India’s ancient history of dyes is significant. Not only did they produce many dyes and techniques for achieving vibrant colours, but they also developed mordants and processes to fix the dyes, which were closely guarded secrets for a long time.
Indian textiles were highly prized across Europe. The name “Indigo” is a reference to India, where the plant Indigofera Tinctoria was grown. The ancient Sanskrit texts, known as the Vedas, are the oldest Hindu texts known to exist – from around 1500-500 BCE. These contain details about textiles and clothing worn at different times of the year or at religious ceremonies, with reference to multiple colours. From these texts, we know that Indian dyeing techniques for creating vibrantly coloured fabrics existed around that time.
The history and methods behind fabric dying.
From Ancient world to the modern day – for over 4000 years mankind has been brightening up clothing with natural dyes. Throughout the ages adding individuality to clothing with colour has been used to denote gender, status and allegiance.
It started with natural mineral and plant dyes, but with the discovery of synthetic dyes came a plethora of colour choice. We take a deeper look into the history of dying and what different dyes are made from.
It started with natural mineral and plant dyes, but with the discovery of synthetic dyes came a plethora of colour choice. We take a deeper look into the history of dying and what different dyes are made from.
The first dyed fabrics
When the first humans created clothes made from linseed and cotton, the need for dyeing was absent. All the garments were used in their natural colour, which was something close to pale grey or white. After centuries of using these textiles, when the first civilisations were flourishing in the Asia, in Middle East, and in Egypt, the need to distinguish gender and class became more pronounced and so the first natural dyes were created. Scientists have even found evidence about the first natural in Harappan civilization and in Egypt with reds and oranges in tombs back to 2600BC.
An important manuscript of the Hellenistic period showing exactly the importance of the dyeing industry in the ancient world is the so-called Stockholm Papyrus. It contains over a hundred recipes for manufacturing dyes and how to apply them to textiles. It is an important source, as it follows the development of the dyeing industry from the Hellenistic to Roman times.
What were natural dyes made of?
Archaeologists who have studied the earliest surviving coloured fabrics and important ancient manuscripts have concluded that there were three types of natural dyes: vegetable or plant dyes, mineral dyes and insect or animal dyes.
Mineral dyes: Mineral dyes came from minerals found on the earth’s surface and in mines. Hematite for red, limonite for yellow and lazurite for blue were used to provide the necessary colours for textiles. By scratching the rocks’ surface, a powder was created, which after solving with water or oil, was ready to use. Because they were inorganic in nature, and do not degrade over time like plant or animal dyes, they can survive for years if sheltered.
Animal dyes: Another type of natural dyes came from animals – such as insects, lichens and shellfish. The most well-known insects that have been used during the ancient times are kermes and cochineal, which produced scarlet and crimson red accordingly. They reds that were extracted were so renowned that even now we use the same names to describe these shades.
Vegetable dyes: Vegetable dyes are made from leaves, bark or roots from trees and plants. They were the most used in antiquity as they were the easiest to find and develop. The most common dyes were made of madder for red, saffron and safflower for yellow and indigo for blue and blueish purple. Items dyed in indigo were considered luxurious, as they were hard to find.
Lichens were an important source of natural dye for the natives of North America, as they produced yellow dye by boiling lichens in water. Another type of dye from lichens (orchil dye) was also known to ancient Greeks and Romans, who used it in the place of the more expensive Tyrian purple. When comparing the two though, the orchil purple dye was not as colourfast as the Tyrian purple, and the end result was not as bright as the much coveted Tyrian purple.
Natural dyes in antiquity and modern times
The dyes that were used for garments were proportionate to the wealth or importance of the people. Wealthy people were wearing brightly hued colours, while the lower class was wearing clothes in the shades of white or brown. The slaves’ clothes were dyed in greys, greens and browns. Either way, dyed garments were expensive and a matter of exclusivity, across the whole ancient world.that changed in mid 19th century, when the invention of a synthetic dye. Dyed garments became more affordable, which coincides with the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the middle class.
In 1856, William Henry Perkins was searching for a cure for malaria when he discovered the first synthetic dye. Mauve in colour, this aniline dye would be the beginning of a new era in the history of fabric dying.
Throughout the mid to late 19th century scientists around the world began to develop colours for dying fabrics from chemicals.
Nowadays, almost every garment has been dyed with synthetic dyes, with the exception of few communities in Asia, North America, Africa and the Scottish Highlands.
The significance and impact on history of dying fabrics is a major one. Imagine a world where all clothing, bedding and soft furnishing was the same shade – what a dull and bland place it would be.
Characteristics of Natural Dyes:
Natural dyes are organic and are derived or extracted from resources found in nature. Natural dyes are mostly eco-friendly, biodegradable, less toxic, and less allergenic as compared to synthetic dyes.
Natural dyes are safer from synthetic dyes and since it does not contain harmful chemicals there is a very low possibility for causing skin allergies. Mostly all plant dyes are safe to be worn.
Natural dyes are bio-degradable; therefore, it does not harm the water ecosystem when drained into water bodies.
Natural dye tends to fade easily, so for making the dyes stick to the fabric dye fixative are used, this can be in the form of starch, seaweed, Alum, table salt, vinegar.
