Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

Vol 21, Issue 4, 2015; Page No.(2031-2037)

ECO-FRIENDLY APPROACH FOR UV PROTECTION USING HIMALAYAN NETTLE FABRIC AND NATURAL DYES

Deepti Pargaia, Manisha Gahlot and Anita Rani

Abstract

UV radiation can cause harm such as premature aging of the skins, suppression of the immune system, damage to the eyes, and skin cancer. Acquainted with these harmful effects of UV radiation, there is a demand of UV protective textiles among consumers, which could provide sufficient UV protection. The ultraviolet protative properties of many synthetic fabrics (having different weaves) and the fabric dyed with various dyes have been widely reported in literature. However no work has been carried out on UV protection properties of nettle fabric. Many ecologists considered nettle as an ecofriendly fibre of the future as it is naturally resistant to diseases and pest and unlike cotton does not require any pesticides to flourish. Hence there is a need of value addition to this wildly grown plant fiber so that it can be used for protection against UV radiation. This study reports the natural UV protection properties of nettle fabric dyed with natural dye madder (Rubia Cardifolia) with natural mordants myrobalan. Dyeing of nettle fabric was done at three different concentrations of dye for the selection of optimum concentration on the basis of UPF rating. Samples dyed with optimum concentration of natural dye were subjected to mordanting using natural mordant myrobalan at different concentration of each with different methods of mordanting. Effect of dye concentration and mordant concentration on UPF was also studied through correlation coefficient. On the basis of results it was found that dyeing with madder dye provided excellent UV protection to the woven nettle fabric. Thus it can be concluded that nettle fabric dyed with natural dye madder and mordanted with natural mordant myrobalan could be a sustainable choice for design development of UV protective textile products and could also reduce our dependency on chemicals.

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