Flame Retardant Fabric Comprising Cotton Alternative

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a flame retardant (FR) treated fabric, comprising yarns formed from a mixture of natural and/or synthetic fibres, the fabric further comprising FR treated lyocell fibres, wherein the FR treatment is a non-cellulose-reactive FR treatment and the FR treated lyocell fibres are rendered low-fibrillating e.g. whereby at least some of the hydroxyl groups are cross-linked with a reactant resin.

1 . A flame retardant (FR) treated fabric, comprising yarns formed from a mixture of natural and/or synthetic fibres, the fabric further comprising FR treated lyocell fibres, wherein the FR treatment is a non-cellulose-reactive FR treatment and the FR treated lyocell fibres are rendered low-fibrillating. 
     
     
         2 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the fabric is a woven fabric comprising warp yarns and weft yarns. 
     
     
         3 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the natural fibres comprise cotton. 
     
     
         4 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the synthetic fibres comprise polyester, polyamide and/or aramid. 
     
     
         5 . The fabric of  claim 2 , wherein the lyocell fibres are present in the warp yarns only. 
     
     
         6 . The fabric according to  claim 5 , wherein the warp yarns comprise lyocell fibres, synthetic fibres and natural fibres. 
     
     
         7 . The fabric of  claim 5 , wherein the weft yarns comprise a preponderance of natural fibres. 
     
     
         8 . The fabric of  claim 1 , woven as a twill weave. 
     
     
         9 . The fabric of  claim 1 , further comprising an anti-fibrillation finish. 
     
     
         10 . The fabric of  claim 1 , further comprising a water and/or oil repellent finish. 
     
     
         11 . The fabric of  claim 1 , further comprising antistatic fibres. 
     
     
         12 . The fabric according to  claim 2 , comprising in the warp:
 40-60 wt % lyocell, 15-35 wt % cotton; and   15-35 wt % recycled polyester; and   in the weft:   70-99 wt % cotton, and 1-20 wt % recycled polyester.   
     
     
         13 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the fabric is durable to laundering at least 50x according to ISO 15797 and retains at least one or more of the following properties:
 a color retention score of greater than 2 or greater than 3 according to the greyscale comparison of ISO 105-A02;   exceed the ignition to surface requirement of ISO11612 according to the test procedure of ISO15025 (2000)   exceed the bottom edge ignition requirement of ISO11612 according to the test procedure of ISO15025 (2000);   tear strength greater than 10N according to ISO13937-2 (2000); and   tensile strength greater than 300N according to ISO13934-1 (2013).   
     
     
         14 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the fabric has abrasion resistance to more than 15 000 cycles, according to the Martindale Method and fulfilling ISO 12947-2 for an applied force of 12 KPa. 
     
     
         15 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the non-cellulose-reactive FR treatment comprises a THP salt. 
     
     
         16 . A method of producing a flame retardant fabric comprising yarns including a mixture of natural and/or synthetic fibres and lyocell fibres having accessible hydroxyl groups, the method comprising first subjecting the fabric to a non-cellulose-reactive FR treatment and subsequently finishing the fabric by application of a resin to stabilise fibrillation of the lyocell. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , comprising constructing the fabric by weaving the yarns with a warp yarn and a weft yarn. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the lyocell fibres are present in the warp yarns only. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the FR treatment is a THP based process. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein finishing the fabric by application of a resin, comprises cross-linking the resin. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein finishing further comprises a water and/or oil repellent treatment. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein, prior to subjecting the fabric to the FR treatment, the fabric is pre-treated by one or more process selected from the group consisting of: desizing, scouring, bleaching, mercerising, dying, including reactive and non-reactive dyes. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the yarns are spun yarns comprising an intimate mix of staple fibres. 
     
     
         24 . A garment manufactured of the fabric of  claim 1 .