In this study, a new process of concurrent desizing and bleaching was established for greige cotton fabrics using potassium permanganate as a powerful oxidizing agent. According to obtained results, this oxidizing agent was able to apply for simultaneous desizing and bleaching process on loomstate cotton fabrics. The experimental results showed that whiteness index, tensile strength, residual size, moisture regain, wet ability and weight loss were dependent on the potassium permanganate concentration, the temperature and time of treatment. The final results suggested up to 90?C, by increasing the temperature and time of treatment, more whiteness, weight reduction, shrinkage and weight loss were obtained. However, the residual size and the tensile strength were decreased. The comparison of the obtained results with H 2 O 2 as a common oxidizing agent indicated that, KMnO 4 has ability to be used as a multipurpose agent for loomstate cotton fabrics.
