Cellulose is a natural polymer, which is used in many applications, including as clothing fabric. Thermal and photochemical degradation of cellulose is known to involve the production and reaction of radicals, and the degradation of dyes on cellulose fabrics is also thought to occur partially as a result of radical reactions. The radicals produced following hydrogen abstraction from cellulose are likely to be of the α-hydroxy type. The reactions of simple α-hydroxy radicals, as models for cellulose radicals, have therefore been studied here.