Fading and condition

[G1911]

Came to mind again when I saw this sun faded PSA 7 Koufax sell for $410 on eBay, but it is a cross-era problem most affecting N cards. Personally, I have a hard time seeing this heavily damaged Koufax, and damaged in a way greatly affecting the image, is even a 3. The grading standards seem to be that fading may as well not exist and is irrelevant. They appear to ignore it as far as I can tell, I don't think I'm cherrypicking a few bad grades by just scrolling through N172's and seeing that the graders ignores how badly the card has faded.

Is there anybody who truly doesn't think fading is damage, just like other environmental damage? It seems like the accepted general standards people use for condition are way out of alignment with the grading firms.