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  Fig 1: Condition of the dyeing industry
He responded, “Collection and extraction of natural dyes is tedious than chemical dyes.” Suddenly, my mother summoned me as we were about to leave, I bade the old man good bye. While leaving Bhairavgarh I saw some children with coloured hands playing on the road, unaware of the harmful effects of these chemical dyes. I also noticed that the sewer/ drainage lines were also filled
with coloured effluent. During
the journey, I searched online
for information on chemical and
natural dyes. I got to know about
the dyes the plants produce.
There are several plants in
nature which contain colouring
pigments in their parts, that is,
root, bark, leaves, flower and
fruits. These colour compounds
can be extracted in aqueous
solution and as they produce
beautiful colours and applied
on textiles. These practices
were common in ancient times
until synthetic dyes were invented. Though the synthetic dyes, made of chemicals, produce excellent colour and remain good even after innumerable washings, impact of perspiration and exposure to sun, but they also have a dark side which directly or indirectly affects adversely. Firstly, on the workers of
Ms. Taiyaba Ansari || 217
manufacturing units and dyeing industries, they are exposed to chemicals continuously where it causes skin allergies, respiratory problems and carcinogenic effects on health. Secondly, the people who really are not aware of the fabric dyeing material, choose cloth only on the basis of appearance of colours on the fabric. These chemical colours become a cause for illness for the e weaver and the buyer because they come in direct contact with our skin during perspiration. Actually, skin pores open with rise in temperature, which allows transfer of chemicals into our body. After dyeing and printing process, waste water is discharged in water bodies and on land, which impacts the health of aqueous animals and plants. Accumulation of chemicals in the environment decreases the quality of water, soil and air. Process of fabric dyeing completes in many steps such as manufacturing, scouring, bleaching, mordanting and dyeing, and
chemicals are used frequently in each step.
The next day, I went to my supervisor to discuss the research plan for submission of proposed work for Ph.D registration at the university. I shared my experience about Bhairavgarh with my supervisor. She said “This is a big issue, we should find a way to solve it. What are the reasons for not using natural dyes and how can we make it useful on a large scale for textile industries?” Under my supervisor’s guidance, I started
to find information regarding the problem to search the ways to develop and optimize the condition for dyeing with natural sources like root, leaves, flower and bark of plants. After that, a proposal was submitted to the university and I got permission to work on it.
   In earlier times dyeing was done with natural colours obtained from plants, minerals and insects, these were harmless and easily available as well.” I asked him, “Why are natural dyes no longer used?” He responded, “Collection and extraction of natural dyes is tedious than chemical dyes.
  










































































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