If you are new in the textile industry or a DMI Business Associate, you might have heard of the terms Greige fabric, gray fabric, RFD fabric, and woven and knitted fabrics. Still, you may not understand the importance of these terms and what they indicate for cotton buyers and top textile companies in India. Let’s dive into it so you can know the difference between greige fabric and RFD fabric and how it works more efficiently as a textile trading business associate.
Greige or Gray fabric and RFD fabric are the two common terms widely used by a B2B textile company in India. Regrettably, many textile engineers and cotton buyers, especially the newbies, don’t know the correct difference between these two fabrics and often interchange both terms in textile trading.
In reality, both are vastly different from each other, and it is mentioned in this article.
What is Greige Fabric?
Greige and Gray fabric are the same. The words don’t indicate a color. That’s the most popular misconception.
Greige fabric is an unfinished material that is yet to be dyed, cleaned, or bleached.
It is the purest form of fabric that directly comes from a knitting or weaving factory.
The fabric is either grey or off-white in color and is priced lower than RFD fabric.
Greige fabrics are generally used for window treatments, clothes, and upholstery.
It is the basic form of fabric in the textile market.
Most cotton buyers or textile manufacturers prefer buying greige cotton fabric online from India in bulk to create their garments, prints, colors, and patterns.
The most common types of greige fabric are Poplin, Drill, Satin, and Twill.
What is RFD Fabric?
RFD refers to Ready for Dyeing fabric. It is obtained after the greige fabric is processed through washing, scouring, bleaching, and equalizing to remove impurities, dirt, and starch.
Scouring removes wax and pectin and makes the textile material more water-absorbent.
Bleaching removes odor, the fabric’s natural color, and other impurities from the greige fabric.
Equalizing is a mechanical & chemical process that ensures the fabric’s effluents have uniformed properties and characteristics, like temperature, pH, and pollution load.
It is then sized and finished to make it ready for dyeing.
RFD is often called PFD fabric (Prepared for Dyeing).
Since RFD fabric is white in color and reduces the efforts of cotton buyers, it is priced higher than greige fabric.
Top textile companies in India use RFD fabric as a base material for making the finished product.
Difference Between Greige Fabric and Ready for Dyeing Fabric
What should cotton buyers choose?
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Greige Fabric |
Ready for Dyeing Fabric |
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Greige is a natural, raw, unprocessed fabric. |
RFD fabric is processed from greige material. |
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It directly comes from weaving and knitting factories. |
It comes after passing through various processes, like scouring, bleaching, equalizing, etc. |
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It contains impurities, like wax, oil, darts, and sizing materials. |
It is thoroughly cleaned and processed to improve evenness in dyeing. |
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It is either grey or off-white in color. |
It is white in color. |
| It is prepared for RDF. |
It is prepared for white-color garment manufacturing, dyeing, and printing. |
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It is a low-cost fabric. |
It is priced higher than Griege. |
Most garment manufacturing companies source greige fabric on their own from weavers or knitters and process it at low-cost places. This method is suitable for businesses that require higher volume but have lower spending power.
Greige fabric is available worldwide for trading. However, if you are looking for top textile companies in India for greige fabric or RFD, you can reach out to us.
We are associated with 500+ textile businesses for trading. You can get the best price in the market through our timely guidance and trading services.
