Eco-Friendly Strategies to Enhance the Color Performance of Natural Organic Lake Pigments (NOLPs) on Cellulose Textiles

Natural dyes show a strong affinity for protein fibers, yielding vibrant and durable shades. However, their application to cellulose-based fabrics such as cotton and linen remains severely restricted due to weak dye – fiber interactions, often resulting in limited dye uptake, insufficient color depth, and poor fastness. Although cationization of cellulose has been widely studied to improve dyeability, the combined use of natural organic lake pigments with bio-based cationic binder systems remains insufficiently explored. In this study, the dyeing performance of traditional plant-derived orga nic lake pigments, including Helichrysum arenarium, Quercus infectoria, Quercus ithaburensis, Punica granatum, Reseda luteola, and Datisca cannabina was systematically evaluated on cellulose textiles. To enhance pigment performance, a natural cationic binder was introduced as a pre-treatment, which significantly improved dye uptake, color depth, and fastness. Colorimetric measurements, supported by SEM-EDX and HPLC analyses, confirmed substantial improvements in pigment adhesion, intensity, and durability, thereby underscoring the environmental sustainability of the method. The natural cationic binder pre-treatment increased color depth by 123–1432%, while washing and rubbing fastness achieved excellent ratings, and light fastness improved by approximately one grade on the blue scale. The optimal dyeing time was determined to be 90–100 min, which was accompanied by a 65–70% reduction in dye consumption. Moreover, the method demonstrated full compatibility with conventional dyeing machinery. These findings demonstrate that natural organic lake pigments, when combined with cationic pre-treatment, offer a robust, eco-friendly, and practical solution to the challenges of cellulose dyeing, supporting their broader adoption in sustainable textile production.