Uniqlo shirts - strange fading/glowing. Any idea what's happening?

[Question]

I literally only wore this shirt for a day before I noticed the colors fading. Note that this is before the shirt has even been washed.


I initially thought that the dye was poor quality and faded, but when I posted this pic on reddit, i was spammed with down votes and rude accusations that i had bleached the shirt on purpose. When I tried to explain that the shirt had not even been washed and we didn't use bleach, I was accused of lying.

To re-iterate, i wore this shirt only for a day, at home. I did not come into contact with bleach (i dont think we even have bleach, we certainly do not use any bleach at all) or any industrial chemicals. The only things that might have come into contact with it are tap water, hand soap and dish washing liquid.

For this particular shirt, the faded areas are on the bottom half of the shirt and are quite large.

I do not use any body creams, lotions, or anything like that.

I'm wearing a blue shirt now and some parts of it have faded as well, but not to the degree of the shirt in this picture. They are like small spots here and there with no color.

I tried applying some soap and tap water to a part of the shirt to see if it made any difference...I don't see any, it just made that area darker. I'm waiting for the shirt to dry now.

The shirts were purchased direct from the uniqlo site : https://www.uniqlo.com/sg/store/men...rt-sleeve-t-shirt-4279160086.html?___store=sg

Does anyone have any idea what might have happened?

 

[medhat]

If the problem is noticed with two shirts of two different colors then I would think it was something external you're in contact with, like carrying something that may have a mildly caustic or alkaline coating that's rubbing off on the shirt. Different shirts and not uniform fading also suggests an external cause.

 

[Question]

I literally only wore these shirts at home for a day. The only thing that i can think of that might cause it is some hand soap or dish washing liquid that happened to come into contact with the shirt, but shirts are not supposed to fade because of that...and nobody else in the family is having their shirts fade.

I dont handle any chemicals or anything like that at home.

Its strictly limited to these uniqlo shirts.

If it was caused by contact with some kind of chemical, i would expect other shirts to be affected, including the ones the rest of my family wear. Nobody else is affected.

 

[eagle2250]

Hoping not to come off sounding critical or harsh in any way, but looking at the photo in the OP for this thread the fading appears to be in the shape of a rectangle, about the size of a packaged T-Shirt. Is it possible that sunlight hitting it through the plastic packaging over an extended period of storage.

Is it possible the fading was there when you first opened it and you initially didn't take notice of it. I know when I get supplies of new underwear, they get removed from the packaging I don't really look at them closely, if at all, before the wife runs them through a wash cycle, prior to first use. My point is, I suspect the fading was there before you purchased the shirt and was not a cause of your actions.

 

[Andy]

Question:

eagle2250 probably has a good idea. If the shirt was displayed at a store or in any kind of sunlight it might fade like that.

You might take it to a good laundry just for advice to see what they think it might be.

Oh, and welcome!

 

[Fading Fast]

I'd reach out to Uniqlo and tell them what you told us; my guess, they'll give you a refund.

 

[iam.mike]

@Question - Can you tell me what color the shirt is? I can't quite tell from my notebook screen/monitor whether it is white or some other light color.

If it is white, it's possible those marks are actually something called "optical brighteners".

When manufacturing fabric, the raw goods are usually called greige goods (raw fabric before dying or bleaching). To get white fabric, it has to undergo a whitening process which is done using optical brighteners. Different levels of brighteners are used to get different levels of white.

If we put white fabric under certain lighting conditions (like a special black-light or uv light), we can tell if fabric has had any optical brighteners applied. In fact, I've seen fabric look exactly that way when we test some of our fabrics under uv-lights to see if any optical brighteners have been applied.

Here's a quick video that describes brighteners:


You can find more videos about that here on YouTube.

Although it's highly unusual for fabric to fade after one normal wear, my best guess is that is what you're seeing. Still very strange though.

