Eco-friendly colouring of fabric using prickly pear (Opuntia catcus) plant

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Year 2015 Vol 4 Issue 3
Document Type : Original article
¹S.Boobalan ²M.Kalaimani ³ Karthikeyan.L.M
¹Department of Textile Technology, Karpagam University, Coimbatore, India
²Department of Textile Processing, GRG Polytechnic College, Coimbatore, India, 3Department of Aeronautical Engineering
³Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Techno Global University, Shillong, India
Abstract
Eco-friendly textiles are those textile products which do not contain any hazardous or toxic substance and are biologically degradable, so that they do not cause any damage to the environment

The Asian countries like India have a rich heritage and tradition of using natural dyes obtained from natural sources, as they are eco-friendly for textile products. However, after the discovery of synthetic dyes a steady decline in the use natural dyes has been noticed. The introduction of synthetic caused health hazards as well as environmental pollution. Hence textile colourists have started using natural dyes for colouring fabrics. These natural dyes exhibit better bio degradability and have better compatibility with the environment
In this colouring work, we have used the fruits of Prickly Pear (Opuntia catcus) as natural dye. Fruits of prickly pear as natural dye which are available plenty in India, can be used as ecofriendly textile product. This material has been evaluated to find the effects of biodegradability and compatibility with environment in textile industries. Prickly pear fruits are crushed and then alum and turmeric as mordants are mixed with it. Different kind of fabrics such as cotton, wool and polyester were coloured. The colored fabrics have been tested for chemical and physical characteristics.
Keywords
Biodegradability, Colouring, Dyeing, Mordants, Opuntia catcus
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