QUESTION

Is tretford Colour Fast to light?

ANSWER

tretford is dyed using the highest quality Ciba chemical 1 dyes. (Natural dyes are not sufficiently colour fast to use in the manufacture of contract floorcoverings.)

The vast array of heathered and plain colours which are so characteristic of tretford offer options suitable for almost every location. Even in sunny climates, they display a high resistance to colour change and have been independently tested and rated 5 to 6 which means that colour change over time is only very slight.

Where specifiers propose installing tretford in areas which will be exposed to direct sunlight over many years, they may however wish to take the following into account. Different colours exhibit different levels of resistance to colour change, where that change is caused by exposure to sunlight. This is as much a characteristic of dyes as it is of the product under consideration, so these rules apply to all natural textiles.

The rules of thumb are as follows:

Greatest Resistance to Colour Change: Greys and Beiges
(Because, in the case of tretford and other textiles made from similar material, these colours are closest to the original colour of the raw material and the quantity of dye added is small or even non-existent, colour change is minimal.)

Middle Ground: Reds

Least Resistance to Colour Change: Blues and Greens

It is worth emphasising, however, that as far as tretford is concerned these are only relative measures. tretford carpet in blue and green also exhibits excellent resistance to colour change. tretford has been used extensively for many years and without complaint in high sun and low ozone protected areas such as the Middle East, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.