1. Abstract
Due to unsustainable practices in the textile dyeing industry, there has been a renewed interest in
natural dyes, including plant mordants. Plants, rich in tannin content (oak gall, myrobalan) or aluminum
accumulating (symplocos) are potential sources of natural mordants that may be viable alternatives to
chemical metallic mordants. Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra L.) is a US native shrub and has a high tannin
content (10-25%) due to the galls formed on the underside of the leaf by sumac leaf gall aphids. In this
research, we evaluated three mordant treatments: 1) aluminum acetate (5%) as control, 2) ground
sumac leaves (50%, 10%, 150%, 200%), and 3) combination of both treatments (sumac leaf followed by
aluminum acetate). Mordanted cotton batiste samples were dyed with weld (5%). Colorfastness to
laundering and staining was conducted according to AATCC test methods and resulting colors were
rated using CIE L*a*b values and Gray Scale. Findings indicate that no individual treatment matched
the same color-coordinates as the control. Gray scale color change and staining rating improved with
the increase of sumac amount with 200% sumac leaves and aluminum acetate combination showing
the best result. This finding helps understand the potential of sumac as natural mordant.
Objectives
To investigate the potential of sumac leaves as a natural mordant by measuring the colorfastness to
laundering on weld dyed cotton batiste for the following treatments:
Control: Aluminum Acetate at 5% owf.
Treatment-01: Sumac leaves at 50%, 100%, 150%, and 200% owf.
Treatment-02: Sumac leaves at 50%, 100%, 150%, and 200% owf and Aluminum Acetate at 5% owf.
Suamc leaves contain 10-25% tannin (Seth, 2003), mainly used to tan leathers. Smooth sumac (Rhus
glabra L.) was used by Native Americans for yellow dye (Ogg, 1998). Use of sumac as a mordant is
noted literature but no standards or colorfastness results were found (Adrosko & Furry, 1968;
Buchanan, 1995; Cardon, 2007; Graaff & Judith, 1969).
Materials
 Sumac fresh leaves were dried, ground, and extracted at amounts of 50%, 100%, 150%, and 200%
owf.
 Aluminum Acetate (Brenntag) at 5% owf.
 Weld (Reseda luteola) extract (maiwa.com) at 5% owf.
 Scoured with Liquid Scour (Earthhues.com) at 5.5% owf and Sodium Carbonate
(dharmatrading.com) 2% owf.
 Cotton batiste fabric (70 gm/m2; Testfabrics, Inc) at 7 gm samples, 3 samples for each treatment.
Procedures
 Aqueous solutions at 80:1 (fiber to liquor) with reverse osmosis (RO) water.
 Samples scoured, randomly assigned to one of three treatments: 1) aluminum acetate, 2) sumac,
and 3) sumac followed by aluminum acetate.
 Treated samples were dyed with 5% weld.
Amounts, time, and temperature for each procedure
Treatment Amount (OWF) Temp. Time in Bath Cool Time
Sodium Carbonate
Liquid Scour
2%
5.5%
82°C 1 hr. -
Sumac Extraction 50, 100, 150, 200% 90-95°C 2 hr. -
Sumac Treatment 50, 100, 150, 200% 38°C 1 hr. 5 hr.
Aluminum Acetate
Treatment
5% 38°C 1 hr. 5 hr.
Weld Dye 5% 80°C 2 hr. 3hr.
Colorfastness to Laundering:
 Color coordinate values (L*,a*,b* ) are darker for treatment-01 (sumac), except for leaves at 50%
and 100%, and treatment-02 (sumac + aluminum acetate) and less yellow than the control
(aluminum acetate).
 Regardless of treatment, total color difference value (∆E) is darker and less yellow than the
control.
 Overall, treatment-01 showed slightly higher color coordinate ratings than treatment-02.
 Leaves at 50% concentration and Leaves + Alum at 100% were most similar to the control.
Color Change and Staining Evaluation:
 Overall, treatment-02 had less color change and staining in relation to treatment-01.
 Among the eight different combinations, 200% sumac leaves + alum had the highest gray scale
rating both in for color change (4.0) and staining (4.5).
Conclusion
We investigated the influence of sumac as a pre-mordant on colorfastness to laundering for weld-dyed
cotton batiste. Although color coordinate values were lighter and less yellow than the control, gray
scale ratings both for color change and staining of the treatments showed minimal color change with
200% sumac and alum combination. However, the tannin content did noticeably darken the weld dyed
fabric, which may not be acceptable to dyers expecting a bright yellow. This research will help future
researchers to further investigate mordanting behavior of sumac. The finding has implications to natural
dyers as well as for commercialization of local sumac plants.
Recommendations
To further understand colorfastness, future research should include exposure to light and perspiration.
Compatibility of sumac as a pretreatment with other natural dyes should be investigated. While it was
observed that sumac has potential to increase colorfastness, it lowers the brightness of weld’s natural
yellow color. As such, more research may find an optimum condition to maintain weld’s expected color.
Amount of tannin present in sumac should be determined to better understand and recommend use of
sumac. Finally, amount of residual aluminum could be determined to better understand safety issues.
