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FABRIC INFORMATION:

Naturally dyed - tannin

Wide colour range

Rigid finish

Natural resources are used in the most efficient way possible while implementing recycling techniques that reduce waste.

‘Transparency, commitment and trustworthiness are the key elements of Orta’s philosophy.’

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Our design identity stems from the association of denim with rebellion and protest. We want to protest our own industry, using our designs to be fully transparent with the consumer about the production of the garments. We have investigated into the process of chemical dyeing and harmful effects that toxic dyes have on the manufacturers, consumers and the environment. We aim to restore the integrity of naturally dyed denim by creating our own dyes using food waste products, ensuring sustainability and avoiding the harmful effects of chemical dyes on the wearer. In line with this concept, we have taken design inspiration from the chemical dyeing process and researched into hidden cameras, paparazzi, spies and private investigators to create a narrative of hidden secrets and exposure. We aim to communicate this narrative and enforce our brand values through multifunctional garments, ironic branding and the use of pocket bags and labels as a design feature.

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1. Brand Concept

Mission Statement

Brand Values

Brand Name

UN SDG

2. Brand Visuals

Logo

Colour Palette

Typeface

General Aesthetic

Website + Socials

3. Idk what to call this so let's call it the nitty gritty - Buying + Promo

Start looking into research elements and the current market

SWOT + PESTEL (social impact of the brand)

Market drivers and matrix analysis (help us find a gap in the market and develop our USP)

Consumer Analysis

Customer profile + journey map

7Ps

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Brainstorming ideas:

Embroidered fine print

Inside of jeans ‘contract’

Play on irony- how much is hidden about toxicity **

How all brands steal from each-other- watermark makes it okay?

Paparazzi- hidden identity, big sunglasses, did paps find them did they call pap, **

Vintage paparazzi- styling point, link to hiding of toxic indigo dye

Undercover- obvious vs discrete duality of it. Hazmat suit styling- masks

Ironic very evil corporate suit- hazmat

Blue staining, gloves? nails?

CCTV shoot idea

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boring fact sheet, do you want me to make our own version for print out ?

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boring fact sheet, do you want me to make our own version for print out ?

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9686A-48

Esoteric wants to use ORTA”S 9686A-48 denim as we believe it fits in with our USP the best. It will allow us to use our natural ethical dyes to create a really unique product

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Feedback and things to research or consider

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Feedback and things to research or consider

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Campaign - look into howie, Vivienne westwood, Peta Ads, starting a movement, 99 ways to tell a story, theres only 7 story tropes - stick to what exists and works

Associate branding with the dyes, purple and blue (chrissie’s thoughts: blue lowkey doesn’t work anymore because we aren't using indigo dyes, that’s what we’re protesting, by using natural dyes results in new, exciting colours, our garments won't be denim blue)

Rethink logo? Simpler like levis? Or maybe two versions of logo? (our main logo and then maybe an outline version of the hands) Something linked to sustainability or denim features. (potensh idea - looking at the washing symbols on labels, )

Brand lifestyle

FUN - jazz up mission statement , making sustainability approachable and attractive for consumers who are sick of greenwashing and/ or being shamed for not being sustainable already. TOO PREACHY

Two competitor matix? One for style and price, one for sustainability/ transparency -done (in drive)

UN goals- update responsable production for how we will actually do a responsable run

More dye samples- consider everything , making design a bit more palatable for consumers (be wary of over complicating/ trying to do everything. Strip it down to only the best - USP)? Research the tailor with hot pink guy

Specific research and data into the current dying process - why EXACTLY is it harmful?

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Taking the idea from the spy angle at a busy train station - someone could be spied on for wearing unsustainable denim and then could do something that cameron said about the blood spillage in the PETA advert  …  but instead have the toxic dye spill out - links to idea of dye leaking out of the garment

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Promo:
Tweak branding - tagline

Edit mission statement

Campaign timeline - timeline, potential platforms, moodbaords

Plan launch event

Make new presentation

Everyone can do:

Research all mills and pick our top ones that align with our values

More specific detail into why current indigo dyes are bad, specific facts data and companies

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In every garment we make is a revolution.

At Esoteric, our purpose is providing you with innovative denim, helping you challenge today’s denim industry. Through natural dyeing techniques, we aim to produce the highest quality denim - both morally and environmentally.

