Organic Dyes and Colours

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Why Natural Dyes?

In the thousands of years that people have been using colour pigments to brighten their lives, it is only since the early 1860s that synthetic dyes were first introduced. Previous to this, colour was derived from plant, mineral, insect and shellfish sources.

Whether from a natural or synthetic source, the dyeing of a textile involves a chemical process and is likely to have a detrimental effect on the environment. Natural does not automatically mean “safe” (arsenic, tin and mercury are examples of naturally occurring elements, with well-known consequences).

synthetic dyes

Some synthetic dyes are known to be potentially carcinogenic and/or allergenic, and some contain heavy metals and other elements that react negatively if released in the environment. The main problem from dyeing textiles, especially on a mass-scale, is in the waste that is produced and how it is disposed of. This varies greatly around the world – in Britain we have strict health and safety and environmental laws, but this is not the case everywhere. The whole dyeing process uses large quantities of water, and the impact this has on the environment and on health depends on certain factors, for instance whether or not the waste is neutralised before being drained away (and the method used for neutralisation), or whether it is just dumped in a river. The quantities of water used, and the effects of the dyestuff waste, are significant factors in both synthetic and natural dyeing.

Once synthesized, artificial dyes take up very little space, often have a high take-up rate, are relatively cheap to produce (although from a finite resource), and are available in thousands of shades. They are fast to washing and light, and available for numerous applications.

natural dyes

Natural dyes, on the other hand, are bulky to transport, use land that could otherwise grow food crops, are variable in the colours they give (depending on the land and climate they are grown in), and may not easily be repeatable. The source of the dyestuff is also significant – some plants or tree-based dyes may not come from sustainable sources. Natural dyes have a reputation for fading rapidly, although this need not be true. For the fastest colours it is necessary to combine the plant with a chemical (such as iron, copper or alum).

Natural dyestuffs do produce a compostable waste, can provide an extra income for farmers, can be grown sustainably, and are not required to be tested on animals. The variabilities of the dyestuffs and dyeing methods contribute greatly to the individuality of the finished textiles.

There are arguments in favour of and against both synthetic and natural dyeing processes. It is certainly true that neither method is perfect in terms of environmental and social impact. But as humans, we just love having colour in our lives, making it necessary to find an ecologically sound balance.

how we dye our fibre.

After much thought, we decided to go with natural dyes, using the minimum amount of alum and iron as mordants. A mordant is the substance that enables the colour to "stick" to the fibres. Other mordants include chrome, copper and tin, and in the past substances such as lead and arsenic. We find we can obtain a wide range of colours, and enjoy the challenge of working with the colours dictated to us by the plants, rather than working out a design and then synthetically dyeing to match our requirements. By using dyes that have similar fastness values, the balance of colours should remain, even after some initial fading or darkening. We believe that changes that occur with time can be part of the attraction of naturally dyed textiles.