Abstract: A coated fiber comprising a fiber comprising polyester, and a coating on the fiber, said coating comprising a cross-linked silicone prepared by cross-linking on the fiber one or more silicon-containing compounds selected from an organosilane and organosilicone resin, wherein at least one of said silicon-containing compounds has at least three cross-linking groups is provided, together with a method of preparing such a fiber, a concrete composition comprising such coated fibers, and a method of preparing such a concrete composition.

Abstract: A granular material for use in the treating of textile materials, comprising (i) a silicone material having at least one nitrogen containing substituent, (ii) an aluminosilicate carrier and (iii) a binder, preferably in conjunction with a surface active material. Also described is a process for preparing such granular materials, which comprises forming a water-in-oil emulsion of component (i) in conjunction with component (iii) by dispersing and agitating said components in water, followed by depositing said emulsion onto a free flowing powder form of component (ii), for example by spraying, and removing sufficient water from the product to obtain a free flowing granular material. The granules are useful in a process of treating textile materials in an aqueous medium, particularly where the textile material is denim. Preferably the granular material is added into the finishing steps of denim such as the desizing, the fading or the softening steps and helps with avoiding backstaining.