Changing the production standards of an entire industry isn't easy, which is why we believe in clothes that last. By ensuring our clothes stand the test of time, so will our message.

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14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

This goal will mainly focus on the use of more sustainable and ethical dying.

Esoteric will be using dye made out of food waste from high end grocers Bayley & Sage

Post consumer we will take back the product and donate 20% of the RRP to charities focusing on cleaning the oceans.

12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

This goal will become a reality through two main ways, our dying and a small production range.

We will have a inclusive size range, but each size will not be created equally with each run, we will see which sizes sell the most, so not to just save face.

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ARCANE
m./ understood by few; mysterious or secret.

Links to the idea of corporations hiding the toxic dyes. Juxtaposes our brand in an ironic way.
However it the word sounds a bit forceful and doesn't have that luxury feel.

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ESOTERIC
m./ intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialised knowledge or interest.

The word feels nicer and more elegant. Esoteric Denim has a nicer ring to it.
The meaning still links to the fact that not many people know about harmful denim production, and that those who are interested in sustainable denim will understand our brand and be interested immediately.

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Sustainability

Integrity

Honesty

Transparency

Luxury

Handcrafted

Independent

Longevity

Antiestalishment

Disruptive

Quality

Versatility- reusability - circularity

SIZE INCLUSIVITY

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Taking inspiration from our concept of being a transparent brand, and creating a juxtaposition of being hidden and secret. This also links with our brand names meaning.

We want to have an image based logo as well as our name to create a visual stimulus that customers will find synonymous with our product.

We did a quick reference shoot, taking photos of hands covering a face. We explored different angles and poses to ensure we are able to experiment with a variety of logo options

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https://chipotlegoods.com/pages/about-us
Good example of using natural dyes via food waste.

Avocado dye result sin every piece being unique.
Unisex, organic cotton-reduced water wastage

They also do denim products like hats, using dead-stock and organic cotton

Food waste dye is something we should explore as a toxic dye alternative.

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Since 2014, Orta has had a programme where if you buy a T-shirt they provide resources to save 10 baby sea-turtles. This links strongly with our UN goal of protecting life under water as harmful dyes get pumped into water systems and cause damage to wildlife and also humans.

In response we could also do a similar programme to help donate money to sea-life protection.

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Orta is providing light fabric, which we need to dye onto.
Potential issue is that this denim is too dark? Could use inside of denim where it is lighter?

Any blue denim will not work A) would be too dark to dye onto, B) it is already dyed with chemical dye and defeats the values of our brand.

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Brainstorming pop-up event and campaign planning

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We will be sourcing our food waste for our dyes from food store Bayley & Sage.
Bayley & Sage take pride in delivering the same superb quality, knowledge and provenance in their stores, and whatever you’re shopping for, Bayley & Sage products reflect the best of the season whether its fruit, vegetables, meat or cheese or the delicious seasonal dishes prepared in our kitchens.

SEASONAL VEG- SEASONAL GARMENTS ?

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“Alexander McQueen has been actively progressing in supporting the goals of Kering to reduce environmental impact throughout the supply chain and operations.”- Kering sustainability report 2020

There is no factual reports to be found online that would prove that McQueen is in any ways a sustainable brand.

This creates a good gap in market for us, a high end brand with fabulous garments, but with good ethics.

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The Y/PROJECT Evergreen collection is a series of classic carry over styles manufactured in an ethical and sustainable fashion. Each season, a select number of pieces will be added to this collection, creating garments with longevity to be worn for years to come. Raw materials are sourced to ensure their traceability and their contribution to the preservation of biological diversity. Production is carried out through environmentally conscious processes, ensuring a fully sustainable and traceable supply chain.

They highlight traceable supply chain and environmentally conscious process but do not tell the consumer how they are environmentally conscious…

Good that a high end brand is making steps towards a better ethics, but is it just greenwashing?

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The conscious consumers want to know where this product come from, where do the textiles originate, who makes it and how does it affect our planet and people. Triarchy has taken on this challenge from seed to shelf showing consumers transparency every step of the way. 2021042855193

Triarchy begins with its materials, sourcing only organic cotton or their newest material from Candiani the first plastic free bio-stretch denim.

Using one of our mills they could be a key competitor!!

The Triarchy team found that they had to find ways of relaying the facts to their consumers in an easy to understand way and that is where Green story and Retraced come in. Both platforms make it possible for Triarchy to share tangible and immediate impact statistics with their consumers.

