Overview
ISO 17228:2015 - Leather - Tests for colour fastness - Change in colour with accelerated ageing specifies laboratory procedures to assess how leather surface colour and appearance change when exposed to elevated temperature and humidity. The standard defines accelerated ageing by three principal methods: heat alone, heat with elevated humidity, and cyclic variation of temperature and humidity. Results are used to indicate likely colour change, finish migration or yellowing, and to prepare specimens for other tests (for example ISO 17130 dimensional-change tests).
Key topics and requirements
- Aging principles: Simulates chemical change, evaporation/migration of volatile substances, and hydrolysis under controlled conditions to provoke colour change and surface alterations.
- Three ageing routes:
- Heat-only procedures (multiple time/temperature options);
- Heat with elevated relative humidity (RH) in a climate chamber;
- Cyclic temperature/RH exposure to simulate daily environmental cycles (commonly used for automotive leather).
- Apparatus:
- Oven with rack and vent (temperature control ±2 °C);
- Climate chamber with temperature control ±2 °C and RH control ±5 %;
- Holders to avoid contact with chamber walls, clips, stop clock, and grey scales or instrumental colour-measurement systems.
- Specimens & conditioning:
- Cut two representative specimens (minimum 100 mm × 100 mm) after conditioning in accordance with ISO 2419; hides/skins sampled per ISO 2418.
- Assessment:
- Compare aged specimen against a protected reference using the ISO grey scales (ISO 105‑A02 for change in colour, ISO 105‑A03/A04 for staining) or instrumental methods per ISO 105‑A05.
- Record visual changes in hue, finish, shrinkage, and manual assessment of flexibility.
- Guidance: The standard’s tables provide multiple temperature/time/RH options (including specific automotive aging conditions). Accelerated tests are indicative and not necessarily representative of long-term ambient use.
Applications and users
ISO 17228 is intended for:
- Leather manufacturers and tanneries assessing colour fastness and product stability;
- Quality-control and materials testing laboratories;
- Automotive and upholstery OEMs specifying leather durability under heat/humidity cycles;
- Product designers and R&D teams evaluating finishes, dyes, and migration behavior;
- Labs preparing specimens for dimensional-change testing (ISO 17130).
Benefits: standardized accelerated ageing enables reproducible comparison between leather types, finishes, dyes and helps predict issues such as yellowing, staining or finish migration.
Related standards
- ISO 105-A01, A02, A03, A04, A05 (colour-fastness principles, grey scales, instrumental methods)
- ISO 2418 (sampling location)
- ISO 2419 (sample preparation and conditioning)
- ISO 17130 (dimensional change after ageing)
Keywords: ISO 17228, leather colour fastness, accelerated ageing, leather testing, climate chamber, grey scale, automotive leather, colour change.