Chemical mixture: It is a mixture of dyes of molecular structure similar to those of natural dyes. Cell or tissue culture by DNA transfer technology: A few fungi such as Drechslera and Trichoderma make anthraquinone derivatives. Anthraquinone is a significant type of dye, where exploiting the fungi would be helpful over their chemical mixtures.

Natural dyestuffs

Since olden times, dyestuffs and dyeing are used in textiles and garments. Nature gives prosperity to plants which in turn offer their color for the purpose of dyeing, many being used since ancient times.

More or less any organic material will create a color when boiled in a dye-bath, but only few plants will give a color that will work as a dye. The plants provided in Table 1 are a selection of a few plants, which are widely used traditionally as natural dyers. Natural dyes are obtained from the following categories:

Leaves and stems
Twigs and pruning
Flower heads

Dyeing is a very ancient art. It was practiced during the Bronze Age in Europe, Asia and many other regions and countries. Primitive dyeing methods involved sticking plants to fabric or rubbing crushed pigments to the cloth. The procedures became more sophisticated with time as techniques of applying natural dyes from crushed fruits, berries and other plants, which were boiled into the fabric and gave light and water fastness, were developed.

Some of the recognized olden dyes include madder, a red dye made from the roots of the Rubia tinctorum, blue indigo from the leaves of Indigofera tinctoria, yellow from the stigmas of the saffron plant, turmeric and dogwood pulp. The first application of the blue dye, woad, favorite of the Ancient Britons, may have originated in Palestine where it was found largely. Though many natural dyes are made from metals, for example natural black color is made from recycled horseshoes and molasses, red is made from aluminum sulphate and red earth.

Eco-friendly, economical aspects of dye

Today, dyeing has become a specialized science and has a very complex functioning. Almost all dyestuffs are now made from synthetic compounds. This denotes that costs have highly decreased and many application and wear characteristics have largely improved. But many practitioners of the craft of natural dying still believe that natural dyes have a better visual quality, which is much more delightful to the eye. In the West, natural dyeing is now used only in handcrafts, whereas synthetic dyes are used in all commercial aspects. Some craft spinners, weavers and knitters use natural dyes for making specific features of their work. Though, in many of the developing countries natural dyes can provide not only a prosperous and wide-ranging source of dyestuff, but also the likelihood of an income through sustainable harvest and sale of these dye plants. Many dyes are prepared from tree waste or can be simply grown in market gardens. Natural dyes can provide attractive options, where relatively expensive synthetic dyes, mordant (fixatives) and other additives are imported.

The knowledge needed for finding and extracting such dyes and mordant does often not exist, as far-reaching research work is needed to recognize appropriate plants, minerals, etc. For example, there are a variety of plants available for making natural dyes in Zambia, but because of lack of knowledge of the practice implicated in harvesting and processing the plants; little utilization is done for this natural resource. In some countries, such as India, Nigeria and Liberia, where this research has been done extensively, or where there is easy accessibility of natural dyeing, natural dyes and mordant are used widely.

The main colors used are black from iron sulphate, blue from the Indigo plant and yellow from turmeric and pomegranate rind and peels. The rest of the colors are obtained from these kinds of natural resources as mentioned in the table.

Sources of natural dyes

Specialist plant and animal sources Many plants and some animals have been identified for making natural dyes. A range of parts of plants like roots, stems, barks, leaves, fruits and seeds are generally used. By-products (Particularly lac dye): The lac industry provides lac dye as a by-product, which is taken from the effluent. Likewise from cassia tora, utilized in gum production, a brown dye is obtained as a by-product.

Chemical mixture: It is a mixture of dyes of molecular structure similar to those of natural dyes. Cell or tissue culture by DNA transfer technology: A few fungi such as Drechslera and Trichoderma make anthraquinone derivatives. Anthraquinone is a significant type of dye, where exploiting the fungi would be helpful over their chemical mixtures.

Natural dyestuffs

Since olden times, dyestuffs and dyeing are used in textiles and garments. Nature gives prosperity to plants which in turn offer their color for the purpose of dyeing, many being used since ancient times.

More or less any organic material will create a color when boiled in a dye-bath, but only few plants will give a color that will work as a dye. The plants provided in Table 1 are a selection of a few plants, which are widely used traditionally as natural dyers. Natural dyes are obtained from the following categories:

Leaves and stems
Twigs and pruning
Flower heads
B

Eco-friendly, economical aspects of dye

Today, dyeing has become a specialized science and has a very complex functioning. Almost all dyestuffs are now made from synthetic compounds. This denotes that costs have highly decreased and many application and wear characteristics have largely improved. But many practitioners of the craft of natural dying still believe that natural dyes have a better visual quality, which is much more delightful to the eye. In the West, natural dyeing is now used only in handcrafts, whereas synthetic dyes are used in all commercial aspects. Some craft spinners, weavers and knitters use natural dyes for making specific features of their work. Though, in many of the developing countries natural dyes can provide not only a prosperous and wide-ranging source of dyestuff, but also the likelihood of an income through sustainable harvest and sale of these dye plants. Many dyes are prepared from tree waste or can be simply grown in market gardens. Natural dyes can provide attractive options, where relatively expensive synthetic dyes, mordant (fixatives) and other additives are imported.

