Possibilities of use of microbial dyes are also being explored. For instance a red dye with good fastness to light, washing and rubbing suitable for the dyeing of silk has been isolated from mangrove soil. In an another study it has been established that a strain of Vibrio sp. isolated from marine sediments produced large quantities of bright red pigments that could be used to dye many fibers including silk. Besides these studies, dyes obtained from cultured Euphorbia milli cells have also been produced.

The natural dye extracts being sold are crude water extracts with substantial impurities such as soluble gums, carbohydrates and proteins. Therefore these dyes can not be used for the dyeing of yarn in cone dyeing machines. There is need to produce dyes that have been purified by enzyme remediation and membrane filtrations so as to further standardize them and enlarge their colour gamut.

The natural dye extracts being sold are crude water extracts with substantial impurities such as soluble gums, carbohydrates and proteins which restricts them form their use in the dyeing of yarn in cone dyeing machines. Therefore, there is a need to produce dyes that have been purified by enzyme remediation and membrane filtrations so as to make them suitable for dyeing of yarn in package dyeing machines and enlarge their colour gamut.

Finishing

Silk is valued for its sheen, lustre and feel. Any mechanical or chemical finishing process that enhances these qualities of silk is adopted. However, some finishes have been developed to give new look to the products such as the stone-wash, crumpled look or the peach finish etc. Besides these finishes R&D is being carried out to impart additional functional properties to silk fabric that caters to the well-being of the users, such as negative-ion generating finishes, dead cell rejuvenating, antimicrobial and UV protecting finishes.