OUR DYES

What are our Plant Dyes?

Creating and using plant-based-dyes is a wonderful way to gain an understanding of the biology and the chemistry at work in the plants around us.

Chemical Dyes are more easily transferred to fibers, do not require as much time in preparation, and stand up better to repeated washing and exposure to sunlight. BUT... They come with extreme and dire consequences to the human health

Natural dyes are desirable mainly because of the quality of color that can be created with them. Dyes extracted from plants contain many different pigments, and thus are not the "pure" forms of pigment used in today's chemical dyes. These impurities create rich and sometimes unexpected color, that can never be duplicated. For many the process of extracting the dyes from their natural sources connects them to their work, and gives them control over each step of creation.

At TVAAG, we primarily use the following Medicinal Plants for imparting colours. When our Fabrics are dyed with these plants through our special dyeing methods, the Cloth also inherits these medicinal properties

 

INDIGO (Navy Blue)

 

The popular colour “indigo” is named after several plants in the genus Indigofera. These varieties of indigo are famous for the natural blue colors obtained from the plant leaves used to make a natural dye.

Indigo plant varieties have been used medicinally; however, true indigo is the most common utilized species and was popular with the Chinese to clean the liver, detoxify the blood, reduce inflammation, alleviate pain and reduce fever

 

BLACK CATECHU (Earthy Black)

 

Black Catechu is primarily cultivated throughout India and exported around the globe. It is primarily found in sub-Himalayan region and on the eastern part of Western Ghats. 

Black catechu is a bitter-sweet antiseptic and astringent herb, the leaves, young shoots and bark of which are often used to check bleeding and discharges. People apply catechu directly to the skin for skin diseases, hemorrhoids, and traumatic injuries; to stop bleeding; and for dressing wounds

 

HOLY BASIL (Olive Green)

 

Also known as "The Incomparable One" and "Elixir of Life," Holy Basil is an herb used in Ancient Indian System of Medicine, is a close relative of culinary Basil (Ocimum basilicum), but it is differentiated by its medicinal properties and some physical characteristics.