When considering what color clothing to buy, there are near-endless options from which to choose. At Bella + Canvas, we have over 300 colors across different styles. Whether you prefer soft neutrals or bold, vibrant colors, there are many different shades to explore and love.
While it may seem as simple as choosing a garment that’s dyed in your preferred color, it isn’t quite that simple. You should also be aware of the method used to dye the garment. Different wholesale suppliers use different methods to dye their clothing. The technique used to dye the materials not only determines the shade, but the consistency of the color, as well as how long the color wears on the garment over time.
Know before you buy. It’s important to understand the differences between the dyeing methods of clothing. Here’s what you’ll need to know about some of the most popular methods of clothes dyeing, and how they’ll affect a garment’s look as its worn.
Garment-dyed Clothing vs. Regular-dyed Clothing
There are two primary kinds of dyeing for clothing: garment-dyeing and regular-dyeing.
What Is Regular-dyed Clothing?
In traditional, or regular-dyeing, rich colors are intricately developed in a laboratory to ensure that the fabric will turn out in the desired color.
Once the dye colors are created, then the actual dyeing process begins. Initially, large fabric swatches are used in some shade of white or off-white, if they’ve been bleached before going to the dye bath. The materials are put into dyeing machines, where they absorb the various hues of color.
During this process, the material is pushed around by water, the dyeing machine, or by hand as the textile absorbs the dye.
The swaths of fabric are then taken out of the machine, dried, and cut to be sewn and made into garments — whether it’s t-shirts, sweatpants, or other apparel.
This method allows for ultimate control and color consistency across the garments. This controlled process eliminates as many variables as possible — which is not the case with garment-dyeing. Regular-dyeing also keeps color consistency over time. As color naturally fades out of fabric after years of wear, it will do so gently and evenly with regular-dyeing — not leaving uneven color fading in areas of the garment.
What Is Garment-dyed Clothing?
In garment-dyeing, an article of clothing is completely constructed before it’s dyed. This means a manufacturer will take garments like t-shirts or sweatshirts and put them into a batch of dye.
Entire garments, versus just the fabric used to make the clothes, are dyed at once. The garments are then taken out of the dye bath, dried, and are ready to be sold.
While garment-dyeing can be great for achieving a vintage effect, there are some downsides.
This dyeing method can cause uneven dyeing on the t-shirt, hoodie, or any other article of clothing being dyed, making consumers question the quality of the garment. Equally, color that once had a “vintage” look can quickly become faded and dull. If not immediately apparent, it will become evident after the customer first washes the item.
If garment-dyed clothes are not properly washed and dried (as instructed on the clothes label), the color can wash out onto other items that are being washed along with them.
Which Kind of Dyeing Is Best for Clothing?
To ensure you have garments that will best hold their color over time, choose garments dyed the traditional way — with the fabric dyed before it’s cut and sewn into a garment.
This means there’s more control over how the dye turns out, and consistency in an even color. This method of dyeing also wears best over time, giving clothing years of life without the worry of extreme fading.
At Bella + Canvas, we have over 300 colors to choose from across our different styles, and we work hard to establish that you get the brightest colors in each garment. Whether you choose bulk white zip-up hoodies, jet-black joggers, or neon green t-shirts, we believe that you deserve to have the highest quality color consistency in your apparel.
We are diligent in our color research and take great care in the dyeing processes. This ensures vibrant shades on each and every garment that you select from us.
Eco-friendly Dyeing
At Bella + Canvas, we go above and beyond traditional dyeing methods to make certain that we use environmentally-safe materials and practices.
We use the most eco-friendly dyes that are Bluesign certified, assuring that our customers know that we have the planet in mind throughout our dye production.
Using identical machines and high-tech automated processes allow us to have ultimate control over the dyeing process, to achieve consistent coloring of the fabrics.
Our machines use a mechanical system that does not rely on water to push the fabric around when dyeing the fibers. This means we use seven times less water than our competitors — saving 24 million gallons a week, and also resulting in less waste water to treat.
At Bella + Canvas, we do all of our dyeing in California, adhering to some of the nation’s strictest manufacturing laws. As part of these regulations, and our commitment to caring for the planet, we guarantee that none of our dyes end up in rivers or oceans.
The dyeing processes at Bella + Canvas not only ensure color consistency in each garment, wash fastness to prevent immediate color fading after cleaning, but we also uphold the most eco-friendly, nonpolluting practices for the planet.
Pre-shrunk Materials Post-dyeing
In addition to using ecologically friendly dyeing practices, we also pre-shrink our fabrics after we dye them. This means that customers need not worry about clothing shrinkage after washing their garments.
Pre-shrinking our materials and using regular-dyeing instead of garment-dyeing, results in creating ultimate quality clothes. With our apparel, there is no concern about getting garments with uneven coloring or that become a size smaller after the first wash.
Choosing Between Garment-dyed Clothing vs. Regular-dyed Clothing
While garment-dyed clothing seems like a great option for achieving a vintage look, it poses some challenges with getting equal absorption of the dye throughout the garments. Additionally, due to this dyeing method, fabrics may not wear evenly over time as customers wash them at home.
Traditional or regular-dyed garments, where the material is dyed before it’s cut and sewn into clothes, will help ensure equal coloring throughout the fabric. When seeking the best for your brand, choose regular-dyed clothing as opposed to garment-dyed. These clothes will offer the best coloring and long-term wear, both of which will please you — and your customers!
