Effect of biomordanting with Aronia melanocarpa leaf extract on coloring and functionalizing of wool and cotton fabrics dyed with A. melanocarpa fruit extract

The textile industry causes heavy environmental pollution owing to the use of synthetic dyes and/or finishing agents; bioactive compounds extracted from agricultural or food wastes can provide a sustainable alternative. One such waste is aronia leaves (AL), and as Aronia plants have medicinal properties, AL can be used for textile coloring as well as for improving the properties of the treated fabrics. Hence, in this study, Aronia melanocarpa fruit (AF) and AL were used as coloring and/or functionalizing agents in the sustainable processing of wool and cotton fabrics. The AF and AL extracts were prepared under non-toxic aqueous conditions and applied to fabrics using an exhaustion method. The coloring properties and functionalities of the treated fabrics, including antibacterial, antioxidant, and UV-protective properties, were determined. Mordanting with the AL extract enhanced the coloring and colorfastness of the wool fabric when dyed with the AF extract. However, cotton was verified to be a more suitable substrate than wool in terms of functionalities owing to its higher antibacterial ability (>= 99.9% bacterial reduction against both Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae), antioxidant capacity (75.9%), and UV-protective properties (98.2%). The study can provide a basis for exploring and identifying alternatives to the potentially harmful coloring and functionalizing agents currently used in textile production to reduce water pollution sourced from the textile industry.