The Dye Lot Is the Culprit, Not the Seller
Textile dye is mixed in batches. A 500-metre run of cotton gets one dye lot. The next 500-metre run, even from the same mill, gets a second. Natural dyes, indigo, madder, pomegranate rind, are especially variable because the mordant concentration, water hardness, and steeping temperature all shift the final shade. Synthetic reactive dyes are more consistent but still drift between lots when the water-to-dye ratio changes by even a fraction. When a brand reorders fabric from the same supplier three months later, the supplier is almost certainly cutting from a different roll. The shade on the website is photographed from the first lot. What arrives is from the third.
