Dyes in Use in The Fashion Industry
Fibre content determines the type of dye required for a fabric:
- Cellulose fibres: cotton, linen, hemp, ramie, bamboo, rayon
- Protein fibres: wool, angora, mohair, cashmere, silk, soy, leather, suede
Cellulose fibres require fibre-reactive, direct/substantive, and vat dyes, which are colourless, soluble dyes fixed by light and/or oxygen. Protein fibres require vat, acid, or indirect/mordant dyes, that require a bonding agent. Each synthetic fibre requires its own dyeing method, for example, nylon requires acid, disperse and pigment dyes, rayon acetate requires disperse dyes, and so on. The types of natural dyes currently in use by the global fashion industry include:
Animal:
- Cochineal insect (red)
- Cow urine (Indian yellow)
- Lac insect (red, violet)
- Murex snail (purple)
- Octopus/Cuttlefish (sepia brown)
Plant:
- Catechu or Cutch tree (brown)
- Gamboge tree resin (dark mustard yellow)
- Himalayan rubhada root (yellow)
- Indigofera plant (blue)
- Kamala tree (orange-yellow, golden yellow)
- Larkspur plant (yellow)
- Madder root (red, pink, orange)
- Myrabolan fruit (yellow, green, black)
- Pomegranate peel (yellow)
- Weld herb (yellow)
Read more about this topic: Natural Dyes
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