For a navy knit body with a cream collar, “colorfastness” can mean several concerns. Will the navy change colour? Could it stain the collar in washing, transfer by rubbing, or migrate where the colours touch during folded storage? Start by naming the concern, then agree the evidence needed to investigate it.
This is a buying-team workflow for selecting and reviewing tests. It is not a requirement to order every test mentioned, and initial approval of a colour sample does not by itself approve its performance.
Separate colour change from staining
Keep the appearance of the tested colour separate from its effect on receiving material. AATCC’s October 2024 explanation of its grey scales identifies separate evaluation tools for colour change and staining.
Ask which result is reported and what was assessed. “Grade 4” without a property or receiving-material reference leaves an important question open. A buyer concerned about a cream collar needs to see the relevant staining evidence, alongside any assessment of the navy material itself.
Build an exposure map for the product
Intertek’s testing overview describes washing, rubbing, perspiration, light and dry cleaning as different exposures. Select relevant work with the technical team or laboratory using the garment’s intended use and care. Add water contact or folded storage where they raise a specific question.
For each concern, identify the colour that may transfer and the material that may receive it. List the body, collar, cuffs, placket or other contact areas, with their material, colour and lot references where available. This gives the laboratory a clearer basis for advising how the real combination should be represented.
Record the full method and procedure
A standard number alone may not identify the work performed. Retain its edition, the selected procedure or option and any preparation reported.
- AATCC TM61-2013e(2020)e2 describes an accelerated laundering test. Its public summary says one 45-minute test roughly approximates the colour loss and surface changes of five typical hand or home launderings under the stated framework. This is not a universal one-to-five conversion for staining, shrinkage or garment life.
- ISO 105-C06:2010 distinguishes single and multiple laundering procedures. Ask which procedure was selected. Its confirmation in April 2026 did not create a new edition.
- AATCC TM8-2016e(2022)e includes dry and wet rubbing procedures. Keep those results separately identifiable.
- AATCC TM15-2021e concerns acid perspiration. If the requirement covers acid and alkaline conditions, ask the laboratory to identify the appropriate methods and their scope.
- AATCC TM107-2022e, for water, is described by AATCC as technically equivalent to ISO 105-E01. Record the relevant editions, procedure details and acceptance basis for that particular comparison.
Agree any additional observation of the assembled garment separately from the standard test. Label its purpose and conditions so that an assembly check is not presented as a standard-method result.
Consider contact during folded storage
The public scope of AATCC TM163-2013(2020)e4 addresses dye transfer during storage where different shades are in close contact. It distinguishes this phenomenon from sublimation.
Packaging needs context. The summary explains that plastic bags tend to retain the initial relative humidity around the garment; depending on its condition when bagged, this can aggravate or reduce transfer. A plastic bag therefore does not establish that bleeding will occur.
Show the laboratory the intended folding arrangement, contact areas and packaging state. Ask what evidence would address the concern. Do not turn an accelerated storage result into an unsupported promise of a specific number of warehouse months.
Example: adding a cream collar after colour approval
Hypothetical development example: this is not a Huayang customer order or test result.
A navy colour sample has been approved, and a rubbing report exists for its swatch. The design then gains a cream collar, which touches the body when folded. The earlier report remains evidence for its own sample and conditions; it does not answer every question raised by the new combination.
Review the navy yarn and finish versions, collar material, laundering-staining requirement and folded-storage concern. Ask how existing reports apply, what further testing is needed and whether separate assembly observations would help. Retain the approval evidence for the final combination. The colour contrast alone does not prove that the product will fail.
Make reports usable across the buying team
- Sample identity
- Style, colour pair, material, lot and finish versions, including receiving components.
- Test basis
- Report ID, provider, full method edition, procedure option, preparation, exposure and dates.
- Results
- Colour change and staining separately; dry and wet rubbing separately. Retain individual receiving-fibre results where reported.
- Decision
- Applicable acceptance requirement, deviations, limitations, open questions and responsible approver.
An unexplained average of several receiving-material results can obscure the result relevant to a contrast component. Keep the report’s original detail available and ask the laboratory how it should be interpreted.
AATCC’s standard-laundering information identifies equipment, detergent and ballast as consistency factors. It also notes that optical brighteners can interfere with colourfastness specimen evaluation. Record the relevant laundering basis rather than assuming that different setups are interchangeable.
Investigate the specific result before changing the order
If a result misses an agreed requirement, identify the affected property, sample and conditions first. Ask the technical team to investigate the material, dyeing, finishing or construction involved. Record any proposed change and ask which evidence needs repeating for the revised version.
Keep the new approval linked to that version and its scope. Use the colour and lot approval record, discuss test planning, and manage later requests through the bulk-change guide. Approval should identify the conditions reviewed; it cannot guarantee every possible exposure or every production variant.
Sources and scope
Public material checked on 13 October 2026. Standards were reviewed only through public summaries and catalogue information; paid full methods were not obtained. No test recipe, universal passing grade or Huayang laboratory capability is supplied here. The workflow and hypothetical example are original buyer guidance.
- AATCC — Gray Scales (4 October 2024): colour-change and staining evaluation tools.
- Intertek — Colorfastness Testing: exposure overview. Method-specific scope is taken from the relevant standards publisher.
- AATCC TM61 and ISO 105-C06:2010: laundering scope and procedure distinctions.
- AATCC TM8, TM15 and TM107: rubbing, acid-perspiration and water scope.
- AATCC TM163: storage transfer and packaging conditions.
- AATCC — Standard Laundering: comparable materials and optical-brightener considerations.