Background
Investigation of Sumac (Rhus glabra L.) Leaves as a
Natural Mordant on the Colorfastness of Laundering
Weld-Dyed Cotton Batiste
Industrial water
pollution: World bank
estimates that 17-
20% comes from
textile dyeing and
finishing (Kant, 2012)
Textile industry
contributes an
estimated 400,000
DALYs to the total
burden of disease in
the 49 countries
(Blacksmith Institute,
2012)
Plant Natural Dyes:
• Biodegradable
• Most are replenish-
able
• Process can be
sustainable
• UV protection
• Antimicrobial
• Flame-retardant
(Gupta, 2002, Saxena &
Raja, 2014)
Cotton fibers have a weak
affinity to many natural
dyes, requiring a mordant
treatment to improve
color depth and fastness.
Aluminum acetate
recommended mordant
for cotton (Doty & Haar,
2012)
Other metallic mordants
may be harmful
(Kongkachuichaya et. al.
2002)
Plant Tannin
Mordants:
Alternative for
mineral mordant
or used in
combination.
Improves color
fastness (Haji,
2010)
AATCC. (2009). AATCC Technical Manual.
Adrosko, R. J., & Furry, M. S. (1968). Natural dyes in the United States.
Blacksmith Institute. (2012). The world's worst pollution problems: Assessing health risk at hazardous waste sites.
Buchanan, R. (1995). A dyer's garden: From plant to pot: Growing dyes for natural fibers.
Cardon, D. (2007). Natural dyes: Sources, tradition, technology and science Archetype London.
Doty, K., & Haar, S. (2012). Comparison of Aluminum Mordanted and Nonmordanted Wool and Cotton Dyed with Walnut. 2012 ITAA #69, Honolulu, HI, USA. (pp. 6-8) Retrieved from:
http://cdm16001.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16001coll5/id/13199
Graaff, H., & Judith, H. (1969). Natural dyestuffs. Origin, chemical constitution identification.
Gupta, S. (2002). Natural dyes: A real alternative. International Dyer, 187, 17-19.
Haji, A. (2010). Functional dyeing of wool with natural dye extracted from berberis vulgaris wood and rumex hymenosepolus root as biomordant. Iranian Journal of Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering (IJCCE), 29(3), 55-60.
Kant, R. (2012). Textile dyeing industry an environmental hazard. Natural science, 4(1), 22.
Kongkachuichaya, P., Shitangkoonb, A., & Chinwongamorna, N. (2002). Studies on dyeing of silk yarn with lac dye: Effects of mordants and dyeing conditions. Science Asia, 28, 161-166
Ogg, K. J. (1998). Native dye plants of the United States. Ethnobotanical Leaflets, 1998(2), 6.
Saxena, S., & Raja, A. (2014). Natural dyes: Sources, chemistry, application and sustainability issues. Roadmap to sustainable textiles and clothing (pp. 37-80) Springer
Seth, M. (2003). Trees and their economic importance. The Botanical Review, 69(4), 321-376.
References
Exposure: Laundering
 AATCC Test Method 61-2007 Colorfastness to Laundering: Accelerated, Test No. 1A (AATCC, 2009)
 Simulates five repeated hand launderings at a low temperature of 40°C ± 3°C (105 ± 5°F).
Color Analysis & Gray Scale Rating
 Color coordinate differences prior to and after exposure was measured with CIELAB ratings using
RM200QC Imagining Spectrocolorimeter (X-Rite, Michigan, USA).
 Gray Scale rating for color change and staining, AATCC Evaluation Procedure 1 and 2.
Results and Discussion
Colorimeter Reference Value
Item Difference Meaning Positive (+) Negative (-)
∆L* lightness/darkness lighter darker
∆a* red/green axis redder greener
∆b* yellow/blue axis yellower bluer
∆E* Total color difference More color
change
Less color change
Sarif Ullah Patwary, Sherry Haar and Jooyoun Kim
Department of Apparel, Textiles, and Interior
Design, Kansas State University
-20
-10
0
10
20
Sumac Leaves Only
50% 100% 150%
200% Control
Delta L Delta a Delta b Delta E
-20
-10
0
10
20
Sumac Leaves + 5% Alum
50% 100% 150%
200% Control
Delta L Delta a Delta b Delta E
Comparison Within Treatments
Note. Gray Scale ratings for staining and color change are 0=off shade, 1=much, 2=considerable, 3=noticeable, 4=slight, and 5=equal. Gray Scale ratings were obtained by comparing exposed
samples with their unexposed counterparts.
Key. S1-S4= 50% - 200% Sumac and S1A – S4A= 50% Sumac+Alum - 200% Sumac+Alum
3.9
3
2.5 2.3
0.9 1.7 2.5 1.3
3
DeltaL
Conc. of Sumac Leaves
Delta L Comparison
-0.3 -0.1
0.3 0.3
-0.2 -0.4 -1 -0.5
-2.4
Deltaa
Conc. of Sumac Leaves
Delta a Comparison
100%50% 150% 200%
-8
-6.5 -6.3 -6.4
-6.3 -7.2 -4.2 -4.2
-11.1
Deltab
Conc. of Sumac Leaves
Delta b Comparison
100%50% 150% 200%
9
7.1 6.8 6.8
6.4 7.4 5 4.5
11.7
DeltaE
Conc. of Sumac Leaves
Delta E Comparison
100%50% 150% 200%
Color Coordinates Comparison across the Treatments
2.50
2.00
3.00 3.00 3.00
3.50 3.50
4.00
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
Color Change
3.50
3.00 3.00
3.50
4.00 4.00
3.50
4.50
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
Staining
100%50% 150% 200%
S1 S2 S3 S4 S1A S2A S3A S4A
S1 S2 S3 S4 S1A S2A S3A S4A