Team Uniform Fabrics: How to Read a Fabric Specification

Polyester is the most widely produced textile fiber in the world. Textile Exchange, which publishes a yearly survey of the fiber market, counted a record 139 million metric tons of fiber produced in 2025, up from 132 million in 2024. Polyester accounted for 59 percent of it, about 82.5 million metric tons. The figures are from its Materials Market Report 2026, as summarized by the trade publication Resource Recycling in September 2026.

Those figures cover every use of fiber, and this guide has no sourced figure for team uniforms alone. Two properties explain why polyester is so common in them.

• It can be sublimated. Dye sublimation, the process that prints a complete uniform design into the fabric, is always done on polyester or another polymer surface, according to PRINTING United Alliance, a printing trade association.
• It can be engineered. One fiber can become very different yarns and fabrics. A 2023 study in the Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management knitted one jersey structure from three polyester-based yarns and found that one managed moisture better than the other two.

So the word polyester on a quote is where the questions start. Which fabrics are available depends on the manufacturer, and that is as true of us as of anyone. Our uniforms are made to order in Sialkot, Pakistan, as our manufacturing page describes, so ask what is offered for the garment you have in mind.

A fabric is the result of four separate decisions. A specification that names only one of them, usually the fiber, leaves the other three open.

Fiber

The fiber is the raw material. It is identified by a generic name such as polyester, nylon, cotton or spandex and given with a percentage, for example 90 percent polyester and 10 percent spandex (an illustration, not a recommendation). That line says what the fabric is made of. It does not say how the fabric will feel, stretch or handle sweat.

Yarn

Fibers are made into yarn before they become fabric. A yarn can be spun from short fibers or made of continuous strands called filaments, and terms such as micro-polyester and texturized polyester describe the yarn, not the fiber. They matter. In the 2023 study, jersey knitted from micro-polyester managed moisture better than the same structure in texturized polyester or in a polyester and spandex blend. The authors credited more capillary channels, the tiny gaps that carry liquid from one face of a fabric to the other.

Fabric structure

Structure is how the yarns are assembled. The fabrics in this guide are knits, in which yarn is formed into connected loops, and the loops give a knit its stretch. Jersey, interlock, mesh and tricot are all names for structures.

Finish

A finish is a treatment applied to the fabric after it is made. The same study applied four kinds, for moisture management, soil release, antimicrobial effect and ultraviolet protection, and reported that the moisture management finish significantly improved every moisture property tested. Ask which finishes have been applied, and whether a test result was measured before or after washing.

A handful of structure names cover most of what appears on a uniform quote. Single knits are made on one set of needles. Double knits are made on two, which in effect links two fabrics together as they are knitted. Tricot is a warp knit, made from filament yarn on a different kind of machine. The descriptions of jersey, piqué, rib, interlock and double knits follow Cotton Incorporated's guide to single and double knits.

Two cautions go with these names. A structure is not a grade: the same interlock can be knitted fine or coarse, light or heavy, and from different yarns. And one garment can use several structures, for example a closed-face body with mesh panels and rib trim, so ask which fabric is used where.

What GSM and ounces mean

Fabric weight is the mass of a fixed area of fabric. In metric units it is given in grams per square meter, written GSM or g/m². In U.S. units it is given in ounces per square yard. One ounce per square yard is about 33.9 GSM, so a fabric listed at 5 ounces is about 170 GSM. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation. Confirm that an ounce figure is per square yard and not per running yard of the roll, which would depend on the roll's width.

How weight is measured

The method to ask about is ASTM D3776/D3776M, the standard test methods for mass per unit area (weight) of fabric, which the textile testing laboratory at NC State University lists among the fabric tests it performs. The principle is simple: a piece of known area is weighed, and the mass is divided by the area. Ask whether the weight on a quote is a target or a result measured on the finished fabric.

Why heavier is not automatically better

Weight tells you how much yarn is in each square meter. It does not tell you how the yarn is arranged, how the fabric feels or how long it lasts. A double knit is heavier than a single knit because it is two fabrics linked together, and Cotton Incorporated notes that the extra yarn raises its cost. An open mesh and a closed interlock can share a weight and little else. More weight also means more material to wear through a game in a hot gym.

Stretch, recovery and spandex

A knit stretches because its loops can open. In a plain jersey the stretch is about twice as great across the width as along the length, and a rib stretches about twice as far across its width as a jersey, according to Cotton Incorporated.

For more stretch, and above all for recovery, the return to the original shape after wear and washing, mills add an elastic fiber. It is called spandex in the United States and elastane in most other countries. The two words describe the same kind of fiber, and it is knitted or woven together with other fibers such as polyester or nylon.

Stretch is a trade, not a free upgrade. In the 2023 study, the polyester and spandex jersey managed moisture less well than the micro-polyester one. Stretch also changes how a size chart should be read, which our sizing and roster guide covers, and it is the basis of close-fitting garments such as base layers.

