I work with organic wool. It is produced with minimal environmental impact and many must think that to add another process, such as dyeing, can only be detrimental. We have become very used to having colour applied to anything and everything, in whatever shade or tone we care to dictate. We want it to last forever even though we may discard the item immediately. Our textiles mustn't fade, but we change our interiors and wardrobes at will and send unwanted items to landfill.
I am not a chemist; I am a craft dyer, hopefully in the full sense of the word. These are my thoughts and ponderings from that perspective and I do not claim to have a full working knowledge of all the dyeing processes. But I am fascinated by the stories of colour and its development and use by the human race. As I look around this room, everything - from paper to ceramics, chairs, plastic, walls, everything - is coloured artificially.
In history, colour was precious. The best, fastest and brightest were the preserve of the Church and the rich. It wasn't all good news with these colours - arsenic, lead and mercury were just some of the natural ingredients used, with inevitable consequences for the dyers and sometimes the customer.
Humans love to be awash with colour. A walk down any High Street will show that. But do we really see it in such a cacophony? Many years ago I spent a couple of months in Romania, before the overthrow of the Communist government. The first thing to strike me on our return to Heathrow was the colourfulness - adverts, signage, clothing, cars - everything. It shouted! And it was quite overwhelming. It took me very much by surprise as I really hadn't noticed any lack of colour during our stay in a rural Romanian town.
But to get that amount of colour into everything we use demands additional and, quite often, toxic processes. Apparently, European dye manufacturers are having to move their production from Europe to countries where Health and Safety and environmental regulation isn't so expensive to apply - maybe because it is not so strict? It can be extremely difficult for the average consumer to find out what goes into the production of their textiles - but do many actually care enough? Have we ever thought about it enough?
Low impact, water based synthetic dyes are now available. Easy to apply and they leave the dye-vat exhausted (the fibre takes up all the colour). But still derived from oil? Do they still need to be tested on animals?
We decided to use plant based dyes. We enjoy the challenge of working with them, developing the skills, and the links with the past as much as the colours we obtain. But they need a mordant - a metal salt - to affix the colour to fibre. Organic standards allow Alum and a small percent of iron. And what about the land taken up by growing crops for dyeing? Shouldn't it be used for food? The demands on land now are for fuel crops and fibre producing plants too; dye plants are just one more. But the waste from the plants can be composted. And some plants grow on land unsuitable for food. The colours may not be quite as fast as synthetic dyes but they do not disappear at the first hint of a wash or a sunbeam. And they always attract attention for their subtlety, their gentleness and depth.
There is a place for both types of dye according to the end use of the product it is applied to. Maybe what we should be doing is minimising our use of colour, using small touches with all the undyed and natural shades wherever possible.
As far as textiles go - I aim to do just that. Wool and other protein (animal) fibres are available in many natural shades from white and cream through to almost black. Small details in dyed colours, carefully placed, can really shine out. I heard of someone who decorated her house very plainly but lit it by occasional brightly coloured textiles and painting, causing them to have a maximum impact.
Colour is special. Good colour is expensive and precious.
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