Consumer awareness for natural dyes

Pages: 1012-1014
Arpana Kamboj and Surabhi Mahajan (Department of Apparel and Textile Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab)

The use of eco friendly natural dyes is the need of the hour in response to the growing consciousness for saving the environment from the wrath of synthetic dyes. This milestone can only be achieved if consumers are willing to buy natural dyed products. The consumer willingness is directly related to their awareness hence the present study was undertaken to study the consumer awareness for natural dyes in Ludhiana. An interview schedule was used for collecting data from forty-five respondents from three different localities. The results were interpreted using simple percentages and average weighted mean scores. The results of the collected data revealed that majority of respondents (84.44%) were aware about natural dyes and turmeric was the most popular natural dye followed by indigo, madder and rattanjot. Majority (68.42%) of respondents opined that natural dyes are eco friendly and agreed to the fact that natural dyes produce earthy shades like brown, grey, yellow etc. Almost 50% respondents disagreed to the fact that natural dyes are economical and can produce similar shades on repetition. Majority of the respondents were of the opinion that natural dyed products are colour fast, durable, renewable and safe for human skin. Most of the respondents disagreed with easy maintenance of natural dyes but strongly agreed to wearing natural dyed products as it enhanced their personality and brings them a status of green and conscious consumer however majority (81.58%) of respondents were not interested to buy natural dyed products because of their extra cost and difficult maintenance.