54 Examples of Material Quality

John Spacey, updated on May 01, 2023

Material quality is the value of a material for a particular use. As with all quality, material quality is evaluated in terms of fitness for purpose whereby what is high quality for one purpose may be low quality for another. For example, marble has reasonable hardness and compressive strength such that it can be used as a floor or counter. However, marble isn't flexible or light such that it wouldn't make for a good aircraft wing, tire or shirt. The following are examples of material quality.

Abrasion resistance	Biodegradability
Breathability	Chemical resistance
Cold resistance	Colorfastness
Compressive strength	Consistency
Corrosion resistance	Cultural value
Durability	Easy care / low maintenance
Easy cleaning	Elasticity
Fire resistance	Flexibility / flexural strength
Hardness	Heat resistance
Impact resistance	Lightweight
Look and feel	Low shrinkage
Non-conductive	Non-slip properties
Non-toxicity	Odorlessness
Optical properties	Perceived value
Puncture resistance	Recyclability
Resilience to stresses	Resistance to fading
Rot resistance	Scratch resistance
Shock absorption	Smoothness
Softness	Sound absorption
Sound insulation	Strength
Stretchability	Sturdiness
Tear resistance	Tensile strength
Thermal resistance	Touch properties such as tactility
Toughness	Traditional value
UV resistance	Vibration resistance
Visual appeal	Water resistance
Weather resistance	Workability

The quality of materials is influenced by culture, traditions and general perceptions. For example, people may perceive hardwoods as higher quality than hard plastics for traditional products such as furnishings. Where something is perceived as high quality, it is high quality from a pragmatic perspective in that products made from these materials may be perceived as high value.

54 Examples of Material Quality

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