Cotton fibre modification improves recycling efforts

Researchers in China claim to have used a novel cationisation technique to modify the surface of cotton fibres to allow for the salt-free dyeing, which they say results in much more effective decolorisation of these fabrics at the end of their first life cycle.

Although the cationic treatment of cotton fibres prior to dyeing is not a totally new technique, it’s claimed that by using this new fibre modification process prior to dyeing, it provides textile suppliers with an economical and promising new strategy for the industrial application of textile recycling and colour management methods for waste textiles.