Colour fastness

It signifies the textile's ability to endure repeated washing without experiencing fading, bleeding, or other undesirable alterations.

Lightfastness is a characteristic of a colourant, such as dye or pigment, which denotes its ability to resist fading when subjected to light exposure.

Direct dye application to cotton results in poor fastness properties when washing.

Colour fastness is rated poor if the item does not comply with tests exposing it to washing, light, rubbing and other agents such as perspiration.

Standardized testing for colour fastness and other parameters was established in the 20th century by industrialized economies such as the US, the UK, Japan, and Europe.

The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Society of Dyers and Colourists played vital roles in establishing the test methods.