LIGHTFASTNESS

Spring has finally sprung in North Carolina! The warm temperatures and sunshine make us all want to spend more time outdoors, but what affect does the sun have on your indoor furniture? and do you know how much sunlight your fabric can withstand before it starts to fade? 

The technical term for fading is photo-degradation. In this sense, photo doesn’t mean photography, but rather photo means light from the Greek word, phōt (meaning light). Therefore, photo-degradation means the the degradation of materials through exposure to light.

Light will gradually weaken or destroy the chemical bonds called chromophores that make up the color of every piece of fabric. These chromophores determine the amount of light a fabric absorbs and the vibrancy of the color. Light will break down those chemical bonds and cause fading, distorting, or bleaching the fabric.

When shopping for a fabric, you may see a lightfastness rating or a number of light hours listed in the fabric's specifications. The minimum lightfastness requirement for a residential fabric is 40 hours.  Revolution fabrics have a lightfastness of 500 hours! As you can see in the photos below, Revolution is the perfect choice for your sunroom, shady porch spot or in front of your favorite window.