Within the scope of the paper, a study on dyeing cotton fabric with different natural dyes, prepared in mine water from Sitarjevec mine near Litija, was conducted. Mine water is rich in iron compounds and acts as a good replacement for mordants, which are normally used when dyeing with natural dyes. Extracts from green and black tea, peel of pomegranate, green walnut and onion, horse-chestnut bark, oak galls, sage and avocado seed were prepared in either mine water alone or mine water with sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Then, they were used to dye raw fabric as well as bleached and mercerized cotton fabric. Some samples were processed with a cationic agent prior to dyeing. The colour of the samples was measured on the reflectance spectrophotometer. Also, an analysis of the resistance against washing and artificial light was carried out. The results of the research show that when the samples that underwent cationic pre-treatment and the samples with NaOH were dyed, they darkened and the colour fastness improved. After being washed, most of the samples became lighter in colour. Nonetheless, there were some exceptions where the samples became darker after being washed. What is more, the results also portray that the samples dyed with the extract from pomegranate had the highest colour fastness to light, as they obtained the highest score.
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