Abstract: After conducting waterless finishing of stretch denim via an air finishing machine, and testing appropriate process parameters, the experiment carried out a comparison between the finished stretch denim and conventional ones for their appearance, shrinkage, tensile properties, recoverability, color fastness to rubbing, and tearing strength before and after washing. The results indicated that compared with the conventional stretch denim, the stretch denim by waterless finishing saw a significant decrease in its shrinkage in width and has better tensile properties, recoverability and tearing strength.

Key words: waterless finishing; air finishing; stretch denim