Q: How does 16 CFR 1610 apply to zipper tape?
16 CFR 1610 is the US flammability standard for wearing apparel textiles. A specimen is held at a 45 degree angle in a draft-free cabinet and ignited at the lower edge with a small flame for one second; the time for the flame to travel a marked distance is recorded, and the fabric is placed in Class 1, 2 or 3. Class 1 is the normal performance for apparel; Class 3 is unsuitable for clothing.
For a zipper, the tape is the specimen of interest, because metal and most polymer teeth do not support flame in the same way. Plain-surface and raised-surface fabrics have different criteria, so state whether the tape is flat woven or brushed. Test the colour and finish that ship; a heavy back coating can change the result. Specimen size, conditioning and the distance between marks are set by the regulation, so refer to the standard text.
Acceptance for apparel is normally Class 1. Keep the report with the fabric and tape specification, and retest if the tape supplier changes the fibre blend, the weave or the back coating. Where a garment falls under children's sleepwear rules, a stricter standard applies and 1610 alone is not sufficient.