11.4.

2 Bleach washing

Increased concentration of sodium hypochlorite can effectively accelerate the colour fading effect. Generally

speaking, the active chlorine content in sodium hypochlorite has an optimum value to achieve the best colour fading

effect. If the concentration of sodium hypochlorite is higher than this optimum value, no further improvement in colour

fading is obtained. The recommended active chlorine content is 12% when concentration of sodium hypochloriteis

about 40 g/L. In addition, increase in temperature increases the bleaching reaction to fade the colour from denim

garments. The optimum temperature is 70 °C; temperature higher than 70 °C does not enhance colour fading effect

(Hong Kong Apparel Product Development and Marketing Research Center, 2002). The pH value used for bleach

washing also affects colour fading. When pH = 7 or pH < 7, the bleaching reaction is very fast and the degree of

colour fading is very difficult to control. When pH = 9–10 (adjusted by adding alkali), the bleaching effect can be

controlled by the bleaching time (Hong Kong Apparel Product Development and Marketing Research Center, 2002).