Traditional vegetable dyes are alive and kicking. The recent past has witnessed increased popularisation of naturally dyed products, especially in exports.
The main driver has been growing consumer awareness about environmental conservation. The popularity has been also supported by institutional frameworks around the world. For example, environmental goods and services (EGS) have emerged as a distinct industry group under the Doha Round of Trade negotiations. The ban on some azo-dyes has also fuelled the demand for such dyes.
According to the office of the development commissioner for Handicrafts, ?Eco-friendly dyes and products have a great demand, especially in the US and Europe. There has been nearly 33% increase in demand in this sector.?
Adds Kusum Tiwari of Mura Collective, an export company of naturally dyed textiles and clothes, ?We use natural dyes in the manufacture of apparels and home furnishing products for exports. The use of vegetable dye (products) has been increasing abroad because more and more people are getting conscious about eco-friendly products and health hazards caused by chemical dyes.?
She adds, ?In India, the awareness level (of using vegetable dyes) is low at the present and only the elite segment prefers buying natural products. In India, there is a huge potential for vegetable dyes, which needs to be explored.?
Industry leaders attribute it to the lack of awareness about the benefits of natural dyes. Also, because vegetable dyed products are costlier by 25-35%. The price of vegetable dyes varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. It depends upon the availability of raw material and the processing facilities required for producing dyes and also their demand.
According to KK Agarwal, chairman of vegetable dye manufacturer Alps Industries Limited, ?Vegetable dyes are available in abundance everywhere in India. The advantage of using vegetable dyes is that these can be reproduced (the same shade) and they have uniform fastness properties (the rate of losing shades). Raw material is available in abundance. A few shades are cheaper than chemical dyes, but most others are expensive.?
The major customers of vegetable dyestuff include textile industry, carpet industry, cosmetic manufacturers, food sector, weavers, designers, dyers and printers, exporters, technic institutes, NGOs, research and development agencies, artisans, hobby sector and leather industry.
The increase in the business of natural dyes is also encouraging the cultivation of dye yielding plants and tress, thus leading to rural employment. People working on the small-scale industry where vegetable dyed products are produced has got a boost with a rise in export demand.
India has vast resources as far as vegetable dyes are concerned. Natural dyes are prepared from raw-materials like acacia, annatto, ama, haldi, anar chika, cutch, harda, Himalayan rhubarb, indigo, madder, majuphal, red sandalwood, onion skin, sappan wood, lac dye, henna, alroot, vitex, pomegranate fruit rid and guava leaves. The prices depend upon the colour. Sometimes a particular colour is cheaper than its chemical counterpart or vice-versa. Natural dyes can also be reproduced or recycled by using byproducts like tea waste or coffee waste.
Natural dyes are more suitable for colouring silk, wool and nylon. These can also be used for dyeing jute, linen, bamboo, milk, too. The use of natural dyes is not limited to textile dying only. These are also used in printing, painting, leather, paper, wood, and bamboo and even for playing Holi by people who like to avoid chemical colours.
The industry is facing its own challenges, though. Advanced technical know-how and trained personnel are lacking. Efforts also need to be made to collect and document traditional information on the extraction and application of dyes. More importantly, there is a need to undertake organised scientific research to assess the availability and suitability of forest resources without affecting ecological balance.