The knowledge needed for finding and extracting such dyes and mordant does often not exist, as far-reaching research work is needed to recognize appropriate plants, minerals, etc. For example, there are a variety of plants available for making natural dyes in Zambia, but because of lack of knowledge of the practice implicated in harvesting and processing the plants; little utilization is done for this natural resource. In some countries, such as India, Nigeria and Liberia, where this research has been done extensively, or where there is easy accessibility of natural dyeing, natural dyes and mordant are used widely.

The main colors used are black from iron sulphate, blue from the Indigo plant and yellow from turmeric and pomegranate rind and peels. The rest of the colors are obtained from these kinds of natural resources as mentioned in the table.

Sources of natural dyes

Specialist plant and animal sources Many plants and some animals have been identified for making natural dyes. A range of parts of plants like roots, stems, barks, leaves, fruits and seeds are generally used. By-products (Particularly lac dye): The lac industry provides lac dye as a by-product, which is taken from the effluent. Likewise from cassia tora, utilized in gum production, a brown dye is obtained as a by-product.

Chemical mixture: It is a mixture of dyes of molecular structure similar to those of natural dyes. Cell or tissue culture by DNA transfer technology: A few fungi such as Drechslera and Trichoderma make anthraquinone derivatives. Anthraquinone is a significant type of dye, where exploiting the fungi would be helpful over their chemical mixtures.

Natural dyestuffs

Since olden times, dyestuffs and dyeing are used in textiles and garments. Nature gives prosperity to plants which in turn offer their color for the purpose of dyeing, many being used since ancient times.

More or less any organic material will create a color when boiled in a dye-bath, but only few plants will give a color that will work as a dye. The plants provided in Table 1 are a selection of a few plants, which are widely used traditionally as natural dyers. Natural dyes are obtained from the following categories:

Leaves and stems
Twigs and pruning
Flower heads

The knowledge needed for finding and extracting such dyes and mordant does often not exist, as far-reaching research work is needed to recognize appropriate plants, minerals, etc. For example, there are a variety of plants available for making natural dyes in Zambia, but because of lack of knowledge of the practice implicated in harvesting and processing the plants; little utilization is done for this natural resource. In some countries, such as India, Nigeria and Liberia, where this research has been done extensively, or where there is easy accessibility of natural dyeing, natural dyes and mordant are used widely.

The main colors used are black from iron sulphate, blue from the Indigo plant and yellow from turmeric and pomegranate rind and peels. The rest of the colors are obtained from these kinds of natural resources as mentioned in the table.

Sources of natural dyes

Specialist plant and animal sources Many plants and some animals have been identified for making natural dyes. A range of parts of plants like roots, stems, barks, leaves, fruits and seeds are generally used. By-products (Particularly lac dye): The lac industry provides lac dye as a by-product, which is taken from the effluent. Likewise from cassia tora, utilized in gum production, a brown dye is obtained as a by-product.

Chemical mixture: It is a mixture of dyes of molecular structure similar to those of natural dyes. Cell or tissue culture by DNA transfer technology: A few fungi such as Drechslera and Trichoderma make anthraquinone derivatives. Anthraquinone is a significant type of dye, where exploiting the fungi would be helpful over their chemical mixtures.

Natural dyestuffs

Since olden times, dyestuffs and dyeing are used in textiles and garments. Nature gives prosperity to plants which in turn offer their color for the purpose of dyeing, many being used since ancient times.

More or less any organic material will create a color when boiled in a dye-bath, but only few plants will give a color that will work as a dye. The plants provided in Table 1 are a selection of a few plants, which are widely used traditionally as natural dyers. Natural dyes are obtained from the following categories:

Leaves and stems
Twigs and pruning
Flower heads

The main colors used are black from iron sulphate, blue from the Indigo plant and yellow from turmeric and pomegranate rind and peels. The rest of the colors are obtained from these kinds of natural resources as mentioned in the table.

Sources of natural dyes

Specialist plant and animal sources Many plants and some animals have been identified for making natural dyes. A range of parts of plants like roots, stems, barks, leaves, fruits and seeds are generally used. By-products (Particularly lac dye): The lac industry provides lac dye as a by-product, which is taken from the effluent. Likewise from cassia tora, utilized in gum production, a brown dye is obtained as a by-product.

