Dye Lots: Why Your Reorder Does Not Match, and What to Do About It
You reorder the same black hoodie from the same factory in the same fabric, and it arrives very slightly different. Nothing has gone wrong and nobody has cheated you. You have received a second dye lot. This guide explains what a dye lot is, why an exact match between lots is not something any factory can promise, what tolerances the industry actually works to, and the five things you can do to protect a reorder.
What a dye lot is
Fabric is not dyed by the metre as it is needed. It is dyed in batches, and a batch is measured in hundreds of kilos. Within one batch the colour is consistent, because the whole quantity sat in the same vessel, in the same dye liquor, at the same temperature, for the same time. That batch is a dye lot.
A second lot, run days or months later, is a different vessel of water, a slightly different dyestuff batch, a marginally different fabric substrate and a fresh set of conditions. Modern dye houses control all of it tightly, and the result is close. Identical is a different claim, and it is one nobody in the industry can honestly make.
Why this is the real reason minimums are per colour
This is where the abstract becomes commercial. Our minimum is 100 pieces per style and per colour, and founders often assume the colour part is a pricing tactic. It is not. Each colour is a separate dye lot, a separate run of cloth measured in hundreds of kilos, and a separate set of trims. Ordering one style in three colours is three lots, not one order split three ways.
It also explains why splitting a small order across many colours is the most expensive thing a new brand can do. The same money spent on one colour deep buys a better unit price and a simpler reorder than the same money spread across four shallow colourways. Our MOQ calculator shows what the split does to the total, and what MOQ means works through the economics.
Lab dips, and the approval that actually binds
Before bulk fabric is dyed, the mill produces a lab dip: a small swatch dyed to your colour reference. You approve it, reject it, or ask for it to be redone warmer, cooler, lighter or deeper. Bulk is then dyed to the approved lab dip, and the bulk fabric is checked back against it.
Two practical rules. Give a physical reference rather than a screen colour, ideally a Pantone TCX textile reference or a swatch of fabric you already like, because a colour on a monitor is light and a colour on cloth is pigment and they do not correspond. And assess the lab dip under consistent lighting, because a pair of colours that match under one light source and differ under another is a real phenomenon called metamerism, and it is why dye houses and retailers assess colour in standardised light boxes rather than by a window.
What tolerance actually means
Colour difference is not judged by eye alone in a professional chain. It is measured, typically with a spectrophotometer, and expressed as a numeric difference against the standard, with a grey scale used for visual assessment of staining and change. A commercial tolerance is agreed, and lots inside it are accepted.
The useful thing for a brand to understand is that a tolerance exists at all. Your contract is not for an exact colour; it is for a colour within an agreed distance of an approved standard. If an exact match across time genuinely matters to your product, say so before the first order, because the answer is not tighter promises, it is a different buying strategy.
Five ways to protect a reorder
- Buy the fabric once. For a style you know will repeat, dye a larger lot up front and hold the cloth. The fabric is the thing that varies, so securing it removes the variation.
- Keep the approved lab dip and a bulk swatch. Filed, dated and labelled. Without a physical standard, a later argument has nothing to point at.
- Design so that lots do not meet. A slight difference between two seasons on the shelf is invisible. A slight difference between the sleeve and the body of one garment is not, which is why pieces are bundled by roll during cutting.
- Choose colours that behave. Deep blacks, strong reds and fluorescents are harder to hold consistently than mid-tone heather greys and naturals, so a brand built on a difficult shade should expect to work harder at it.
- Say what the colour is for. A colour that must match an existing garment is a different brief from a colour that must simply look good, and knowing which you are asking for changes how we book it.
What we will and will not promise
We will dye bulk to a lab dip you approved, check the bulk back against it, bundle by roll so no single garment is assembled from two shades, and keep your approved standard on file for reorders. We will tell you before we ship if a lot has come out at the edge of tolerance rather than letting you discover it.
