in accordance with the invention there is provided a means for removal or decolorization of colorants on the surface of textiles which would interfere with the aesthetic appearance and characteristics of the textile . this includes dyes which have been deposited from a previous fabric treatment process . more particularly the process involves the use of ozone to treat a textile in a bath at a temperature and for a period of time wherein only a surface dye or colorant would be decolorized or removed as a result of the reaction with ozone . the temperature can be ambient or elevated depending upon the textile and the dye . colorants of textiles comprise a large catalog of chemical structures . some of these chemical structures can be oxidized to a soluble form , can be destroyed so as to be soluble or decolorized or to merely exist in a decolorized form . for cellulosic textiles including denim , muslim , and chambray , azoic , basic , direct , mordant , oxidative , fiber reactive , sulfur , and vat dyes are employed . for the bast fibers ( line , flax , hemp , jute , ramie , etc .) acid , direct , fiber reactive , vat , and solubilized vat dyes are suitable . in polyamide fibers such as nylon - 6 , nylon 6 — 6 , and nylon 6 – 10 , acid , disperse , mordant , pigment , and fiber reactive dyes are preferred for both background dyeing and selected redyeing . disperse dyes and pigments are employed for polyester fabrics . for acrylic fibers such as creslan ®, acrilan ®, orlon ®, and courtelle ®, basic disperse and pigment dyes are best employed . disperse colors are used for polyolefin fabrics . basic and disperse colors are used for polyvinyl chloride fabrics . elastomeric fabrics such as lycra ® may be dyed with acid , disperse , fiber reactive , and vat dyes . interesting stylish effects can be generated with the process of the present invention for such fashion , elastomeric garments as women &# 39 ; s swim wear . fiber - reactive dyes are preferred for those categories of fabric with which they can be used , as listed above , because they react with the substrate to form covalent chemical bonds , rather than dyeing by mere secondary forces or occlusion . within the category of fiber - reactive dyes there are at least four classes . all four are available from pro chemical & amp ; dye inc . somerset , mass . 02726 , a distributor . the mx series sumbit supra ( dystar ) and cibacron c ( ciba ) are the most reactive and most versatile , comes in 43 colors , but has the shortest shelf life . these dyes set even at ambient temperature . the f series is slightly less reactive but has four times the shelf life . higher dyeing temperatures of 41 degree – 43 degree c . are recommended . the f series is the cibacron f class of reactive dyes from ciba , who are internationally known under the trade name of ciba these days . liquid reactive dyes from clarinant corp . are used best at 60 degree c . and are best set by steaming . the h series are available as both powder and liquids especially for printing and painting on natural fibers , such as cotton , wool and silk . the redyeing is done at 80 degree c . followed by steam setting at room temperature . as a result of the different characteristics of the dyes and the temperatures which are required for the ozone to react , each textile must be pre - tested to determine the temperature and time of exposure to ozone to accomplish the effective removal or discolorization of the colorant or dye . a large majority of disperse dyes are monoazo dyes of low molecular weight which can be cleaned by oxidation . others have an anthraquinon structure which is difficult to reduce . most direct dyes contain 4 to 7 aromatic rings and contain the azo chromophore as well as a sulphonate group . direct black dyes comprise two or more colorants which form into disperse dyes . one form is of a combination of navy blue shaded with red or rubine and a yellow - brown or orange component . as a result of the differences in chemical structures , in order to achieve the objects of the invention it is generally required to determine the type of dye or colorant that has been utilized in order to arrive at the proper parameters to oxidize the colorants without affecting either the fibers or the colorant within the fiber . in the case of synthetic fibers such as polyesters , the dye within the fiber is slightly affected by the ozone and the ozone has little effect in degrading the fibers . the colorant or dye on the surface of the fiber is therefore exposed to the oxidation effects of the ozone . generally , temperatures between 50 ° and 120 ° f . preferably between 50 ° and 100 ° f . are sufficient to dissolve the oxidation components of the colorant or dye utilized . cellulosic fibers because of the reactive dyes require higher temperatures , generally about 80 °– 120 ° f . many dyes can also be treated at ambient temperatures . black dyes are an exception because most black dyes comprise more than one dye and care must be taken so as to decolorize only the surface dye which causes the discoloration . combination of yarns formed with polyester and cotton fibers many times are dye plated at the