August 02, 2024
Renaissance of Organic Color
Before 1856, the year the world’s first synthetic dye was invented, all our colorants came from natural sources. Our ancestors made yellow from turmeric, gray from limestone, and reddish-brown from ochre. They extracted color from plants, roots, fruits, and seeds, dyeing textiles using gentle processes.
Now, organic color is enjoying a renaissance. Artisanal companies crafting plant and food-based colorants have proliferated in recent years, with designers seeking a return to healthier options for people and planet. This installment of Color Perspective centers on three initiatives at the forefront of natural dye-innovation.
Photo credit: A Beautiful Mess
Now, organic color is enjoying a renaissance. Artisanal companies crafting plant and food-based colorants have proliferated in recent years, with designers seeking a return to healthier options for people and planet. This installment of Color Perspective centers on three initiatives at the forefront of natural dye-innovation.
Photo credit: A Beautiful Mess
By utilizing recycled materials, bio-based fibers, and natural dyes, Anchal design studio pursues its mission to offset the ecological impact of industrial textile production.
Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Anchal won the local “LOTS of Possibility” competition (aimed at jumpstarting struggling Louisville neighborhoods by revitalizing vacant lots) with their dyeScape proposal in 2014. As their reward, Anchal was gifted three parcels of land and the funds to jumpstart the project: “’a network of small-scale gardens that support the cultivation of dye plants for the purpose of natural textile production.’”
For a decade, community members have worked in the dyeScape gardens, harvesting dye flowers like indigo and marigold and learning about sustainable textile practices along the way. In 2017, Anchal launched yet another initiative, Designing Colorful Change, which trained 135 women in organic dye techniques in Ajmer, India. Through equipping global communities with skills of natural dyeing, Anchal hopes to pave a more productive path forward.
Photo credit: Anchal
Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Anchal won the local “LOTS of Possibility” competition (aimed at jumpstarting struggling Louisville neighborhoods by revitalizing vacant lots) with their dyeScape proposal in 2014. As their reward, Anchal was gifted three parcels of land and the funds to jumpstart the project: “’a network of small-scale gardens that support the cultivation of dye plants for the purpose of natural textile production.’”
For a decade, community members have worked in the dyeScape gardens, harvesting dye flowers like indigo and marigold and learning about sustainable textile practices along the way. In 2017, Anchal launched yet another initiative, Designing Colorful Change, which trained 135 women in organic dye techniques in Ajmer, India. Through equipping global communities with skills of natural dyeing, Anchal hopes to pave a more productive path forward.
Photo credit: Anchal
In New York City, the Pratt Institute partnered with Brooklyn’s PS270 (Public School 270), creating a course designed to teach fourth graders about the interconnectedness of color and the environment.
A Pratt Art and Design Education graduate student, Ana Codorean, crafted the curriculum, which demonstrated the holistic nature of organic dyeing: ‘” you grow these plants, turn them into dye, use that to dye yarn, and you can weave it. You can be involved in every step of the process.’”
The interdisciplinary teaching project, titled “Weaving Threads: Natural Dyes at the Intersection of Art & Science,” first saw the fourth graders visit Pratt’s Textile Dye Garden. They used magnifying glasses to examine the array of flowers there, which range from yarrow to goldenrod, proceeded to sketch their observations, and, lastly, experimented with bundle dyeing using petals that they had picked.
Back in the PS270 classroom, the students learned about the variations in dye concentrate that could be made from just three plants—black walnut, marigold, and Hopi sunflower—by manipulating pH levels. After dying their yarn with natural colorants, the students created their own weavings, incorporating shapes and symbols that spoke to their identities.
Throughout the course, the students learned about responsible flower harvesting, the benefits of natural dyeing, and the environmental detriments that can come from synthetic dye.
Photo credit: Pratt University
A Pratt Art and Design Education graduate student, Ana Codorean, crafted the curriculum, which demonstrated the holistic nature of organic dyeing: ‘” you grow these plants, turn them into dye, use that to dye yarn, and you can weave it. You can be involved in every step of the process.’”
The interdisciplinary teaching project, titled “Weaving Threads: Natural Dyes at the Intersection of Art & Science,” first saw the fourth graders visit Pratt’s Textile Dye Garden. They used magnifying glasses to examine the array of flowers there, which range from yarrow to goldenrod, proceeded to sketch their observations, and, lastly, experimented with bundle dyeing using petals that they had picked.
Back in the PS270 classroom, the students learned about the variations in dye concentrate that could be made from just three plants—black walnut, marigold, and Hopi sunflower—by manipulating pH levels. After dying their yarn with natural colorants, the students created their own weavings, incorporating shapes and symbols that spoke to their identities.
Throughout the course, the students learned about responsible flower harvesting, the benefits of natural dyeing, and the environmental detriments that can come from synthetic dye.
Photo credit: Pratt University
In an innovative first, British design firms Sages and Osmose have united natural dye with another emerging area in sustainable design: biomaterial. Osmose specializes in making a bio-based textile from mycelium, while Sages makes natural dyes from food waste. The two combined their expertise in sustainable materiality and color, creating a fully non-toxic, biodegradable product. When it comes to biomaterial, Osmose CEO Aurelie Fontan has been vocal about the obstacle of limited color: “’when you’re presenting for brands and you’re like ‘we can only do brown,’ it’s a little bit boring for them.’” So, one of the main objectives of Osmose and Sages’ project was to produce vivid color options.
From avocado pits (sourced from the waste of a guacamole factory) they created warm tan, from blueberries they made soft violet, and from onion skins they conjured rich bordeaux. The team then ensured that the process of transferring the dye to the biomaterial was also sustainable, utilizing a non-toxic method developed by researchers at UK’s Cranfield University.
Photo credit: Sages and Osmose
From avocado pits (sourced from the waste of a guacamole factory) they created warm tan, from blueberries they made soft violet, and from onion skins they conjured rich bordeaux. The team then ensured that the process of transferring the dye to the biomaterial was also sustainable, utilizing a non-toxic method developed by researchers at UK’s Cranfield University.
Photo credit: Sages and Osmose
Ultrafabrics prioritizes sustainable innovation, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible to ensure a healthier, greener future.
We are currently conducting our own research on organic color, exploring the ways in which we can integrate natural colorants into our selection of already-sustainable textiles. At our mill, we’re testing exciting new colors derived from resources like charcoal, indigo, and food waste.
Coffee and green tea, to be exact!