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Denim companies, including a lot of high end brands, don’t relay enough information to their consumer about the denim or cotton they source. There is room for brands to tell their consumer every step that the denim goes through to remain as sustainable and authentic as possible.

We are telling a story of the journey of the denim production - giving names of everyone involved and every step of the creation in a small label in the garment!

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Key players - Ralph Lauren, Levi Strauss, Diesel, Guess, Calvin Klein,

The market value for denim was 21.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2020 and was expected to increase to over 26 billion U.S. dollars by 2026, P Smith, 12/1/22, statista https://www.statista.com/topics/5959/denim-market-worldwide/

USD 21480 million in 2022  denim-market-size-in-2022-swot-pestal-analysis-industry-statistics-touch-new-level-with-technological-advancements-in-report-till-2028-no-of-pages-126-2022-10-05

While the skinny jean remains a staple, it's falling out of favor with younger consumers. Instead, straight silhouettes have emerged as the new go-to, attached to 20% of recent sell outs. Y2K themes will continue to influence the denim market with baggy bottoms, vintage washes and trouser tassels considerations across all sizes for SS22. (edited)

Market-wide, 39% of denim assortments have had a sustainable transformation, up from 16% in 2019. (edited)

The size-inclusive market is an area where sustainability in denim is lagging. Only 9% of plus-size jeans currently available use alternatives to conventional cotton and 3% of styles are described as "recycled.” Retailers need to innovate with plant-based dyes and resource-saving alternatives

ULTIMATELY - we need to take size inclusivity to a point where it can be transparently sustainable.

As WGSN points out in a recent Insider report on key spring ’22 denim trends, consumers are looking for versatility and enduring style, making classic denim an essential wardrobe piece.

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Wrap hangers in same fabric as garment.
So hangers are dyed the same and have our logo or a pattern all over them
Colourful and match the garments

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We need to rethink the visual side of our brand, making it more fun as we stray away from being too preachy
Also need to match the colours to the colours we are using to dye with - so everything relates back to the garments

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Sensory
Hyperreal
Rooms to match the different colours
Activities? Stations where people can dye their own stuff, shows transparency with our dyeing process

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Edited colour palette so match dye hues

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Tells us some info on how are can make our dyes last longer by using natural mordants and soaking our fabric in them

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If you're a gardener who enjoys crafting, then a garden devoted to dye plants just might be your next project. We plant gardens for food, health, and beauty. But did you know that many plants yield natural dyes for yarn, fiber, and fabric as well? The truth is that humans have been borrowing nature's colors for thousands of years. This concept is back in vogue as it opens up a whole new world for many - especially those who value organic practices.

Botanical dyes are earth-friendly, biodegradable renewable resources. Crafters are also drawn to them because natural plant dyes produce hues that are much more complex than their synthetic counterparts.

In fact, you might already have annuals, perennials, shrubs, or trees growing in your garden or yard right now that will yield natural colors for the dye pot. Do you have coreopsis or cosmos blooming in your cottage garden? Both offer shades of orange and rusty brown. Marigolds or calendulas by the front porch? Then you have access to bright yellow dye. Color doesn't stop at flower petals. Depending on the species, it can also be found in other parts of the plant, such as leaves, stems, roots, and fruits.

Easy Garden Plants for Natural Dyes

Below is a list of common, easy-to-grow dye plants and the colors that each plant produces. Don't forget that you can alter or change the color entirely if you use a mordant or modifier in or after the dyebath.

Calendula (Calendula officinalis): Lemon yellow.

Coreopsis (Coreopsis spp.): Gold, yellow, and orange.

Daffodil (Narcissus spp.): Green-yellow.

Dahlia (Dahlia spp.): Yellow, gold, and orange.

Daylily (Hemerocallis spp.): Yellow and reddish orange. (Use the spent, not fresh, daylily flower heads.)

Goldenrod (Solidago spp.): Bright yellow and gold.

Hollyhock (Alcea rosea): Light hollyhocks will bring orange-yellow; dark red or purple flowers will yield purple and maroon shades.

Marigold (Tagetes spp.): Bright yellow.

Onion skins (Allium cepa): Deep yellow, orange, and red-orange. (Use red and yellow skins.)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium): Yellow.

Yellow Cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus): Yellow and gold.