twists of the fibers . in accordance with one embodiment of the invention , ozone is produced according to u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 366 , 510 and 5 , 939 , 030 which are herein incorporated by reference for use either in a dye bath or after rinsing the dyed textile . ozone may be used above or in combination with a gas , for example , air or dissolve in the bath . the ozone levels dissolved in the bath or treating liquid can be adjusted before the textile is placed in the bath so as to oxidize or destroy any residue in the bath which may plate onto the textile or the ozone can be added to the bath already containing the textile . micro - processors can be used to monitor the system to maintain suitable concentrations dependent upon the application . preferably , a sample of the dyed textile is pre - tested to determine the operating parameters for the temperature and the time of exposure to the ozone . no pre - testing is required when a washer or bath is pretreated to eliminate any residual colorants prior to treatment of the textiles . residence time in the ozonated bath is dependent upon the colorant or dye and the type of fiber or textile structure . generally for synthetic fibers about 3 to 5 minutes is required at temperatures at least 50 ° f . to 120 ° f . since only the plated dye or colorant is to be removed . cellulosic fibers usually contain reactive dyes and temperatures about 100 ° f . for 3 to 10 minutes depending upon the dye are required . without limitation , some of the preferred embodiments of this invention are set forth in the following examples . in a rotating washer - extractor containing 10 gallons of water held at a temperature of 100 ° f . was bubbled ozone from an ozone generator . three yards of fruit of the loom 100 % cotton knit pre - dyed with reactive black dye , and taken from the dye process before the first salt rinse was placed into the washer and tumbled with ozone bubbled therein for three minutes . the fabric was extracted and dried . a crock test pursuant to aatcc method 8 - 1996 showed that the textile held shade and had a gray scale reading of 5 . only the surface was affected by the ozone . the process can be used in other equipment such as in jet dyeing . following the procedure of example 1 , 3 yds . of the cotton knit were placed into the washer - extractor containing 10 gallons of water with a bath temperature of 120 ° f . and with ozone being bubbled therein . the textile was tumbled for 8 minutes and then extracted and dried . the crock test showed a 5 % loss of color and a gray scale reading of 5 . the additional time appeared to be the factor for the loss of color . following the procedure of example 1 , 3 yds . of the cotton knit were placed in the washer - extractor containing 10 gallons of water with a bath temperature of 120 ° f . and with ozone being bubbled therein . the fabric was tumbled for 20 minutes and then extracted and dried . the crock test showed a 20 % loss in color and a gray scale of 5 . the additional time was a factor in the loss of color . the process can be used similar for yarn in package dyeing . following the procedure of example 1 , 3 yds . of 100 % polyester suede dyed with direct black were placed into the washer - extractor containing 10 gallons of ozonated water with a bath temperature of 65 ° f . and with ozone being bubbled therein . the fabric was tumbled for 45 minutes and then extracted and dried . the crock test showed a 20 % loss of color and the fabric had a green cast . the fabric had a gray scale measurement of 4 . 5 – 5 . the prolonged time resulted in the color loss of one of the dye components of the black dye . following the procedure of example 4 , 3 yds . of 100 % polyester suede fabric dyed black with direct dye were placed into a washer - extractor containing 10 gallons of water at a temperature of 65 ° f . with ozone being bubbled therein . the fabric was tumbled 30 minutes , extracted and dried . the crock test showed a 10 % loss in color with a gray scale of 4 . 5 to 5 . the fabric had a blue cast which indicated one of the dye components was oxidized . into each of three washer - extractors containing 10 gallons of water pretreated with ozone at 65 ° f . were placed 3 yds . of morgan fabrics 100 % polyester suede dyed with disperse black dye . sample 1 held the shade and had a gray scale of 3 – 4 . sample 2 had a 5 % color loss and a gray scale of 3 – 4 . sample 3 had a 10 % color loss and a gray scale of 3 – 4 . into each of three washer - extractors containing 10 gallons of water were placed 3 yds . of fruit of the loom 100 % cotton knit which were dyed with reactive black dye . sample 1 was tumbled in a bath at 100 ° f . for 3 minutes , extracted and dried . sample 2 was tumbled in a bath at 120 ° f . for 8 minutes , extracted and dried . sample 3 was tumbled in a bath at 65 ° f ., for 20 minutes , extracted and dried . sample 1 held its shade and had a gray scale at 4 . 5 . sample 2 had a slight color loss and a gray scale at 4 . 5 . sample 3 had a 10 % color loss and a gray scale at 5 . time of exposure to ozone and not temperature was critical in loss of color for cotton .