SAO PAULO – Waste from the eucalyptus wood steaming process could potentially provide a natural dye source for dyeing cotton according to new research from South America. Researchers claim to have successfully used the coloured liquid waste produced in the steam treatment of eucalyptus wood as a natural dyestuff to colour cotton in an exhaust dyeing process without the addition of traditional mordants. The findings represent an interesting breakthrough, not least because Tencel, made by Austrian company Lenzing, is also made from extracted eucalyptus wood pulp.
