Dyeing of cotton and jute with tea as a natural dye

Cotton and jute fabrics were dyed with an aqueous extract of tea, containing tannins as the main colorant species. The dyeing was carried out with and without metal salts as mordants, using three different dyeing methods: pre-mordanting, meta-mordanting and post-mordanting. The resulting wash and light fastnesses of the dyed fabrics were good to excellent. The colour of the fabrics was investigated on computer colour matching system in terms of K/S , and CIELAB colour-difference values. Deep shades ( K/S = 3.9) were obtained for jute in acidic media, while cotton fabrics could be dyed in medium depths ( K/S = 2.0) under identical conditions of dyeing.