STANDARD FOR RAW MATERIAL ASSESSMENT, EVALUATION AND CERTIFICATION

Controlled-document statement: The online ARMM™ Standard and controlled PDF constitute the current public versions. Printed copies are uncontrolled unless specifically identified otherwise.

1. Purpose

1.1 The ARMM™ Standard establishes the technical framework used by ARMM™ for the assessment, classification and certification of textile raw materials and associated material technologies.

1.2 The Standard is intended to determine whether a material is accurately represented; is technically defined; performs as claimed; can be manufactured consistently; can be appropriately tested; has adequate traceability; and demonstrates meaningful technical or material value for its declared application.

1.3 ARMM™ shall assess evidence against the applicable requirements of this Standard. Certification shall not be granted solely on the basis of a marketing claim, certificate from another organisation, or visual inspection.

2. Scope

2.1 This Standard applies to fibres, yarns, fabrics, finishes, membranes, coatings, insulation systems, dyeing technologies, polymer technologies, fibre technologies, surface treatments, composite textile structures and other textile material technologies within the declared assessment scope.

2.2 An assessment may apply to one or more stages: FIBRE → YARN → FABRIC → FINISH → MATERIAL SYSTEM.

2.3 The certified scope shall be stated on the certificate and shall define the material, manufacturing site where relevant, intended application and applicable certification level.

3. Normative Language

3.1 SHALL indicates a mandatory requirement.

3.2 SHOULD indicates a recommended practice. Departure from a SHOULD requirement shall be justified where the requirement is applicable.

3.3 MAY indicates a permitted option.

3.4 SHALL NOT indicates a prohibited practice.

3.5 Where a requirement is explicitly limited to a material category or certification level, it shall apply only within that stated scope.

4. Terms and Definitions

4.1 Applicant — organisation or legal entity applying for ARMM™ assessment or certification.

4.2 Assessed Material — specific fibre, yarn, fabric, finish, technology or material system submitted for assessment.

4.3 Certified Material — assessed material that has received a formal ARMM™ certification decision and remains within the approved scope.

4.4 Material Technical Specification (MTS) — controlled technical specification defining composition, construction, dimensions, mass, performance characteristics, tolerances and other applicable attributes.

4.5 Objective Evidence — verifiable information supporting conformity, including test reports, specifications, production records, quality records, samples, traceability records and documented observations.

4.6 Major Material Change — change that may affect composition, construction, performance, manufacturing consistency, traceability or a material claim.

4.7 Non-Conformity — failure to fulfil an applicable ARMM™ requirement.

4.8 Certification Mark — ARMM™ mark permitted for use under the applicable mark licence.

4.9 The Aaron Factor™ — ARMM™ qualitative technical judgement concerning material architecture, application suitability, innovation relevance, development maturity, commercial practicality and evidence quality. It shall not override mandatory technical or safety requirements.

4.10 WHY™ — ARMM™ finding used where the assessor requires the applicant to provide a technically credible rationale for a material, process or specification decision.

5. Fundamental Assessment Principle

5.1 ARMM™ shall assess what a material is, what it does, how consistently it can be produced, and whether the available evidence supports the claims made about it.

5.2 ARMM™ shall distinguish material assessment from simple documentation review.

5.3 Where an established and suitable test method exists, ARMM™ SHOULD use or reference that method rather than creating an unnecessary alternative.

5.4 Certification shall relate to a defined material specification and declared scope, not merely to a supplier organisation.

6. Assessment Architecture

6.1 Every certification assessment SHALL consider seven dimensions: Material Integrity; Technical Definition; Performance; Manufacturing Capability; Quality & Consistency; Traceability & Claims; and The Aaron Factor™.

7. Material Integrity

7.1 The applicant SHALL provide sufficient information to establish the identity and composition of the material.

7.2 Evidence MAY include fibre type, generic classification, composition, fibre diameter, staple length, filament characteristics, origin and recycled or bio-derived content where claimed.

7.3 For yarns, evidence SHALL include applicable yarn count/linear density, fibre composition, twist, ply, filament count, construction and relevant engineering characteristics.

7.4 For fabrics, evidence SHALL include applicable construction, GSM, width, yarn specification, stitch/sett information, composition and finishing route.

7.5 For material technologies, evidence SHALL describe the technical principle, construction, chemistry where relevant, operating mechanism, intended function and manufacturing process.

