Colorfastness

Colorfastness
Color with confidence

Textile products such as clothes, blankets, bed linen and towels can suffer from garment fade and poor colourfastness – which leads to a huge volume of consumer complaints and returns.

The fastness of a color can vary dependent on the type of dye used, the particular shade, its depth and the quality of the dyeing process. Dye can also react differently when in contact with different agents – for example, dyes which remain fast during dry cleaning may fade when washed in water. 

Similarly, dye can bleed from a garment and color stain other items, either as a result of poor fastness, or an encounter with a product or process that causes the dye to behave differently. 

OUR APPROACH TO COLORFASTNESS IN TEXTILES

Bureau Veritas provides color fastness testing to cover the average life and use expectancy of garments, along with other textile products.

For example, we test dye samples to see whether they deteriorate (fade) or transfer to undyed textiles (stain). To offer a more objective result, we undertake a numerical assessment of each of these effects, by comparing the changes with two sets of standard grey scales – one for fading and the other for staining. 

Our quality assurance services for softline products support brand protection via safety compliance testing, inspection and consulting services. The benefits of our comprehensive evaluation programmes include meeting regulatory requirements for each distribution country; minimizing the risk of substandard merchandise and costly customer returns; and enhancing risk management procedures.