FASHIONABLE LEATHER PRODUCTS FROM ECOFRIENDLY DESINGED VEGETABLE TANNED LEATHERS

Abstract

Today, due to the increasing demand for sustainable, ecological and original designs and high value-added products, natural dye researchers, engineers, leather and textile designers who use their imagination and creativity are looking for more environmental methods of dyeing and designing of their materials. Surface design and prints on the materials can be done with natural dyes from plants which are abundant in nature. The use of natural dyes has long been known, and they are considered environmentally friendly since obtained from natural sources. In ecological printing, many colorful designs can be obtained naturally on the material surfaces by using flowers, leaves, plant parts etc. There are very few studies regarding the ecological printing on leather and researches in this field are limited and insufficient. In this study, the effect of the use of metal mordant and biomordant on the patterns formed during ecological printing on vegetable tanned leathers was investigated. In addition, the obtained eco-printed leather was used together with a velvet fabric to produce a fashionable design jacket. In addition, a necklace was made from the same ecologically printed leather combined with a chain and peacock feathers, thus demonstrating the usability of ecologically printed leather in the design of various products with different materials. When the results and products obtained in the study are evaluated, the prominent contribution of the study can be revealed as follow; with the surface design made by this method on the leather, there will be no need for chemical dyeing and finishing processes used to color the leather and/or give a pattern to the surface during traditional leather production. The chemicals and dyestuffs used during these processes have adverse effects on both human health and environment. With such practices, it will be possible to reduce or prevent pollution, which is effective on the environment and human health. Furthermore, it is thought that each product designed from eco-printed leather will be attractive to consumers due to the appeal and naturalness of different colors, patterns and shapes that each plant gives to the leather.