All materials fade from sunlight in time. Fading is inevitable and the same applies whether it is caused by exposure to intensive sunlight for a short time or a long exposure to the weaker light of cloudy overcast days. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the sun’s damage can be especially harmful, because in spite of our cloudy winter months,
damage from fading still continues.

To understand the causes of fading one needs to know a little about the makeup of sunlight. Sunlight is basically made up of three elements:

Visible Light-
the part which enables us to see

Infra Red-
the part we feel as heat

Ultraviolet Light-
which we neither feel nor see, but is the main factor in causing fabrics and furnishings to fade.

Visible light and infra-red heat are other factors that contribute to fading, which is why effective film installations must harness all three sunlight elements. Ultraviolet light rays bounce off solid objects-buildings, trees, streets, etc. Therefore regardless of a window’s compass orientation, you can still have a fading problem. Natural fibers like silk or wool are less fade resistant than synthetic fibers. Antiques, tapestries, rugs, etc., use less stable dyes and will fade more quickly. Fluorescent dyes are less color stable than other colors.

Severe fading can be minimized with the use of solar control window film, which
blocks 99.9% of all UV rays drastically reducing the damage and enabling most fabrics and furnishings to look fresh and vibrant for years to come. No window film can totally eliminate fading.