Fabrics dyed with natural dye are more delicate and have to be handled with care, it should not be dried directly in sunlight.
Classification of natural dye based on method of application/ preparation:
Direct Dyes: Direct dye soluble in water can be taken up directly by the material. Direct dye also called substantive dyes because of their excellent substantivity for cellulosic material like cotton and viscose rayon. Turmeric, Chebulic myrobalan and Annatto used in direct dyes.
Vat Dyes: As the name suggests that the dye is prepared in a large container for storing and mixing liquids or wooden vessels commonly known as ‘Vat’. This is a primitive method of dye preparation. Mordant Dyes: Mordant dyes are attached to textile fibers by a fixing agent “mordant” which can be organic or inorganic substance. Since chromium is used extensively hence, mordant dyes are sometimes called chrome dyes.
Acid Dyes: These dyes performed in acidic medium. Sulfonic or Carboxylic groups of dye molecules can form electrovalent bonds with amino groups of wool and silk.
Basic Dyes: These dyes form an electrovalent bond with the carboxylic group of wool and silk. Berberine has been classified as basic dye.
Disperse Dyes: Disperse dye have low aqueous solubility and low molecular weight. These dyes require post mordanting treatment with chromium, copper or tin salt.
Availability of Natural Dyes:
The use of natural dyes in textiles was eliminated since synthetic dyes give variety of reproducible shades and colors. Natural dyes have limited availability. They are subject to the growing seasons of the plants or the lifecycles of the insects from which they are derived. Yields are low in relation to the ground used, and there may be competition with foodstuff production. There is just not enough natural dye production to support commercial demands on a large scale. Synthetic dyes, however, are produced continually on demand.
Natural dyes are used in small-scale craft industries, where the quantity of dyes required is low. Because of the limitations of producing these dyes on a commercial scale, regardless of any technical restraints, they will not replace synthetic dyes for the global mass production of dyed textiles.
Advantages of Natural Dyes:
Natural dyes are recommended to be applied on textile materials. The natural dyes have several advantages such as: these dyes need no special care , wonderful and rich in tones, act as health cure, have no disposal problems, have no carcinogenic effect ,easily biodegradable, require simple dye house to apply on matrix and mild reactions conditions are involved in their extraction and application. Following points support the use of natural dyes on a large scale.
Eco-friendly: Natural dyes are extracted from natural sources therefore they are environment safe.
Biodegradable: These dyes are capable of being decomposed by microorganisms.
Renewable: Replaced by the new material obtained from nature.
No health hazard/Non-toxic: Natural origin of these dyes makes them harmless.
Variety of shades: Varieties of color, shades and hues present in nature itself.
Soothing, soft and lustrous color: Natural dyes are soft and relaxing.
Utilization of waste material: Many agriculture waste products can be used in the dyeing process.
Antibacterial/UV Protective: Naturally dyed fabrics get special properties like antibacterial and UV protection.
Disadvantages of Natural Dyes:
There are some limitations of natural dyes which includes, lesser availability of colors, poor color yield, complex dyeing processing, poor fastness properties and difficulty in blending dyes. As there are many advantages in using natural dye but they also have some drawbacks:
Expensive: Natural dyes are expensive due to being limited in source.
Faded easily: Sometimes their poor attachment on fabric makes them fade easily.
Difficult to produce/collect: Collection is somewhat difficult in large amounts.
Time consuming: The complete process like collection of dye takes long time.
Reproducibility of shades is difficult to control: These dyes produced by secondary metabolic activities of plants or by very special processes in other animals, which depend on climate conditions, age and seasonal variations. Thus, one particular shade cannot be achieved again and again by a single dye.
Besides, the water insoluble natural dye can create problems during their application, leading to nonuniform and uneven dyeing.
Conclusion:
Although the natural dyed textiles are promising to provide functional properties such as antimicrobial, UV protection and mosquito as well as moth repellence, still the stability-related issues with natural dyes also need to be significantly addressed. Natural dyes produce an extraordinary diversity of rich and complex colors that complement each other. 
Dye extracts may look a little expensive at first, but they are very economical when their concentration has been taken to account. So much of work has already been done on most of the old dyes that the need of newer dye sources has emerged to keep alive the use of these dyes. Many scientists/researchers are doing a great deal of work in the area of amelioration of natural dye, and this period can be considered as the renaissance of natural dyes. The increasing knowledge of different natural sources providing beautiful colors is expanding the shade cards of different fabrics. Revamping of this ancient art has another distinctive attribute, that is, the empowerment of such tribes that used to thrive on this form of art.
Dye extracts may look a little expensive at first, but they are very economical when their concentration has been taken to account. So much of work has already been done on most of the old dyes that the need of newer dye sources has emerged to keep alive the use of these dyes. Many scientists/researchers are doing a great deal of work in the area of amelioration of natural dye, and this period can be considered as the renaissance of natural dyes. The increasing knowledge of different natural sources providing beautiful colors is expanding the shade cards of different fabrics. Revamping of this ancient art has another distinctive attribute, that is, the empowerment of such tribes that used to thrive on this form of art.
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