8. Technical Definition

8.1 Each certification application SHALL include an MTS appropriate to the material.

8.2 The MTS SHALL distinguish declared values from measured values where both exist.

8.3 Critical characteristics SHALL have defined acceptance criteria or tolerances where practical.

9. Performance Assessment

9.1 Performance requirements SHALL be determined according to intended end use and the declared material claims.

9.2 Applicable assessment areas MAY include tensile strength, tear strength, bursting strength, abrasion, pilling, dimensional stability, stretch and recovery, moisture management, drying, air permeability, thermal performance, water resistance, colourfastness, chemical resistance, durability and fatigue.

9.3 Test methods SHALL be identified in the assessment record.

9.4 Where external testing is used, the report SHALL identify the laboratory, test method, sample identity and test date.

9.5 ARMM™ SHALL NOT represent a performance result as universally applicable where the result is limited to a defined test method, sample or condition.

10. Manufacturing Capability

10.1 The applicant SHALL demonstrate that the assessed material can be manufactured with appropriate consistency for the declared application.

10.2 Assessment MAY include raw-material control, process control, production capacity, MOQ, lead time, demonstrated production history, critical process limitations and scale-up capability.

10.3 A laboratory sample SHALL NOT automatically be treated as evidence of commercial production capability.

11. Quality and Consistency

11.1 The applicant SHALL maintain controls appropriate to the certified material specification.

11.2 Assessment MAY include lot-to-lot variation, colour variation, GSM, width, dimensional variation, physical performance, defect levels, inspection systems, corrective action and change management.

11.3 Where required by certification level, ARMM™ MAY request production-lot evidence or retained samples.

12. Traceability and Claims

12.1 The applicant SHALL demonstrate traceability proportionate to the material and the certification claim.

12.2 Traceability MAY include raw material → spinner → yarn → knitter/weaver → finisher → certified material.

12.3 Technical, composition, performance, environmental and innovation claims SHALL be supported by objective evidence appropriate to the claim.

12.4 Unsupported, misleading or materially incomplete claims SHALL constitute a non-conformity.

13. Change Control

13.1 The certificate holder SHALL notify ARMM™ of a Major Material Change before representing the changed material as certified.

13.2 Major Material Changes MAY include fibre source, fibre composition, yarn, yarn supplier, yarn construction, fabric construction, dyeing process, finishing chemistry, finishing process, manufacturing site, critical equipment, specification, performance, recycled content or declared environmental characteristics.

13.3 ARMM™ SHALL determine whether reassessment, additional evidence or re-certification is required.

14. Assessment Criteria and Scoring

14.1 ARMM™ shall use a weighted assessment score as a decision-support mechanism. The score shall not replace mandatory conformity requirements.

14.2 The seven assessment dimensions shall be scored from 0 to 10 using the criteria in Appendix A.

14.3 Dimension scores shall be weighted as follows: Material Integrity 15%; Technical Definition 10%; Performance 20%; Manufacturing Capability 15%; Quality & Consistency 15%; Traceability & Claims 10%; The Aaron Factor™ 15%.

14.4 Weighted Score = Σ (Dimension Score ÷ 10 × Dimension Weight). The result shall be expressed as a percentage.

14.5 Mandatory requirements, critical non-conformities and evidence failures shall take precedence over the numerical score.

14.6 A score shall be calculated only from evidence available at the certification decision date.

15. Certification Levels

15.1 ARMM™ APPROVED — baseline technical assessment completed; all mandatory requirements satisfied; weighted score ≥ 70%; no Major or Critical Non-Conformity open.

15.2 ARMM™ TECHNICAL — comprehensive technical assessment completed; weighted score ≥ 80%; Performance, Manufacturing Capability and Quality & Consistency each ≥ 7/10; no Major or Critical Non-Conformity open.

15.3 ARMM™ GOLD — exceptional material assessment; weighted score ≥ 90%; Performance, Manufacturing Capability and Quality & Consistency each ≥ 8/10; Traceability & Claims ≥ 8/10; no Major or Critical Non-Conformity open; documented evidence of meaningful technical differentiation or material value.

15.4 ARMM™ PLATINUM — Gold requirements plus enhanced manufacturing, supplier and supply-chain assessment; Manufacturing Capability, Quality & Consistency and Traceability & Claims each ≥ 8/10; factory or manufacturing-site assessment where applicable.

