Naturally Coloured Cotton: Eco-Friendly Fibre for Future

Abstract

Cotton with naturally coloured lint other than white is commonly referred as coloured cotton. In India, about 40 coloured genotypes of upland cotton (G. hirsutum), in various shades of brown and green colour are available. The naturally colored cotton is a pollution-free, eco-friendly, energy-efficient, cost-effective, non-toxic, novel viable textile material which could be explored for different product developments in the future. Colored cotton has both unique and desirable qualities beneficial to the consumer and the environment. The naturally colored cotton fiber had short upper half mean length, low uniformity index, low fiber strength, good fineness, low elongation (%), good uniformity, and average maturity. As the world is moving toward pollution-free organic textiles and products, the naturally colored cotton is going to be the next buzz word in the market. This is because; the production process of naturally colored cotton skips the most polluting activity (dyeing) of the textile product manufacturing.