cashmere, recycled cashmere and
products after spinning, including yarns, fabrics, garments, apparel and accessories, household textiles,
etc.
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 137, Wool — Determination of fibre diameter — Projection microscope method
ISO 139, Textiles — Standard atmospheres for conditioning and testing
ISO 1833 (all parts), Textiles — Quantitative chemical test
ISO 3071, Textiles — Determination of pH of aqueous extract
ISO 3074, Wool — Determination of dichloromethane-soluble matter in combed sliver
ISO 17751-1, Textiles — Quantitative analysis of cashmere, wool, other specialty animal fibers and their
blends — Part 1: Light microscopy method
ISO 17751-2, Textiles — Quantitative analysis of cashmere, wool, other specialty animal fibers and their
blends — Part 2: Scanning electron microscopy method
ISO 18254-1, Textiles — Method for the detection and determination of alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEO) —
Part 1: Method using HPLC-MS
ISO 18596, Test method for staple length of dehaired cashmere — Hand-arranging method
ISO 20705, Textiles — Quantitative microscopical analysis — General principles of testing
IWTO-12 Measurement of the Mean and Distribution of Fibre Diameter Using the Sirolan-Laserscan Fibre
Diameter Analyser
IWTO 19 Determination of Wool Base and Vegetable Matter Base of Core Samples of Raw Wool
IWTO-33 Method for the Determination of Oven-Dry Mass and Calculated Invoice Mass of Scoured or
Carbonised Wool
IWTO-47 Measurement of the Mean and Distribution of Fibre Diameter of Wool using an Optical Fibre
Diameter Analyser (OFDA)
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
raw cashmere
unprocessed down fibre from the fine, soft undercoat or underlayer of live cashmere goat producing
two layers of hair, predominated by fine undercoat down with minor amount of natural foreign matters
(3.8)
3.2
dehaired cashmere
processed cashmere after industrialized scouring and dehairing of raw cashmere (3.1)
3.3
pure virgin cashmere
100 % unused dehaired cashmere (3.2) without any other animal and non-animal fibre, which never
goes through process(es) of dyeing, spinning, knitting or weaving, finishing or chemically treated (such
as bleaching, decolouration, depigmentation etc.)
3.4
skin cashmere
cashmere recovered from the pelts of dead cashmere goat by chemical method or reagents
3.5
recycled cashmere
loose cashmere fibre recollected after going through processing stage(s), such as spinning, knitting,
weaving, finishing, felting or used by consumers
3.6
guard hair
coarser hair in cashmere fibre with diameter ≥ 30 μm
3.7
guard hair content
percentage of mass of coarse fibre with diameter ≥ 30 μm in the total fibre mass
3.8
foreign matter
non-fibrous matter such as soil, dandruff and burrs etc. included in cashmere
3.9
foreign matter content
number of pieces of foreign matters (3.8) in one gram of dehaired cashmere (3.2)
3.10
dark fibre
fibre longer than 5 mm with colour showing obvious difference from the original base colour of
cashmere, including dark fibre and non-white fibre
3.11
short fibre content
percentage of number of cashmere fibres ≤ 15 mm in the total number of a specific mass
3.12
damaged fibre content
percentage of number of fibres showing fibrillation, axial splitting, ruptures, split ends, scale lifting,
kinked bends or other damage in the total number of a specific number of fibres observed
3.13
non-animal matter
vegetable fibres, chemical fibres and/or other polymer matter (3.15) contained in dehaired cashmere
(3.2)
3.14
other animal fibre
animal fibres other than cashmere in dehaired cashmere (3.2)
3.15
polymer matter
synthetic matter in particles or fragments of polymer matter (such as polypropylene), but not confined
to those derived from packing materials
4 Quality labelling requirements
4.1 Product classification
Based on its natural colour, cashmere is classified into white, grey and brown cashmere, which is
expressed with letter W, G and B, respectively. The characteristics of each type is described as follows:
— white cashmere(W): both cashmere and coarse hair show natural white colour;
— grey cashmere(G): cashmere shows grey, white and light brown colours, coarse hair shows light
brown and white or brown colour;
— brown cashmere(B): cashmere shows brown colour, coarse hair shows dark brown colour.
In the case that different colour types are blended, colour class is assigned according to the darker one.
4.2 Produc
...