Twenty-seven samples representing variations of retted flax fibers are anal
yzed using a color spectrophotometer and CIELAB models. Variables included
enzyme or dew retting, fiber or seed flax, enzyme and chelator concentratio
ns, and sequential cleaning steps. In addition to differences in color with
enzyme or dew retting, the variables involved in enzyme retting also contr
ibute to differences in the lightness, redness-greenness, and yellowness-bl
ueness of the resulting fibers. Dew retted fiber flax, as well as seed flax
that has weathered during storage prior to enzyme retting, is significantl
y darker than non-weathered, enzyme retted fiber flax. Pairwise comparisons
show that lower enzyme concentrations (0.05% v/v as commercially supplied)
produce redder and yellower fiber samples than those retted with higher (0
.3% v/v) enzyme levels. Higher chelator levels, (i.e., 50 versus 25 mmol et
hylenediaminetetraacetic acid) produce redder fibers. Fiber lightness signi
ficantly increases with additional cleaning steps. Results indicate that ob
jective color measurements and color standards can define important fiber p
roperties in order to tailor raw materials for specific industrial applicat
ions.