Dyes can be used on vegetable, animal or man made fibers only if they have affinity to them. Textile dyes include acid dyes, used mainly for dyeing wool, silk and nylon and direct or substantive dyes, which have a strong affinity for cellulose fibers. Mordant dyes require the addition of chemical substances, such as salts to give them an affinity for the material being dyed. They are applied to cellulose fibers, wool or silk after such materials have been treated with metal salts. Sulfur dyes, used to dye cellulose, are inexpensive, but produce colors lacking brilliance. Azoic dyes are insoluble pigments formed within the fiber by padding, first with a soluble coupling compound and then with a diazotized base. Vat dyes, insoluble in water, are converted into soluble colorless compounds by means of alkaline sodium hydrosulfite. These colorless compounds are absorbed by the cellulose, which are subsequently oxidized to an insoluble pigment. Such dyes are colorfast. Disperse dyes are suspensions of finely divided insoluble, organic pigments used to dye such hydrophobic fibers as polyesters, nylon and cellulose acetates.

Reactive dyes combine directly with the fiber, resulting in excellent colorfastness. The first ranges of reactive dyes for cellulose fibers were introduced in the mid-1950. Today, a wide variety is available.