Black cotton fleece can lose colour in two ways. Dye can wash out, leaving the whole garment lighter. The surface can also abrade, so tiny broken fibres scatter light and make the fabric look grey even if the dye is still there. Abrasion shows most at cuffs, hems and the front, where friction is highest. The two causes need different fixes, so it is worth separating them before blaming the factory or the customer.

Start by comparing a faded garment with an unwashed one from the same lot in good daylight, inside and out. If the inside is as faded as the outside, dye loss in washing is the more likely cause. If only the outer face and high-friction areas look grey, abrasion is doing most of the damage.

Test colour fastness to washing

ISO 105-C06 tests colour fastness to domestic and commercial laundering. It reports colour change of the specimen and staining of adjacent fabrics, each rated on a grey scale. Specify a minimum rating and the test condition that matches your care label, and ask the mill for reports on the bulk dye lot, not a lab dip. If the rating is low, the dyeing or after-treatment needs to improve.

Look at the surface

Wash garments several times with a named procedure such as ISO 6330, then compare the faded areas under a magnifier with unwashed fabric. Fuzzy, broken fibres point to abrasion. In that case, a more abrasion-resistant yarn, a tighter face construction, a finish that removes protruding fibres, or a gentler care instruction may help more than a stronger dye.

Care instructions

Turning garments inside out, washing in cooler water and avoiding hot tumble drying all slow both kinds of fading. Under the FTC Care Labeling Rule, 16 CFR Part 423, the label must give instructions for regular care and warn about procedures that would harm the product. If the hoodie only keeps its colour under gentler care, the label should say so.

Specify and check

Put the colour fastness rating, the method and the wash conditions in the fabric approval. Keep a washed reference garment from approval and compare washed bulk garments against it.

If complaints come only from one colour lot, ask the factory for that lot's dye and after-treatment records. A process shortcut on one lot is easier to fix than a fabric or dye choice that affects every order.