Sellers use loose phrases such as two-way and four-way stretch. Ask in which directions the fabric stretches, by how much, and how well it recovers. The laboratory method for knits is ASTM D2594, Stretch Properties of Knitted Fabrics Having Low Power.

Moisture-wicking is the most familiar claim in sportswear and one of the least specific. Wicking is the movement of liquid sweat through a fabric, along the fine channels between fibers and filaments, from the side against the skin toward the outer face, where it can spread out and evaporate.

Three different things hide inside the phrase: how readily a fabric takes up water, how the water moves once it is in, and how fast the fabric dries. Laboratories measure them separately.

The tests behind the claim

• AATCC TM79, Absorbency of Textiles. Determines the water absorbency of yarns, fabrics and garments, whatever the fiber content or construction.
• AATCC TM195, Liquid Moisture Management Properties of Textile Fabrics. Measures, evaluates and classifies how liquid behaves in knitted, woven and nonwoven fabrics. AATCC, the association that publishes it, describes the results as resting on the fabric's water resistance, water repellency and water absorption, which come from its structure and from the wicking characteristics of its fibers and yarns.
• Wicking and drying tests. The 2023 study measured vertical wicking and drying behavior as separate properties, alongside the moisture management test.

Why the claim alone tells you little

A product page that says moisture-wicking has not told you which property was measured, by which method, on which fabric, or whether anything was measured at all. The result belongs to the whole fabric: fiber, yarn and structure together. In the study, changing only the yarn or adding a finish changed the results. Ask for the method by its number and for the result, and if the performance comes from a finish, ask whether it was measured after laundering.

Breathability and air permeability

Breathable is another word that covers two measurements. Air permeability is how readily air passes through a fabric. The method listed by NC State's laboratory is ASTM D737, Air Permeability of Textile Fabrics, and the same list includes ISO 9237, an international method for the same property. Water vapor permeability is how readily moisture that has already evaporated escapes through the fabric. The 2023 study measured the two separately.

Structure shapes air permeability more than any label does. An open mesh passes more air than a closed-face knit, which is the reason mesh is used for ventilation panels. If airflow matters for your sport, ask for the result and the method.

UPF stands for ultraviolet protection factor. It is the rating used for fabric, as SPF is the rating used for sunscreen.

The test method behind it is AATCC TM183, Transmittance or Blocking of Erythemally Weighted Ultraviolet Radiation through Fabrics. An instrument measures how much ultraviolet radiation passes through a specimen at a series of wavelengths. Each wavelength is weighted by how strongly it reddens skin, which is what erythemally weighted means. The UPF is a ratio: the weighted ultraviolet reaching the detector with no fabric in the way, divided by the amount reaching it through the fabric.

Read that way, the number explains itself. A fabric rated UPF 30 let through about one thirtieth of the sunburn-weighted ultraviolet in the test, and a fabric rated UPF 50 about one fiftieth, or 2 percent. The method also calculates the percentage of UVA and UVB radiation blocked, and it provides for testing a specimen dry or wet. How a UPF value is stated on a label is the subject of a companion standard, ASTM D6603.

• Which fabric was tested. A rating belongs to the fabric that was tested, not to a whole garment. Mesh panels need their own answer.
• Dry or wet. The method allows either, and a uniform is worn wet with sweat.
• New or washed. Ask whether the fabric was tested as made or after laundering.
• The report. Ask for the test report that names AATCC TM183 and states the result.

A sun-protection claim is also one you inherit. A dealer or brand that repeats a UPF figure on a product page should hold the report behind it. If you are developing a line under your own label, raise it at the start of the private label conversation.

Durability is three different failures, and each has its own word.

• Pilling is the formation of small balls of tangled fiber on the surface, where the fabric rubs against itself or against equipment.
• Snagging is a yarn or filament pulled out of the surface by something rough or sharp, such as a hook-and-loop strap.
• Abrasion is the gradual wearing away of the fabric where it is rubbed again and again, for example by sliding on turf or a gym floor.

Each word has laboratory methods behind it. The textile testing laboratory at NC State University lists the ASTM methods and the colorfastness methods in the table below among its fabric tests. A result is a rating under set conditions: useful for comparing two fabrics, and not a promise of how many seasons a uniform will last.

Colorfastness

Colorfastness is the resistance of a color to fading or to transferring onto something else. It is tested one hazard at a time: laundering, rubbing (which the trade calls crocking), perspiration and water. Results are graded against standard gray scales, one for change in the color itself and one for staining.

Why sublimated polyester holds its color

In dye sublimation the design is printed with disperse dyes and set with heat. PRINTING United Alliance describes what happens in the heat press: the dye turns to gas, the synthetic fibers open to admit it, and when the heat is removed they close around it. The color ends up inside the fiber, with no layer on the surface to crack or peel.

