Eco-friendly dyeing of polyester fabric using natural dyes and biomordants

Purpose Environmental and human health concerns, along with an increasing focus on cleaner, greener production processes, have gradually increased the demand for natural dyes for dyeing textiles. Dyeing polyester fiber using natural dyes and biological mordant is a novel approach. This study aims to investigate the dyeing of polyester fiber with natural dyes such as madder, turmeric and Isatis tinctoria, using biomordants like walnut peel, pomegranate peel, black myrobalan and yellow myrobalan. Design/methodology/approach The effects of dyeing methods (pre-mordant, meta-mordant and post-mordant), natural dye and mordant types were examined using a statistical factorial design. The quality of the dyed fabrics was assessed by measuring the reflectance spectra, color parameters and color depth (sum of K/S). Findings The obtained results indicate that the natural dye and the mordanting method have a significant effect on color depth, lightness (L*) and chroma (C*). The color depth of dyed fabric with turmeric was higher than that of fabric dyed with madder and Isatis natural dyes. Additionally, the color depth of samples mordanted using the meta-mordanting method is higher than that of the pre- and post-mordanting methods. The chroma of the dyed fabrics with turmeric is higher than that of the fabric dyed with madder and Isatis tinctoria natural dyes. The lightness (L*) of the dyed fabric using the meta-mordanting method is higher compared to the pre- and post-mordanting methods. Additionally, the polyester fabric can be dyed with Isatis tinctoria in various percentages without biomordant. The wash fastness of the dyed samples is excellent. Originality/value Dyeing polyester fabric using natural dyes and biomordants yielded positive results, demonstrating that dyeing polyester with natural dyes is both feasible and effective.