We will not promise that a lot dyed next spring will be indistinguishable from one dyed this autumn, because no honest dye house can promise that and any supplier who does is either misunderstanding the question or answering it carelessly. If that level of consistency is essential, the answer is to buy the fabric in one lot, and we will plan the order that way with you. Our guide to reorders and forecasting covers how to plan that quantity.
Frequently asked questions
What is a dye lot?
A dye lot is a single batch of fabric dyed together, normally measured in hundreds of kilos. Within one lot the colour is consistent because the whole quantity sat in the same vessel, in the same dye liquor, at the same temperature, for the same time. A second lot run days or months later involves a different vessel of water, a slightly different batch of dyestuff, a marginally different fabric substrate and fresh conditions. A good dye house controls all of that tightly and the result is close, but identical is a different claim and it is not one anyone in the industry can honestly make across separate lots. Keep the approved lab dip and a bulk swatch on file, dated and labelled, because without a physical standard a later disagreement has nothing to point at.
Why does my reorder look slightly different?
Because it came from a different dye lot, and that is normal rather than a fault. Fabric is dyed in batches, not continuously, so a repeat order almost always means a new batch dyed at a different time under marginally different conditions. Factories reduce the difference by dyeing bulk against an approved lab dip and checking the result back against that standard, but they cannot eliminate it. If an exact match across seasons genuinely matters to your product, the fix is not a tighter promise from your supplier, it is buying the fabric for both runs in a single lot up front and holding the cloth. Deep blacks, strong reds and fluorescents are harder to hold consistently than mid-tone heather greys and naturals, so a brand built on a difficult shade should plan for more effort.
Why is your minimum per colour and not just per style?
Because each colour is a separate dye lot. A dye lot is a run of cloth measured in hundreds of kilos, so a style in three colours is three separate runs of fabric, three sets of trims and three cutting operations, not one order divided three ways. That is why the minimum is one hundred pieces per style and per colour rather than per style alone, and it is why splitting a small first order across several colourways is the most expensive choice a new brand can make. The same budget spent on one colour deep buys a better unit price and a far simpler reorder. Our MOQ calculator shows what splitting a first order across several colourways does to the total, which is usually more than founders expect.
What is a lab dip and how should I approve one?
A lab dip is a small swatch of your fabric dyed to your colour reference, produced before any bulk cloth is committed. You approve it, reject it, or ask for it to be redone warmer, cooler, lighter or deeper, and bulk is then dyed to whichever version you approved. Two rules make the process work. Give a physical reference such as a Pantone TCX textile colour or a swatch you already like, rather than a colour from a screen, because light and pigment do not correspond. And assess it under consistent lighting, since two colours can match under one light source and differ under another. Assess it in a light box or under consistent daylight rather than by a window, since the light you judge a colour under changes the colour you see.
What colour tolerance is normal in clothing production?
Colour is not judged by eye alone in a professional chain. It is measured, usually with a spectrophotometer, expressed as a numeric difference from the approved standard, and assessed visually against a grey scale. A commercial tolerance is agreed and lots falling inside it are accepted. The important thing for a brand to understand is that a tolerance exists at all: your order is for a colour within an agreed distance of an approved standard, not for an exact colour. If exactness across time is essential to your product, say so before the first order so the buying strategy can be built around it. Say so before the first order rather than after the second, because the solution is a different buying strategy rather than a tighter promise from the factory.
How do I stop two shades appearing in the same garment?
By bundling, and it is standard practice on a well-run floor. Even inside a single dye lot there can be very slight variation between rolls, so after cutting, the pieces are kept together in bundles by roll and shade so that a single garment is never assembled from two different rolls. That is why a difference between two seasons sitting on a shelf is invisible while a difference between a sleeve and a body would be glaring. If you are ever shown a garment with mismatched panels, the problem is bundling discipline in the cutting room rather than the dye house. It is also why we will tell you before shipping if a lot has landed at the edge of tolerance, rather than letting you discover it when the cartons open.
Where this applies
The manufacturing pages this guide relates to, if you are costing a real run.
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