Light changes leather colour

Problem: This attractive brown leather and cotton jacket was a uniform colour prior to drycleaning. The cleaner correctly ignored the textile cleaning symbols on the care label and processed the garment through a specialist leather system in hydrocarbon solvent. Nevertheless, the result still produced excessive colour variation between adjacent panels of leather and cotton fabric. There was further difference in colour between exposed and protected fabric (the reverse of the collar, for example).

Responsibility: The colour loss to this garment follows a characteristic pattern caused by poor light fastness. It is a good example of damage to the dyes caused by light not being visible prior to cleaning. It was only when the cleaning process flushed away the weakened dyes that the full extent of the problem was revealed, producing the fading and colour variation now seen. The responsibility lies with the manufacturer, not the cleaner or the wearer.

Rectification: There is no sensible means by which the variable fading caused by poor light fastness can be satisfactorily or permanently rectified.