“Man needs colour to live; it's just as necessary an element as fire and water”. These are the words uttered by Fernand Leger, the painter. I fully agree with this statement. Do you? In fact when I imagine a life devoid of colors, it just scares me. Look at the world around you- the beautiful colors scattered everywhere. People around you wearing blue and pink and red and black and yellow and so many other colors. That sheen curtain in off white giving glimpse of greenery outside. Your marvelous wardrobe having a rainbow of colors. The contrasting cushions and pillows with that colorful bed cover!.... Now close your eyes and visualize all these in simple white! I'll not comment on what you see with your closed eyes but I am sure, that is enough to know the significance of colors in each of our lives!

Colors- How They are related to Textile?

Till now, you have known that fabric is woven with fibers- natural or synthetic. These fibers, if natural, don't have colors and if they have, they are so light that it is equivalent of having no color. They have to be dyed with textile colorants. These colorants may be in form of textile chemicals - dyes or pigments. The synthetic fibers these days are made with colors at the first instance. And if not, then they are also dyed like the natural fibers.

More Textile Chemicals

Textile Chemicals are not only used for coloring the fabrics, there are many other processes involved in textile manufacturing that need a variety of chemicals to be applied. Whether the raw material is prepared for making textile or dyeing and printing has to be done or the finishing processes have to be carried out for the final product, chemicals of one or the other kind has to be necessarily used.

I have introduced you to the lesser known aspect of textile manufacturing- the textile chemicals. Meanwhile you find out more about these chemicals, I will gather information on some other aspect of textile. Keep reading!