Panorama of ecofriendly naturally colour cotton

Two genotypes of naturally brown coloured cotton yarns, viz. Dharwad Desi Colour Cotton 1 (DDCC-1) and Dharwad Brown Hirsutum 250 (DBH-250) were shot on handloom with white cotton and filature silk (Muga, Mulberry and Tasar) to produce user and ecofriendly fabrics. Japanese Kawabata Evaluation System was used to assess these union fabrics for their performance. Union fabrics showed higher tensile, bending,. shear, compressional and surface property values indicating the fabrics having low bending rigidity & fabric density, greater flexural rigidity than their corresponding control samples. Koshi (stiffness), Numeri (smoothness), Fukurami (fullness and softness) and Sofutosa (softness) were the Primary Hand Values of KES-FB in turn assisted to rate the Total Hand Value (THV). The THV expressed that these union fabrics are most suitable (good to excellent) for women s winter thin dress and fairly suitable (fair to good) for women s winter suits. Therefore, it is a boon for cotton cultivators to grow colour cotton on commercial scale to sustain in both domestic and international market as well as support the handloom sector.