Wow, here’s an interesting twist. Today I was trying to bone up on different (and safer) ways to discharge (e.g. “remove”) color from a dyed textile. I stumbled on an extremely detailed website and as I scrolled down, my name was mentioned as a resource. (Moi?)
“Sodium hydrosulfite (Colour Index Reducing Agent 1), also known as sodium dithionite, sodium sulfoxylate, and sodium sulphoxylate, is the active ingredient in Rit Color Remover, Tintex Color Remover, Dylon Run away for Whites, and Carbona Color Run Remover, all of which also contain sodium carbonate (soda ash). Its chemical formula is Na2O4S2. This is the chemical used by Carter Smith in Kate Broughton’s book Textile Dyeing: The Step-By-Step Guide and Showcase…”
Very cool, but even cooler was the incredible detail the website author took to explore the complex aspects of color removal. For those of us who are interested in upcyling old fabrics, color removal almost always comes up as a creative option, but the processes are almost always toxic. I highly suggest this link as a bookmark for anyone wanting to experiment with stripping or modifying the color of dyed textiles.