COLOR STABILITY OF NATURALLY DYED DENIM FABRICS

The desire to colour textiles is as old as spinning and weaving. Natural dyes have been used since thousands of years for their long endurance, soft and elegant colours. But the invention of synthetic dyes has limited the application of natural dyes. The health hazards associated with the use of synthetic dyes and also the increased environmental awareness have revived the use of natural dyes during the recent years. The major performance characteristic of a dye is its ability to maintain the colour in normal use and is known as colorfastness. The study provides information regarding colourfastness properties of naturally dyed denim fabrics. Three vegetable materials were used for dyeing denim fabrics: Punica granatum (bark powder), Indigofera tinctoria (leave powder) and Juglans regia (walnut dried shells). The results of the study indicated that using Walnut shells and Punica granatum deeper and more stable shades of colors are obtained in comparison with Indigofera Tinctoria dyed denim samples. All samples highlight a change in color in the sense of fading which has occurred to the highest extent when exposed to artificial light and washing. When tested against water, alkaline and acid perspiration, it is noticed that better results are obtained, and color change appear in a smaller extent.