The present invention relates to a novel method for the finishing treatment of fabric materials to which pleasant touch of softness and hydrophilicity can be imparted simultaneously. In particular, the present invention provides a novel method for the finishing treatment of fabric materials with a fabric-treatment agent containing an organopolysiloxane of a novel type as the effective ingredient thereof.
As is well known, various types of silicones or organopolysiloxane materials are known as a fabric-treatment agent to impart pleasant touch with softness and water-repellency to the fabric material. No silicones are known hitherto, however, which can impart simultaneously pleasant touch with softness and hydrophilicity to the fabric material.
That is, most of the conventional silicones for the fabric treatment are satisfactory in respect of the softness of the fabric material finished therewith but the fabric materials treated with a silicone are almost always rendered water repellent irrespective of the necessity of such water repellency. Therefore, silicone-containing fabric finishing agents cannot be used when water repellency of the treated fabric material is undesirable. It is of course possible that an organopolysiloxane is rendered hydrophilic by modifying the molecular structure thereof with introduction of hydrophilic groups. Such a conventional approach of the modification of the molecular structure is not free from the problem that the fabric material treated with such a modified silicone cannot be imparted with desired degree of softness as the other important object of the fabric treatment. Further, on the other hand, the prior art silicone-containing fabric finishing agents with excellent softening effect are not always satisfactory in respect of the adhesion to the surface of the fibers and the hydrophilicity of the fabric materials treated therewith.