Color fastness of fabrics after dyeing with fungal dyes

Purpose The study aims to test the color fastness of wool and linen fabrics dyed by simple immersion in ethanol dissolutions of fungal dyes. Design/methodology/approach Ethanol dissolutions of Talaromyces australis and Penicillium murcianum dyes were prepared to a concentration of 0.3% and used to dye wool and linen samples by immersion. Color fastness to washing, dry cleaning, wet and dry rubbing, perspiration and light, were tested according to AATCC standards. Findings Color fastness reached acceptable results at dry cleaning and wet and dry rubbing by crocking but did not performed well at laundering, perspiration and light exposure. Results indicate that ethanol dissolutions of tested dyes had better affinity for wool fabrics than linen, but the dyeing method requires further improvements to be considered attractive for full scale applications. Originality/value In this work sustainability of fabrics dyeing is improved by using natural pigments produced by filamentous fungi and a method to dye that requires no increment of temperature and mordants.