Natural Dye Powder: An Easy Technique for Eco- Dyeing

Abstract

A dye is a coloured substance that has an affinity to the substance to which it is being applied the clothing were dyed with natural dye substrates. The major problem faced for survival of natural dyes were lack of availability of standard shade cards and reproducibility of shades, as a result the synthetic dyes captured the market. Because clothing is in constant contact with our skin, the chemicals used in dyeing are absorbed into our skin through the pores and these create various skin problems. The alternative to the problem is natural dyes which are more aesthetic and safe for dyers as well as wearers. Keeping in view the importance of eco textiles and their demand in the national and international market and to make dyeing less time consuming and to overcome the problem of shade variation the present investigation was carried out to prepare the ready to use dye powder for dyeing of silk and silk blend and test its colour fastness. Three dye sources viz, bhringraj leaves, kachnar bark and rein wardtia flowers were used. Dye powder was prepared from the selected dye materials by extracting dye in alkaline medium and precipitation of dye with nitric acid. Results of the study revealed that powder of bhringraj leaves dye was formed with precipitation method, kachnar bark dye's powder was formed by both precipitation as well as alkaline method. Powder of rein wardtia flowers dye was formed by precipitation method only. The colour value of samples dyed with powdered dye of bhringraj leaves were lighter in shade as compared to extract dyed samples, whereas colour value of samples dyed with powder dye of kachnar bark and rein wardtia flowers were same as that of extract dyed samples. Fastness grades of powder dyed samples tested at different time intervals against washing and sunlight were found at par with extract dyed samples.