The same source rates sublimated textiles as wash-fast and durable but not very resistant to ultraviolet light. Long exposure to strong sun, not the washing machine, is the realistic threat to a sublimated uniform's color. Our comparison of sublimation, screen printing and embroidery goes further into each method.

Antimicrobial and odor-control finishes

An odor-control or antimicrobial finish treats the fabric with a substance intended to limit the growth of bacteria on it. Antimicrobial was one of the four finishes in the 2023 study, where it affected moisture behavior less than the moisture management finish did.

In the United States the claims attached to such a finish are regulated, because federal pesticide law covers substances intended to control pests, microbes included. The Environmental Protection Agency explains that an article treated with a pesticide to protect the article itself can be exempt from registration, provided the pesticide is registered for that use and the claims go no further than protecting the product. A treated product that has not been registered may not make public health claims, such as saying that it fights germs or gives antibacterial protection, and a product that claims to control specific bacteria such as E. coli or Salmonella has to be registered as a pesticide. The agency also states that there is no scientific evidence that such products prevent the spread of germs and harmful microbes in people.

Recycled polyester

Recycled polyester is still the minority. In Textile Exchange's figures for 2025, 88 percent of all polyester was virgin material. Among the companies that report to its benchmark, about 1.5 percent of the recycled polyester they used in 2025 came from textiles, and most came from other sources such as plastic bottles. A recycled fabric is therefore more likely to have begun as a bottle than as old clothing.

A recycled claim is only as good as its paper trail, which is what certification standards exist to provide. The Global Recycled Standard (GRS), owned by Textile Exchange, is a voluntary international standard for third-party certification of recycled content, chain of custody, social and environmental practices, and chemical restrictions. The points below are from Version 5.0, dated July 2026.

The Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) comes from the same owner and is likewise built on chain of custody, but it is a separate document with its own requirements, so read which standard a certificate names. The GRS text also notes that the standard is being phased out over several years in favor of Textile Exchange's Materials Matter Standard, one more reason to ask which standard and version a supplier's documents refer to.

Ask for the supplier's scope certificate, the transaction certificate for the material in your order, and the recycled percentage of the fabric. Which recycled fabrics a manufacturer can supply, and under which standard, is a question to settle before you promise anything to your own customers.

Fabric and decoration are chosen together, because each limits the other.

• Fiber decides whether sublimation is possible. Sublimation is done on polyester or another polymer surface, so the fiber content line settles whether an all-over sublimated design is an option.
• Surface decides how fine the detail can be. A closed face such as interlock gives artwork an unbroken surface. On an open mesh the holes become part of the picture, and small lettering and thin lines lose clarity.
• Stretch changes what the eye sees. Artwork on a fabric that stretches is seen stretched when the garment is worn, most of all on close-fitting pieces.
• Weight and stability matter for anything added on top. Stitched and heat-applied decoration adds a second layer. A very light or very stretchy fabric may not carry it well, so ask which methods the manufacturer recommends for the fabric you have chosen.

With us, every order goes through an artwork proof that you approve before anything is produced. A proof shows placement, colors, names and numbers. It cannot show how a fabric feels, so ask for a swatch as well where one can be supplied. How it works explains the stages, and our guide to preparing a logo for uniform printing covers the artwork itself.

Caring for performance fabrics

Start with the care label on the garment, which reflects the fabric, the decoration and any finish together. Beyond that, the points established in this guide suggest a few habits.

• Keep sublimated uniforms out of strong sun between uses. Ultraviolet light, not washing, is the main risk to sublimated color.
• Wash away from hooks, zippers and hook-and-loop fasteners. They catch and pull yarns, and a pulled yarn is a snag.
• Ask before using fabric softener or bleach. A moisture or odor-control finish is a treatment on the fabric, and the manufacturer can tell you what affects it.
• Give every player the same instructions. Pass the care label's wording to families in writing, so a set of uniforms ages evenly.

A manufacturer who knows the fabric can answer the questions below quickly. A slow or vague answer is information too.

To put these questions to us, contact our team. Dealers and brands that order regularly can start from our trade page.

Common mistakes

• Treating the fiber as the whole specification. Two fabrics that are both 100 percent polyester can differ in yarn, structure, weight and finish.
• Buying by weight. A heavier fabric contains more yarn. Whether it suits a hot gym or a summer field is a separate question.
• Accepting a performance word without a method. Moisture-wicking, breathable and antimicrobial each have tests or rules behind them. Ask which.
• Reading a UPF or recycled claim as a property of the garment. Both belong to a specific fabric, and both need a document.
• Choosing fabric and decoration separately. Decide them together, before the artwork is drawn.
• Skipping the swatch. Feel, opacity and stretch are judged by hand, not from a table.