Cotton fabric was converted into an ion exchanger by grafting it with (1) glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), followed by aminization with ethylene diamine; (2) di-methylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA), followed by quaternization; and (3) acrylic acid (AA). Grafting was carried out on a pilot scale using a thiocarbonate-H2O2 redox system. The so-obtained cotton graft copolymers were monitored for their ability to remove different dyes as well as heavy metals from aqueous solutions. It was found that the magnitude of dye exhaustion was as follows. For direct and reactive dyes the percentage of exhaustion follows the order of aminized GMA > quaternarized DMAEMA > DMAEMA, whereas for acid dye the percentage of exhaustion follows the order of quaternarized DMAEMA > DMAEMA > aminized GMA. On the other hand poly(AA)-cotton copolymer is very effective at removal of the basic dye. With respect to heavy metal ions removal, the copolymers show the following order : AA > aminized GMA > quaternarized DMAEMA > DMAEMA. While dichromate removal follows the order of quaternarized DMAEMA > DMAEMA > aminized GMA.