Product Care
There’s surely nothing wrong with faded tie dyes if that’s the look you’re going for, but our style is bright and vibrant, and we like to keep them that way for as long as possible.
Our products are made from natural fibers like cotton, which means they will unfortunately degrade and break down over time. There’s really nothing that can be done about that, but the good news is there are measures you can take that will dramatically extend the life of your dyed pieces so you’ll be able to enjoy them for years to come.
Let’s first talk about why colors fade and then we’ll get to what you can do about it.
Why Do Colors Fade?
Well, colors fade for lots of reasons actually, but there are a few main culprits leading the charge.
Wearing, Washing and Drying Friction: We all wear our clothes and eventually have to wash our clothes - hopefully you agree with this noncontroversial take… and all of this handling, wearing, rubbing, washing, and drying all causes friction, which will have serious effects on your garments. So one of the main things we can do to extend the life of our pieces is simply being conscious and as careful as possible while handling.
Exposure To Heat: Heat is a huge deal for the longevity of your colors. Washing your clothes in warm or hot water and drying with heat is just asking for clothes to fade. Just don’t do it! Make washing in cold and air drying your thing from now on.
Aggressive Detergents: Some detergents are excellent at getting out stains, but often that aggressiveness extends to pulling dyes from garments. Look for detergents which are color safe and gentle, and formulated specifically to protect colors from fading.
Exposure To Sunlight: Sadly one of the things we like to do most with our pieces is a big reason colors can fade. Simple exposure to sunlight will unfortunately cause colors to lose vibrancy over time. I wish there was an solution for this one, but I enjoy wearing my dyes to outdoor venues and summer concerts too much so sadly I don’t have a lot of suggestions here.
Washing Care
When washing, flip the piece inside out to reduce friction on the normally visible sides, and always wash in cold water on the delicate/gentle setting if possible. The warmer the water and the more agitation, the greater the chance dye will be released and begin to appear faded. Cold only! Also, we can’t endorse wasting water, but just know that the more clothes you put in a load of wash at the same time, the more friction you’re creating, which will lead to further color degradation.
Color safe detergents
Often we have to worry about things like allergies or sensitivities to certain chemicals, so my suggestion is to just add this to your list of considerations. Strong and aggressive detergents designed to extract stains will have the unintended consequence of pulling out some of the dyes in your fabrics, resulting in a loss of saturation and vibrancy. Stick to gentle and color safe detergents if at all possible.
Drying Care
As with washing, the same goes for drying. Drying your pieces with hot/warm air, or even in the sunlight, will exacerbate fading and fabric degradation. Fight the urge to dry your pieces using hot air or even tumble dry! Even no heat tumble drying will create friction that will cause your garments to lose brightness. If at all possible, hang dry your pieces in a laundry room or in the shade outside.
Sunlight exposure
I’m sorry, but I’ve got nothing for this one. Showing off our dyes and wearing them to fun and interesting places out in the world is why we do what we do. Get out there and wear the heck out of your 2nd Show Dye!