You should tell all the haters on Reddit to come here and read this reply

 

[Question]

Hoping not to come off sounding critical or harsh in any way, but looking at the photo in the OP for this thread the fading appears to be in the shape of a rectangle, about the size of a packaged T-Shirt. Is it possible that sunlight hitting it through the plastic packaging over an extended period of storage.

Is it possible the fading was there when you first opened it and you initially didn't take notice of it. I know when I get supplies of new underwear, they get removed from the packaging I don't really look at them closely, if at all, before the wife runs them through a wash cycle, prior to first use. My point is, I suspect the fading was there before you purchased the shirt and was not a cause of your actions.

Hmm...these shirts were ordered direct from the uniqlo site here so they shouldnt be display stock though.

I tried emailing Uniqlo for an explanation. The only thing they would say is that if i wanted to do an exchange in store, it would be up to the store manager's discretion. They did not seem interested in the shirt fading at all.

 

[Question]

I'd reach out to Uniqlo and tell them what you told us; my guess, they'll give you a refund.

I tried emailing Uniqlo for an explanation. The only thing they would say is that if i wanted to do an exchange in store, it would be up to the store manager's discretion. They did not seem interested in the fact that the shirt was fading like this at all.

So far 3 out of 5 shirts that I have worn have had colors fade within a day of wearing them, before they have even been washed. 2 of them are relatively minor white spots, unlike the first one which has huge patches.

I'm starting to think that I should send the whole order back. It's been a total fiasco. Uniqlo customer support does not seem very interested or enthusiastic about the issue at all and I suspect they will insist that I send it back at my own expense via post, which will cost me probably $10 or more in postage fees. Not very fair to me for a mistake on Uniqlo's part...

 

[Question]

@Question - Can you tell me what color the shirt is? I can't quite tell from my notebook screen/monitor whether it is white or some other light color.

If it is white, it's possible those marks are actually something called "optical brighteners".

When manufacturing fabric, the raw goods are usually called greige goods (raw fabric before dying or bleaching). To get white fabric, it has to undergo a whitening process which is done using optical brighteners. Different levels of brighteners are used to get different levels of white.

If we put white fabric under certain lighting conditions (like a special black-light or uv light), we can tell if fabric has had any optical brighteners applied. In fact, I've seen fabric look exactly that way when we test some of our fabrics under uv-lights to see if any optical brighteners have been applied.

Here's a quick video that describes brighteners:


You can find more videos about that here on YouTube.

Although it's highly unusual for fabric to fade after one normal wear, my best guess is that is what you're seeing. Still very strange though.

You should tell all the haters on Reddit to come here and read this reply

The shirt on the website is beige, but the actual shirt seems to be olive colour (even though the tags attached to the shirt say that it is beige). It's a shade of green from what I can tell.

So far 3 out of 5 shirts have faded. The one in the OP pic is supposed to be beige (actually olive in real life). The other two shirts have been shades of blue, but the fading is limited to small white spots on the lower half of the shirt.

Uniqlo customer service doesn't seem interested in the fact that the shirts are fading so badly and so quickly.

 

[Fading Fast]

I tried emailing Uniqlo for an explanation. The only thing they would say is that if i wanted to do an exchange in store, it would be up to the store manager's discretion. They did not seem interested in the fact that the shirt was fading like this at all.

So far 3 out of 5 shirts that I have worn have had colors fade within a day of wearing them, before they have even been washed. 2 of them are relatively minor white spots, unlike the first one which has huge patches.

I'm starting to think that I should send the whole order back. It's been a total fiasco. Uniqlo customer support does not seem very interested or enthusiastic about the issue at all and I suspect they will insist that I send it back at my own expense via post, which will cost me probably $10 or more in postage fees. Not very fair to me for a mistake on Uniqlo's part...

I've bought a few items from Uniqlo over the past few years, but never had to do a return.

I'm surprised at the company's stance as most large companies today have pretty liberal return policies. Most take things back without a question. Clearly, Uniqlo is not like that.

