Dyes - Natural vs Synthetic
With people becoming more environmentally conscious one of the questions we are frequently asked is aren’t “natural dyes better for the environment that synthetic dyes!”
We’ve done a lot of research and as usual there seems to be no simple answer…. On the surface natural dyes seem more
environmentally friendly, but is that really the case? …. Unfortunately no, many natural dyes, although completely
biodegradable are environmentally unsustainable. For example, it takes about 3kg of lichen to make
enough dye to colour one standard T-shirt! Lichen grows just a few centimetres per year. Not really sustainable on a
commercial scale. In ancient Rome the official dye works required
over 25,0000 murex or sea molluscs to dye a single Roman style toga purple. Carmine Red is a favoured colour,
but for natural biodegradable carmine you need over 50,000 female Cochineal insects (Dactylopius coccus) to
make just under 500 grams of pure carmine (cochineal). Worldwide there is over 200 tonnes produced each year, that’s 20
Billion dead insects per year! Some natural dyes are also toxic. For instance, ponsettia leaves,
which produce a beautiful crimson on fabric is toxic and can’t be used on clothing. To achieve the desired colour and
bond with the fabric natural dyes require the use of mordants, some of which are heavy metals. A fantastic book on
natural dyes is “Eco Colour” by India Flint.
After our research we have chosen to use professional grade organic fibre reactive synthetic dyes. These dyes only use salt as their mordant, and are safe even if an infant or baby sucks the fabric as the dye has bonded with the fibre instead of being ‘painted’ on the surface of the fabric. Because the dye bonds with the fabric the colour is fade resistant giving the fabric longevity. The longer an item looks good the more likely it will be to be passed on to others keeping it out of land fill. We are continuing to research dyes to find the more sustainable, biodegradable and environmentally friendly product to dye our fabrics with.
If you come across anything we would love to hear from you.
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