Sustainable textiles colored with tea waste in the printing process

Abstract

The primary aim of the study is to explore the use of tea waste, a natural and sustainable material, as an alternative to synthetic dyes that pose risks to human health and the environment in the printing process of 100% cotton fabrics. For this purpose, tea waste was processed using an extraction method to obtain a natural dye extract, which was then added to the printing paste to carry out the printing process. To enhance the wash durability of fabrics dyed with the natural dye derived from tea waste, a softener formulation was modified by incorporating different ratios of quaternary ammonium compounds. The study investigated the applicability of tea waste extract in dyeing 100% cotton woven fabrics and examined the wash fastness of these fabrics. Fastness tests were conducted on the dyed fabrics in accordance with relevant standards, and the results showed that the fastness values were at the highest levels based on the gray scale evaluation. SEM was employed to perform characterization analyses on tea waste and fabric samples. Additionally, SEM-EDX was used to analyze the elemental composition of the materials. According to thes test results, it was found that cotton fabric dyed using tea waste as a natural dye pigment had the highest K/S value when compared to untreated fabric. Fastness properties did not change significantly after application or washing processes. According to SEM analysis, it was determined that the chemical particles of the printing paste were located between the fibers of the treated samples. By repurposing tea waste for use in textile finishing, the study contributes to the production of sustainable textile products.