Colored cotton fabric production without dyeing within the sustainablity concept in textile

Abstract

The main subject of this study is to obtain colored cotton garments without dyeing process. For this aim, the use of naturally colored fibers instead of taking white cotton fibers and dyeing them into desired colors with reactive dyes was investigated. Firstly, the colors of the fabrics produced using naturally colored cotton were matched on the fabrics produced using white cotton and then quality-performance characteristics of the fabrics in question were tested. Technical (color, fastness, weight, wale/course density, bursting strength, pilling, abrasion resistance, bending rigidity, thermal comfort, air permeability, water vapor permeability, UV protective functionality and flame retardancy of the fabrics), economical (yarn, dye, auxiliary, water, electricity and labor costs of the production) and ecological (chemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, alkalinity of waste water) comparison of these fabrics were carried out. The results obtained in this study reveal that the performance properties of fabrics produced from naturally colored cotton are comparable with those produced from white cotton and even better in some respects. This means that it would be possible to eliminate dyeing process in future, if naturally colored cotton fiber production become common and the color gamut expands.