Maybe you should return everything and just take the $10 postage hit as it will cost less than having paid for shirts you can't use. Then, of course, never buy from Uniqlo again.

Sorry this happened to you, but we all have our stories like this.

 

[iam.mike]

The shirt on the website is beige, but the actual shirt seems to be olive colour (even though the tags attached to the shirt say that it is beige). It's a shade of green from what I can tell.

Gotcha. It still could be a result of the fabric being treated with some chemical or optical brightener. The marks shown in your photo are nearly identical to what I've seen before under UV or Black lights, while looking at fabric that has been treated with brighteners.

Regardless, it's clearly a defect.

It's probably worth a trip to your local Uniqlo (if you have one) to see if you can get a store credit for the amount equal to either all the shirts or the defective ones, depending on what remedy you'd feel is in your best interest.

I would be surprised if a Uniqlo store manager didn't give you a store credit, especially if you could show that you just received the items from a recent online purchase.

 

[Question]

Gotcha. It still could be a result of the fabric being treated with some chemical or optical brightener. The marks shown in your photo are nearly identical to what I've seen before under UV or Black lights, while looking at fabric that has been treated with brighteners.

Regardless, it's clearly a defect.

It's probably worth a trip to your local Uniqlo (if you have one) to see if you can get a store credit for the amount equal to either all the shirts or the defective ones, depending on what remedy you'd feel is in your best interest.

I would be surprised if a Uniqlo store manager didn't give you a store credit, especially if you could show that you just received the items from a recent online purchase.

I'm confused as to why a brightener would cause the marks to be visible though. What causes it to be visible like that?

What about white spots where there is no colour at all? Is that also due to a brightener? Or just the dye in that spot fading somehow?

 

[iam.mike]

I'm confused as to why a brightener would cause the marks to be visible though. What causes it to be visible like that?

What about white spots where there is no colour at all? Is that also due to a brightener? Or just the dye in that spot fading somehow?

I can't really explain it, nor can I be certain that it's from a chemical or brightener. It's just a hypothesis, based on things I've seen in the past. If the spots/fading look different in different UV lighting conditions, it could be the chemicals.

The only way to know for sure would be to have the fabric analyzed by a textile manufacturer or textile dye house.

They're cheap shirts, so probably not worth the effort unless you're genuinely a curious person and want to learn more.

 

[dillydallysally]

I found this thread by searching "Uniqlo clothing discoloring when washed" !!! I am literally experiencing the exact same thing. And it's happening ONLY with my Uniqlo tee shirts! You are not alone. Not sure what is causing the discoloration but it's frustrating, especially when it's happening to new shirts.

 

[PixelPerfect]

Hi! I also have this very same issue with you! I have bought multiple UNIQLO T shirts and they all faded to a noticeable degree, and I noticed that green color is the most affected, just like you.

I never used any kind of bleach in my wash and only used cold water with liquid detergent to wash it.

After many unusable t shirts from them I'm starting to conclude that UNIQLO's dye quality is the problem. It might be time to switch, unfortunately....

 

[TimF]

Maybe the answer is to buy 100% cotton goods, and stay clear of T shirts labelled with any kind of "technology" in them...

 

[At Law]

Perhaps the cause is the fact it is a UNIQLO shirt.....Haha. I kid....kind of

 

[PixelPerfect]

Maybe the answer is to buy 100% cotton goods, and stay clear of T shirts labelled with any kind of "technology" in them...

Ironically, their T shirt is 100% Supima cotton, which is supposed to be superior to standard cotton...

 

[iam.mike]

Ironically, their T shirt is 100% Supima cotton, which is supposed to be superior to standard cotton...

I doubt it's the cotton itself -- I suspect it has something to do with their fabric dyeing or finishing process.

Seems strange they'd allow these types of notable defects, but maybe it was a bad batch -- remember, they produce millions of garments on a regular basis, so one bad batch could equate to hundreds of thousands of pieces potentially.

the cause is the fact it is a UNIQLO shirt

You mean "UNI-GLOW"