Cotton is a comfortable,natural fibre. The exact age of cotton is unknown, but evidences are foundabout its existence even before the birth of Christ. Currently, cotton is oneof the mostly used fibres applied in a variety of products ranging from men, womenand kids apparels, towels, handbags, medical and sanitary supplies, to home decor.Cotton is being admired for its virtues and is even praised as 'King Cotton'due to its cultural influence. Despite its comfort, softness, and moistureabsorbing capability, cotton wrinkles very easily. The way people like to avoidwrinkles on their skin, they do not want it on their clothes either. To makecotton clothes wrinkle free it needs to be blended with other synthetic fibreslike polyester. However, 100% cotton clothes are now demanded by most of thepeople. And time-pressed consumers crave for cotton clothing that is bothcomfortable, and easy to wear and care. Manufacturing 100% and wrinkle freecotton fabrics is a deceptive and complex process. Researchers are now workingon the concept of manufacturing such fabrics.

 

Due to the increasing demand for100% cotton fabrics, durable press finishes are being used on these clothes. Generally,cotton fibers are spun into yarn, woven into fabric, and then dyed, and thelast part of the process is treating it with a 'cross-linking' resin. The applicationsof formaldehyde based reagents that are used to create these apparels are nowcreating ripples all across the globe backing up with concerns for human healthand environment. Previously an organic acid called butanetetracarboxylic acid(BTCA) was used as a substitute of formaldehyde. But the high cost of BCTAprevented its applications on a commercial scale.

 

Researchers have come up with atechnique to dye cotton fabrics to be treated with an anti-wrinkle finish andthen dyed later. Currently, cotton fabrics are dyed before the anti-wrinkletreatment because, once treated, the fabric tends to repel dyes. Cotton fibrehas to swell to accept the molecules of the dye, and once the fabric is heatedand treated with the anti-wrinkle finish, it will not accept the dye as like anuntreated fabric.

 

This fabric nature has placed thegarment manufacturers in jeopardy, as they will have to dye the garments wellin advance and hope that the colors will be in fashion for the next season.This constraint made them to have only limited stock of wrinkle free cottongarments on their racks. The new technique of the researchers allows thegarments to be treated with the anti-wrinkle finish before the garment is dyed.This chemical treatment minimizes wrinkles and gives a smooth appearance to thefabrics. This does not reduce the breathability, absorbency, and comfort of thecotton fabrics. These fabrics displayed durable press performance, launderingdurability and high fabric strength retention, and also prove to becost-effective.

 

Technology has augmented to thedevelopment of 100% cotton garments that provide style, comfort, and alsoretain a just ironed appearance throughout the whole day. This modified finishwill enhance the marketability of cotton garments against the syntheticfabrics. A survey states that out 62% of all the women surveyed; preferred towear wrinkle resistant cotton clothing over the normal cotton slacks. Wrinklefree finishing, if is able to capture the market, will make ironing a fadedmemory, and liberate women from the rigid task of ironing.

 

References:

 

1)      http://www.thecottonclub.org

2)      http://www.sciencedaily.com

3)      http://www.scienceblog.com

4)      http://www.cottoninc.com

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