Integrated laboratory strengthens product safety, quality and performance testing for retailers, brands and suppliers
TCF POST Desk
NORTHBROOK, Ill., Sept. 17, 2026 — UL Solutions is expanding its Retail Center of Excellence in Lowell, Arkansas, bringing apparel and textile testing together with testing for furniture, toys and other consumer products in an integrated laboratory operation.
The expansion adds softlines testing for apparel and textiles to the facility’s existing hardlines capabilities, creating a broader testing platform for retailers, brands, manufacturers and suppliers operating across consumer product categories.
For the Textile, Clothing and Footwear industry, the development strengthens access to laboratory testing covering apparel and textile products as part of a wider retail quality-assurance ecosystem. UL Solutions says the expanded centre adds laboratory space, modernised equipment and technical expertise to help customers identify potential product concerns earlier in the development and sourcing process.
Apparel and textile testing moves into integrated model
UL Solutions classifies apparel and textiles as softlines, while furniture, toys and electronics are included within hardlines. The Lowell facility now integrates these testing capabilities, allowing customers to address product safety, quality and performance requirements across multiple categories through a more connected testing operation.
The centre supports testing and quality assurance for apparel and textiles, furniture, toys, packaging, children’s products, home and general merchandise, chemistry, and electrical and electronic products, among other retail categories.
For apparel and textile companies, the expanded facility provides a testing environment within a major US retail ecosystem, potentially supporting product development, sourcing and quality decisions closer to the market and retail customers.
Furniture and toys included in wider quality platform
The same facility extends testing capabilities across furniture and toys, giving consumer-product companies access to testing and technical expertise within the same retail-focused centre.
UL Solutions also operates a Product Experience Center, where customers can obtain consumer feedback on areas including product performance, assembly, instructions and usability before production. The company says this can help identify potential concerns at an earlier stage of product development.
The approach links laboratory testing with product-experience insights, reflecting the growing importance for retailers and brands of identifying quality, performance and usability issues before products reach consumers.
Second phase of retail testing centre
The Lowell expansion represents the second phase of UL Solutions' Retail Center of Excellence. The centre opened in 2024 as a purpose-built laboratory designed around speed, scale, flexibility and collaboration.
Alex Dadakis, executive vice president and president of Testing, Inspection and Certification at UL Solutions, said retailers facing changing consumer expectations need testing solutions that provide speed, connectivity and confidence.
The company said its broader retail testing operations combine product safety, quality and performance testing with technical expertise and consumer insights, supported by its global laboratory network. UL Solutions operates in more than 110 countries.
Industry significance: For apparel and textile manufacturers and sourcing organisations, the expansion highlights a shift toward integrated product testing, where softlines can be assessed within a broader consumer-product quality infrastructure alongside furniture, toys, packaging and other retail categories.
