Colour Fastness in Plain Words: Will This Towel Bleed in the First Wash?

Short answer: colour fastness is how well a dyed fabric keeps its colour and avoids staining other things. Laboratories grade it from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). For hotel and retail towels, ask for grade 4 or better for washing and at least 3 to 4 for wet rubbing. You can run a rough check yourself with a white cloth and hot water.

The grades

Half grades such as 3-4 and 4-5 are used. Light fastness is the exception: it uses a separate scale from 1 to 8.

Each test gives two results: colour change (did the fabric fade) and staining (did it mark the white fabric washed with it).

Which tests matter for towels and sheets

"Typical request" is what buyers commonly ask for. Your own spec sets the requirement.

Why dark and bright colours need more care

Deep shades carry more dye, so there is more to come loose. Navy, black, red and turquoise are the usual offenders. Wet rubbing is the hardest test for dark terry, because the loops present a lot of surface. A dark towel that scores 2 on wet rubbing will mark a white robe.

A home test before you approve a sample

• Cut or fold the sample against a piece of white cotton and pin them together.
• Soak in hot water with a little detergent for 30 minutes, agitating now and then.
• Rinse and dry.
• Look at the white cloth and at the water.

A faint tint on the first soak of a dark towel is common and usually washes out. Clear staining of the white cloth, or coloured water on a second soak, means poor fastness.

Then rub a damp white cloth firmly across the dry towel ten times. Colour on the cloth is your wet-rub result.

What to write on the spec

*"Colour fastness to washing: minimum grade 4 for colour change and staining. Colour fastness to rubbing: dry 4, wet 3-4. Test report from an accredited laboratory on the bulk fabric and colour."*

For pool towels, add chlorinated water and light. For salons, add bleach resistance. See why salon towels go orange.

When white towels and coloured towels meet

Even good dark towels should be washed separately for the first few washes, and never with white linen. Tell housekeeping and the laundry when coloured stock arrives.

The regulatory side

Fastness is about performance. Dye safety is a separate question, covered by rules such as REACH in the EU. See REACH and azo dyes.

Read more

Our colour fastness testing guide describes each test method, and how to read a test report shows where the grades appear. To price coloured towels with fastness written into the spec, send us your colours.