Rainbow of No-Wrinkle Cotton
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Rob Reinhardt, Gene Blanchard, and Bob Harper are creating a whole new coloring book - one that will delight the textile industry and fashion-conscious consumers who like the soft touch of cotton but don’t like the wrinkles.
These three ARS chemists aren’t spending their time with wax crayons. Their medium is a variety of techniques that allow cotton to be dyed after it has been treated with a no-wrinkle finish. The techniques open the door to a broader range of patterns and more vibrant shades for consumers, while also saving industry money. And they don’t reduce the breathability, absorbency, and comfort of cotton, says Reinhardt.
Currently, cotton fabrics has to be dyed before a no-wrinkle finish is applied because the chemical bond created by the finishing process repels dyes. “The cotton fiber has to swell to accomodate the molecules of dye,” explains Blanchard. “Once the fabric is heated and treated with a no-wrinkle finish, it won’t accept those molecules as an untreated fabric would.”
This puts the textile and garment industries between a rock and a hard place trying to keep up with the unpredictable and ever-changing fashion world. If textile manufacturers want to produce a wrinkle-free fabric, they first have to dye it and hope the colors will be “in” next season. If garment makers don’t want to change being stuck with a large inventory of “out” colors, they buy bleached, untreated fabric that can be dyed in the latest hues before or after the garment is made. As a result, consumers have a limited selection of wrinkle-free cotton garments on store racks.