15.5 ARMM™ SEEN may be used as a non-certification observation status where ARMM™ has encountered a material but the requirements for certification have not been assessed. It SHALL NOT be represented as material certification.

16. Certification Decision Rules

16.1 CERTIFIED — applicable certification threshold achieved and no blocking non-conformity remains open.

16.2 CERTIFIED WITH CONDITIONS — certification may be issued only where the applicable procedure explicitly permits conditions, the condition does not compromise material integrity or certification validity, and a defined closure date is established.

16.3 CORRECTIVE ACTION REQUIRED — evidence is insufficient or non-conformities prevent certification at the requested level.

16.4 CERTIFICATION DEFERRED — decision cannot reasonably be made because required evidence, testing or assessment activity remains incomplete.

16.5 NOT CERTIFIED — applicable mandatory requirements or minimum decision criteria are not met.

16.6 SUSPENDED — existing certification is temporarily invalid due to material change, unresolved major issue, misuse of the mark, loss of required evidence or other defined grounds.

16.7 WITHDRAWN — certification is permanently terminated for the defined certificate scope.

16.8 A Critical Non-Conformity SHALL prevent certification or cause suspension until formally resolved and verified.

17. Non-Conformity Classification

17.1 OBSERVATION (OBS) — potential issue or improvement opportunity that does not constitute failure of a mandatory requirement.

17.2 MINOR NON-CONFORMITY (NC-M) — limited failure that does not materially compromise the certified material or claim.

17.3 MAJOR NON-CONFORMITY (NC-MJ) — significant failure against an applicable requirement that may affect certification validity.

17.4 CRITICAL NON-CONFORMITY (NC-C) — failure affecting the integrity, validity or credibility of the certification.

17.5 WHY™ — request for documented technical rationale. A WHY™ may accompany any other finding and shall be closed with an evidence-based response.

18. Corrective Action

18.1 Where a non-conformity is identified, the applicant or certificate holder SHALL provide root cause, immediate correction, corrective action, responsible person, target completion date and evidence of implementation.

18.2 ARMM™ MAY require verification of effectiveness before closure.

18.3 Statements such as “we will be more careful” SHALL NOT, by themselves, constitute sufficient corrective action.

19. Certification Validity and Surveillance

19.1 Unless otherwise specified, ARMM™ certification shall be valid for 12 months from the issue date.

19.2 Certification MAY be subject to surveillance, annual review, evidence review, material change notification, reassessment or re-certification.

19.3 Continued use of the certification mark requires a current valid certificate and applicable mark licence.

20. Certification Mark and Licensing

20.1 Certified materials MAY use the applicable ARMM™ certification mark only under a separate ARMM™ Mark Licence.

20.2 The mark shall identify or link to the applicable certification scope and certificate record.

20.3 The certificate holder SHALL NOT use the mark on uncertified materials or in a manner implying certification of the entire organisation unless explicitly covered by scope.

20.4 Misuse of the mark may result in suspension or withdrawal.

21. ARMM™ Register

21.1 Each certified material SHALL receive a unique certificate number.

21.2 The public register SHOULD display certificate number, material, supplier, category, certification level, issue date, expiry date and status.

21.3 Example numbering format: ARMM-G-26-00427, where G denotes Gold, 26 the year of issue and 00427 the sequential certificate number.

22. Governance and Document Control

22.1 The ARMM™ Standard SHALL be maintained under controlled document procedures.

22.2 The document hierarchy shall be: Standard → Procedures → Forms → Guidance → Certificates → Mark Licences.

22.3 Changes to this Standard SHALL be assigned an edition number, effective date and change description.

22.4 The current published HTML version and controlled PDF shall be the authoritative public versions.

23. Code of Technical Conduct

23.1 Applicants and certificate holders SHALL represent materials truthfully.

23.2 Applicants SHALL NOT substitute materials without disclosure where the substitution may affect certification scope.

23.3 Applicants SHALL NOT manipulate or misrepresent test results.

23.4 Sustainability terminology SHALL be used only where the underlying claim can be explained and supported.

23.5 Applicants SHALL provide reasonable access to information necessary for assessment.

23.6 ARMM™ assessors SHALL maintain professional independence within the scope of the ARMM™ programme and shall document material findings.

24. Final Principle

ARMM™ does not certify what a material is called. ARMM™ certifies what the evidence demonstrates.

RAW MATERIALS. PROPERLY ASSESSED.