Preface

As it is known dyes are colored materials that have an affinity to the substrate. Textile materials without colorants cannot be imagined and according to archaeological evidence dyeing has been widely used for over 5000 years. In the past, dyes were obtained from plants, animals or minerals. After the discovery of the first synthetic dye by W. H. Perkin in 1856, many thousands of synthetic dyes have been found and by the 1870s commercial dyeing with natural dyes was in the decline. For textile finishing processes first stage is pre-treatment. In general, dyeing and printing, chemical and mechanical finishing processes follow pre-treatment. With the development of chemical industry all finishing processes of textile materials are developing continuously and, ecological and sustainable production methods are very important nowadays. So some researchers show the ecological values of natural dye.

The first section of the book "Natural Dyes" considers eco-friendly pre-treatments. The application of natural dyes and approach to ecological dyeing with natural dyes is discussed in the following section. As it is known, the efficiency of finishing treatments can change with chemical properties. Accordingly, in the last Chapter, the importance of surface modification of wool fibers is evaluated.

> **Prof. E. Perrin Akçakoca Kumbasar**  Ege University Turkey

**Part 1** 

**Eco-Friendly Pretreatment** 
