Request for Information – Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility USPS Headwear Fabrics Background: The Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility (NCTRF) is conducting a market survey to determine the availability of Berry Compliant, Commercial-off-the-shelf fabrics for use in the United States Postal Service (USPS) letter carrier cap (USPS specification 88E type I), postal police ball cap (USPS specification 88C), letter carrier visor (USPS specification 109B), and letter carrier sun hat (USPS specification 154A). The most promising fabrics will be down selected and subjected to physical property testing. Successful fabrics may be used in future procurements for the USPS Uniform Program. Description: NCTRF seeks to identify material to be used in the crown, visor, and brim of USPS Letter Carrier and Postal Police ball cap, visor, and sun hat headwear styles. The material should be capable of meeting or exceeding the physical and performance characteristics outlined in table I (see attachment). Submission fabrics shall be producible in Postal Blue 5060, Dark Blue 6000, and Security Force Blue 5070. Yardage submitted for evaluation should be a close color match to any of the USPS Blue colors noted above. Interested Parties: To respond to this Request for Information (RFI), interested parties are REQUIRED to submit the following to enable NCTRF to conduct physical property testing and determine acceptability for end use: 1. A cover sheet that identifies the interested party, their cage code, their business size under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), their technical point of contact (TPOC), and contact information (email and phone number) for the TPOC. 2. Material Submission a. A minimum of 5 yards full width material. b. A material description, to include; identification of fiber (fiber percentage), yarn structure (yarns per inch and ply), material structure, performance characteristics, color capabilities, production lead time, production locations (fiber, yarn, weaving and finishing). Complete disclosure of chemical treatment for topical finishes, applicable Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and documentation for Berry Amendment (10 USC 2533a) compliance is required. c. Technical data sheet(s) and applicable test reports for the material properties listed in table I (see attachment). d. An estimated unit cost per linear yard (specify width of material), which may be broken down by quantity reflecting economies of scale. e. Information which certifies that the finished product is composed of materials which have been safely used commercially or provide sufficient toxicity data to show compatibility with prolonged, direct skin contact. The finished cloth shall not present a dermal health hazard when used as intended. 3. End Item Submission a. One (1) ball style cap (USPS specification 88E, type I), per material submission, constructed with material submission as the basic material for the crown and visor. b. One (1) visor style (USPS specification 109B), per material submission, constructed with material submission as the basic material for the crown front panel and visor. c. One (1) sun hat style cap (USPS specification 154A), per material submission, constructed with material submission as the basic material for the brim binding and crown. Submissions are limited to two (2) materials per interested parties. Required documentation fabric and end item samples are due by COB 15 September 2021 at NCTRF. Information will be handled as proprietary and samples will not be returned. Contact Information: Please submit inquires for end item specifications as well as responses to this notice and/or requests for information to Kelly Fratelli, Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility, 10 General Greene Ave, Bldg. 86, Natick, MA 01760-5019, 508-206-2762,
[email protected]. This notice is a market survey only. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION OR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS . No solicitation document exists.