peroxide and a peroxide or an organic peracid capable of generating hydrogen peroxide in an aqueous solution an anionic bleaching catalyst containing a metal and a cationic compound and a bleaching method comprising using the bleaching formulation wherein pretreatment with component precedes treatment with components and or components and are used simultaneously application_number US 3247502 A description component a which can be used in the present invention is preferably selected from hydrogen peroxide and a peroxide capable of generating hydrogen peroxide in an aqueous solution such peroxides include sodium percarbonate a sodium tripolyphosphate hydrogen peroxide adduct a sodium pyrophosphate hydrogen peroxide adduct a urea hydrogen peroxide adduct sodium perborate monohydrate sodium perborate tetrahydrate sodium peroxide and calcium peroxide with sodium percarbonate sodium perborate monohydrate and sodium perborate tetrahydrate being preferred the anionic metal containing bleaching activator as component b includes b 1 a complex having anionic ligands total number of negative charges m coordinated to at least one cationic center metal total number of positive charges n to have an anionic property as a whole i e n u2212 m lt 0 the term u201c anionic ligand u201d means a ligand having a negative charge and includes a ligand of which the atom coordinating to the center metal is anionic and a.