Textile auxiliaries are necessary for the efficient manufacture of textile fibres, yarns, fabrics and finished products. This collective term includes a large variety of specialised chemical products. These range from cleaning agents for natural fibres and smoothing agents for the high-speed manufacturing of textile products, to improving for easy-care properties.

The field of textile auxiliaries affects not only clothing textiles, but to an ever greater extent, functional clothing (medical, emergency services, space travel), and particularly technical textiles for architecture, automotive, environmental protection, etc.

“Colourants" is a generic term for coloring substances, which can be divided into dyes and pigments.  Dyes can be defined as colouring liquids that contain soluble chemicals that have the characteristic to colour other materials, such as textiles, paper, and leather. Pigments, however, are insoluble colourants.