Innovative And Sustainable Design Development for Denim Fabric Using Laser Techniques, Tie and Dye and Manual Whiskering

Abstract

Environment friendly method of processing denim garments is utmost important for value addition in the denim apparel business. Diverse methods exist today to carry out denim finishing such as bleaching, stone washing, sand blasting, snow washing, enzyme washing etc., These effects are found to be non-ecofriendly due to high energy and water consumption, more time consuming, health hazardous for both the employees and the consumers and also leads to high rejection rate. This research deals with ecofriendly and sustainable methods of denim finishing such as laser finishing and also encompasses few other innovative design development techniques for denim. Using various laser techniques like laser cut, laser whiskering, torn effect and laser fading, innovative designs (abstract, ethnic, geometric, calligraphy) were developed. Ethnic designs are incorporated by manual whiskering technique using blocks. Tie & Dyed warp yarns and undyed weft yarns were used for the development of tie and dyed denim garments. The treated denim was washed with detergent and then analyzed for weight of the sample, EPI (Ends per Inch), PPI (Picks per Inch), tensile strength, abrasion resistance, pilling resistance, tearing strength, stiffness, crease recovery, wash fastness, colour value and shrinkage. The treated fabrics exhibit a significant difference in the properties compared to the untreated samples. The intensity of laser treatment has a significant effect on the physical properties especially on the strength of the denim materials. Denim garment with innovative designs are expected to gain popularity among the customers.