Chemical mixture: It is a mixture of dyes of molecular structure similar to those of natural dyes. Cell or tissue culture by DNA transfer technology: A few fungi such as Drechslera and Trichoderma make anthraquinone derivatives. Anthraquinone is a significant type of dye, where exploiting the fungi would be helpful over their chemical mixtures.

Natural dyestuffs

Since olden times, dyestuffs and dyeing are used in textiles and garments. Nature gives prosperity to plants which in turn offer their color for the purpose of dyeing, many being used since ancient times.

More or less any organic material will create a color when boiled in a dye-bath, but only few plants will give a color that will work as a dye. The plants provided in Table 1 are a selection of a few plants, which are widely used traditionally as natural dyers. Natural dyes are obtained from the following categories:

Leaves and stems
Twigs and pruning
Flower heads

Chemical mixture: It is a mixture of dyes of molecular structure similar to those of natural dyes. Cell or tissue culture by DNA transfer technology: A few fungi such as Drechslera and Trichoderma make anthraquinone derivatives. Anthraquinone is a significant type of dye, where exploiting the fungi would be helpful over their chemical mixtures.

Natural dyestuffs

Since olden times, dyestuffs and dyeing are used in textiles and garments. Nature gives prosperity to plants which in turn offer their color for the purpose of dyeing, many being used since ancient times.

More or less any organic material will create a color when boiled in a dye-bath, but only few plants will give a color that will work as a dye. The plants provided in Table 1 are a selection of a few plants, which are widely used traditionally as natural dyers. Natural dyes are obtained from the following categories:

Leaves and stems
Twigs and pruning
Flower heads
Barks
Roots
Outer skins, hulls and husks
Heartwoods and wood shavings
Berries and seeds
Lichens
Insect dyes

Few examples of obtaining natural dyes from various sources

Indigo: Still used by many block printers and dyers in the villages of India, Indigo gives shades of blue and some greens. Workers today utilize the same method used since olden times for natural indigo dyeing. Indigo is made in large vats made of clay that can contain at least 1000 liters of dye. These are sunken into the ground and this gives a consistent temperature to make the dye work. The indigo dye bath is prepared by using molasses and lime, and then preserved for around six months until it is exhausted. The cloth is constantly dipped and immersed in the vat and then exposed to the air to make different intensities of blue color.

White patterns in textiles are retained by making a paste from clay mixed with wheat chaff and tree gum. The paste restricts the dye from entering the covered areas. Indigo simply binds and connects with the fibres and through washing and friction some of the indigo molecules break away. This is why Indigo rubs off on your skin and can also be cleaned easily.

Turmeric & Pomegranate: Boiled pomegranate peels and turmeric powder are mixed to make yellow color. It is also used for over dying blue fabric to create green color.

Natural Black Dying: In various parts of the world, the color black is made in various ways and different shades and hues. As a result, a variety of shades varying from dark plum to blue black and snake black to soot black are obtained. Indian dyes are well-known for their special application of alum and iron metallic salts that capture red and black. Iron is utilized as a mordant for black in dyeing with madder and other dying plants. In India, the syahi (mordant) is made by fermenting iron or iron oxide in rusted iron in molasses (gur), tannin, or jaggery for a period of several days. The craftsmen judge when the mordant is ready by the familiar tang in the smell. The mordant has to be applied at the proper moment of fermentation if the best performance is to be achieved. After the process a reddish black color is obtained. Jet black is obtained by adding any yellow or yellowish green mordant dye to the process. When mixed with madder, it gives red.

Mordant

Only some natural dyes are color-fast with fibres. Mordant are substances which are applied to fix a dye to the fibres. They also increase the take-up quality of the fabric and support it by increasing color and light-fastness. Many natural dyes, for example indigo, set without the help of a mordant. Such dyes are defined as ??substantive dyes?¦. Other dyes, such as madder and weld, have a limited fastness and the color lightens with cleaning and exposure to light.

Mordant are found in nature. For example, wood ash or stale urine may have been utilized as an alkali mordant and acids could be found in acidic fruits or rhubarb leaves. Nowadays the majority natural dyers use chemical mordant such as alum, copper sulphate, iron or chrome.

Mordant are made in solution, usually with the addition of an 'assistant' which increases the fixing of the mordant to the yarn or fibre. In general, the most commonly used mordant is alum, which is normally applied with cream of tartar as an additive or assistant. Other mordant are:

. Iron (ferrous sulphate)
. Tin (stannous chloride)
. Chrome (bichromate of potash)
. Copper sulphate
. Tannic acid
. Oxalic acid Using a variety of mordant with the same dyestuff can create different shades, for example;
 . Iron is used as a 'saddener' and also to darken colors.
. Copper sulphate darkens and can also provide shades which are otherwise very difficult to obtain.
. Tin perks up colors.
. Tannic acid used with other mordant adds brightness.
. Chrome is good for obtaining yel