Crayola Is Bringing Back Retired Colors — Including a Cult Fave
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Everyone knows that feeling of sorrow that descends when something beloved goes off the market, whether it's a snack flavor, a favorite cosmetic or a cherished dish that gets rotated off the restaurant menu. And much of the time, when something is discontinued, it's goodbye forever.
But not always. For the artistically inclined, Good Housekeeping get to be first to announce that Crayola is bringing back some of its retired colors. They'll be available in a few different forms, including the Limited Edition Retired Colors 8-Count Crayon Pack, along with Limited Edition Collection Colored Pencil and Limited Edition Collection Marker packs.
The returning colors are:
Orange Red, retired in 1990
Violet Blue, retired in 1990
Lemon Yellow, retired in 1990
Raw Umber, retired in 1990
Blizzard Blue, retired in 2003
Magic Mint, retired in 2003
Mulberry, retired in 2003
Dandelion, retired in 2017
While this is all good news to anyone who loves to make art, some of the hues might be overshadowed by that the return of the last one: dandelion. Sure, it's been gone for the least amount of time. But its absence has been deeply felt across all sectors of the internet.
In the wake of its retirement, dandelion crayon collectors have sprouted up, showing off their sunny-yellow wares. You can find fans giving tours of their collections on TikTok and mourning on Instagram. They're also snapping up old crayons from sellers on Ebay. (Wait a minute, I have a couple in my stash — did I miss out on my ticket to early retirement?) They're sharing memories and swapping collecting tips on Reddit. They even made online petitions to bring it back. (Sure, the petitions didn't garner that many signatures, but it seems Crayola was listening anyway — which goes to show you should always advocate for causes you feel passionate about, no matter how small they may seem!)
Fans can cancel those eBay bids: The limited edition packs should be on shelves at major retailers in early February, and they'll be available throughout 2025. There will also be new product and collaborations announced throughout the year that feature the limited-edition unretired colors, which Crayola chose as an homage to the company’s first eight-crayon pack, which was launched in 1903.
Parents also have a good reason to snap up the packs for their kids, even if they don't remember the colors before they were retired. According to a recent survey conducted by Crayola and Ad Council Research Institute, nine in 10 parents believe that color has a significant impact on creativity and is vital to their child’s development. The study also reports that 96% of parents encourage their kids to bring their imagination to life with color — dandelion or otherwise.
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