Pantone TCX Textile Colors
TCX (Textile Cotton eXtended) is Pantone's color system for apparel, textiles, and home furnishings — the standard reference for fashion designers, textile manufacturers, and interior designers worldwide. This page covers 50 TCX codes: all 27 Color of the Year picks from 2000–2026, plus 21 additional Fashion, Home + Interiors (FHI) benchmarks. Each TCX code is shown with its HEX approximation, closest Pantone Solid Coated match, and design context.
All 27 Color of the Year TCX codes
What is Pantone TCX?
Pantone TCX (Textile Cotton eXtended) is a color reference system designed specifically for the textile, apparel, and home furnishings industries. Unlike the Pantone Solid Coated (C) library, which is printed on paper for graphic design and packaging, TCX colors are printed on cotton fabric swatches — the same substrate that will eventually be used in the finished product. This makes TCX the reference standard for fashion designers, apparel manufacturers, textile mills, and interior designers specifying fabric, upholstery, and soft goods.
Every TCX code follows the format XX-YYYY, where the first two digits encode lightness (11 is very light, 19 is very dark) and the four digits encode hue and chroma. The codes are not intuitive to decode without a reference chart — which is why Pantone publishes both physical FHI Color Guides and the digital Pantone Connect tool. The full TCX library contains more than 2,300 colors; our reference covers 50 benchmark codes.
TCX vs TPG vs TPX
The Pantone fashion and home furnishing library has been through multiple iterations. Understanding the difference is important because the codes are not always interchangeable, and the wrong system can produce the wrong color:
- TCX (Textile Cotton eXtended) — the current global standard. Printed on cotton fabric swatches. This is what modern apparel, textile, and soft goods production uses as the reference standard.
- TPG (Textile Paper Green) — introduced in 2016. The same color library printed on paper swatches, reformulated with environmentally updated pigments (lead and other heavy metals removed). The color values are intended to match TCX but may vary slightly due to the substrate difference.
- TPX (Textile Paper eXtended) — the previous paper system, deprecated in 2015 when the pigment reformulation happened. Legacy codes are still referenced in older design specs and historical brand guidelines, but production should use TCX where possible.
In practice, the TCX code is the one you want in a modern production spec. TPG is used when you need a paper swatch for printing or preliminary design work. TPX is only referenced when working with pre-2015 legacy materials.
TCX vs Solid Coated (C)
Designers often need to translate between TCX (textile) and Solid Coated (print) references. The two systems are not directly compatible — a Pantone 485 C printed on paper and a TCX code with the same name will look meaningfully different in physical production, because the pigment formulations and substrates are different. This is why brand identities typically specify both: 485 C for print collateral, and the closest TCX equivalent for uniforms, apparel, and textile products.
Our Pantone to TCX converter finds the closest TCX match to any Pantone Solid Coated color, using Delta E 2000 perceptual distance. Same methodology as our other cross-system converters, same disclaimers apply: the match is a visual approximation, not a print or fabric spec.
Accuracy and limitations
Hex values on this site are approximations for design reference. Pantone does not publish official hex values for TCX codes — the standard is physical fabric swatches. The values shown are widely-published digital approximations, and different sources disagree by 2–5% for the same code.
For color-critical work — fabric sourcing, production specification, brand identity — always verify against physical TCX swatches. This site is a design reference, not a substitute for the physical Pantone FHI Color Guide or Pantone Connect.
Use cases
- Apparel design. TCX codes are the universal language between fashion designers, pattern makers, and garment manufacturers.
- Textile manufacturing. Fabric mills match dye lots against TCX references to ensure consistent color across production runs.
- Interior design. Upholstery, curtains, and soft furnishings are specified in TCX codes so that the finished room matches the designer's intent.
- Uniforms and workwear. Corporate uniforms and sports team apparel are specified in TCX to ensure color consistency across suppliers.
- Color of the Year. Pantone announces each year's Color of the Year in TCX (the announcement format is a TCX code, not a Solid Coated code).
All 50 TCX codes
Frequently asked questions
What is Pantone TCX?
TCX stands for Textile Cotton eXtended — it is Pantone's color system for apparel, textiles, and home furnishings, used by fashion designers, textile manufacturers, and interior designers worldwide. TCX colors are printed on cotton fabric swatches, which is why they are the standard for garment and fabric production. Each TCX code follows the XX-YYYY format: the first two digits encode lightness (11 is very light, 19 is very dark), and the four digits encode hue and chroma. Example: 19-4052 is a dark blue, 11-4201 is a near-white.
What is the difference between TCX, TPG, and TPX?
All three are Pantone fashion and home furnishing systems, but they differ in substrate and vintage. TCX (Textile Cotton eXtended) is printed on cotton fabric swatches and is the current global standard for textiles and apparel. TPG (Textile Paper Green) is the same color library printed on paper swatches with an environmentally updated pigment formulation (introduced 2016). TPX (Textile Paper eXtended) was the previous paper-based system, deprecated in 2015 when Pantone reformulated the paper swatches to remove lead and other heavy metals. Modern design and production work uses TCX as the reference standard; TPG and TPX codes are legacy compatibility.
How do I read a Pantone TCX code?
A TCX code has the format XX-YYYY. The first two digits encode lightness on a scale from 11 (lightest) to 19 (darkest). The four digits encode hue and chroma combined — different values in this range correspond to different hue families and saturation levels. For example, 19-4052 (Classic Blue 2020) is a dark blue; 14-0848 (Mimosa 2009) is a warm mid-yellow; 18-1663 (Chinese Red) is a deep saturated red. The codes are not intuitive to decode without a reference chart, which is why Pantone provides both the FHI Color Guide (physical) and the Pantone Connect (digital subscription) tools.
What is the difference between TCX and the Pantone Solid Coated library?
Solid Coated (C) is Pantone's print ink system for graphic design, packaging, and paper-based materials. TCX is Pantone's textile system for apparel, upholstery, and fabric-based materials. The two systems use different pigments, different substrates, and different reference swatches, so a given Pantone 485 C and a given TCX code with the same name will look meaningfully different in physical production. A brand identity typically specifies both: 485 C for print collateral, and its TCX equivalent for apparel, uniforms, and textile products.
Why do TCX colors look different on screen than the physical swatch?
TCX colors are physical pigments on cotton fabric. A screen can only approximate how that fabric will reflect light under real conditions. Two effects compound the difference: (1) screens emit light, while fabric reflects it, so no screen color can fully match the fabric appearance; (2) the perception of a TCX swatch depends on ambient lighting and viewing angle, which changes how the same swatch looks under fluorescent light, daylight, or store lighting. For color-critical production, always verify with physical TCX swatches.
What TCX codes are included on this site?
Our initial TCX library covers 50 codes: all 27 Pantone Color of the Year picks from 2000–2026 (these are the most widely published and most searched TCX values), plus 21 additional benchmark FHI codes that appear in Pantone marketing materials and are widely cited in public sources. The full TCX library contains more than 2,300 colors; we cover the benchmark subset that designers most often search for.
Is the hex approximation accurate?
Hex values are approximations for design reference. Pantone does not publish official hex values for TCX codes — the standard is physical fabric swatches. The values here are widely-published digital approximations, and different published sources disagree by 2–5% for the same code. Use them for digital mockups and design exploration, but always verify against physical TCX swatches before ordering fabric or specifying color for production.