Best Textiles for Botanical Dyes

Specific characteristics of yarns, fibers, or fabric will affect both the final color as well as how well the color takes. In other words, silk dyed in an onion skin dyebath will end up a slightly different shade than yarn made of 100 percent sheep's wool.

Not surprisingly, the fibers that take well to botanical dyes are natural fibers. Natural dyes have a difficult time adhering to man-made (synthetic) fibers. Use protein fibers that are produced by animals such as sheep's wool, angora (rabbit wool), mohair (Angora goat), cashmere (goat), alpaca, llama, silk (worms), and felt (sheep's wool), which take to plant dyes brilliantly. Cellulose (plant) fibers such as bamboo, ramie, cotton, wood, reeds, muslin, and linen will also absorb natural dyes readily, although they do take longer to absorb. My strategy is to simply leave them in the dyebath for longer - sometimes overnight.

Mordants & Modifiers

Many botanical dyes need a mordant such as alum to bond the color to the fibers. The simplest way to do this is to soak the fibers in a mordant bath before adding them to the colored dyebath. Some dyers will use copper, tin, or chrome as a mordant. However, alum and iron are considered the safest for both the dyer and the environment. That said, even these "less harmful" materials should be handled with care (a little research goes a long way).
Safest Mordants:
Adding a modifier to the dyebath (or as an afterbath) can manipulate colors by making them brighter, darker, or change entirely depending on what is used. They are a constant source of entertainment and well worth a little experimentation.
Modifier examples:

White vinegar

Lemon juice

Baking soda

Ammonia

Iron (also acts as a mordant)

Adjective, Substantive, Vat, and Fugitive Natural Dyes

Natural dyes fall into various categories depending on the treatment (or lack thereof) that's necessary for the color to adhere to the textile. Sometimes dyes will cross over into two categories. For example, indigo is both a substantive as well as a vat dye.

Adjective dyes are those that need a mordant to adhere the colors to the fabric, yarn, or fiber. Many natural dyes fall into this category.

Substantive dyes contain a built-in mordant called tannins. Color derived from this group, such as the deep brown derived from walnut husks, has big-time sticking power and doesn't require a separate mordant.

Natural color obtained from plants such as indigo requires a special fermenting process which is referred to as vat dye. Here's where some dyes can cross over into two categories. Indigo, for instance, is a substantive dye; therefore, fibers don't need a separate mordant to hold the color. However, it does need to be processed in a vat and is more complicated than a simple dyebath.

Dyes obtained from purple cabbages and beets start out as gorgeous color. However, they simply don't hold up to washing or sunlight very well (or at all) and tend to disappear from fabric and fibers quickly. They are referred to as fugitive dyes and are best used for items that don't need to hold their color for long periods of time, such as Easter eggs, modeling compound, and temporary paints. Fugitive dyes aren't useful for yarns that will be made into garments.

Who Wants to Plant a Dye Garden?

Natural dyes are useful to those who handspin, weave fabric, knit, crochet, weave baskets, and sew. Garden hues are also used to color scarves, play silks, T-shirts, linens, curtains, and even paper. Producing botanical dyes doesn't require extensive knowledge of the arts or a chemistry degree, but rather a healthy curiosity and an experimenter's heart. If you're interested in learning more about how to use botanical dyes, check out my book, A Garden to Dye For (St. Lynn's Press).

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Making Natural Dyes From Flowers: Biodegradable Dyes From Your Garden

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If you're a gardener who enjoys crafting, then a garden devoted to dye plants just might be your next project. We plant gardens for food, health, and beauty. But did you know that many plants yield natural dyes for yarn, fiber, and fabric as well?

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Gives us some more examples of food and plant dyes. some of these dyes can be used as mordants for our existing dyes. EG black tea can bring out darker colours in flower petals

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What's the best way to wash clothing that you've dyed with plants? Do we need to use special washing detergent? Will the colour last? I receive these questions every week, so I'm sharing my tips here with you.

First of all, I'm going to let you into a little secret: I'm not actually that careful with my naturally dyed clothing. I often throw everything into the washing machine in one go and the colours last fine!

The key to long-lasting colours involves:

how you prepare your fabric before dyeing

choosing the best plants to give long-lasting colours

your dyeing technique

Throughout this blog post I only refer to plant fibres such as cotton, linen and bamboo. That's because I only work with plant fibres, never animal fibres. All the methods in my book Botanical Colour at your Fingertips are vegan.

Everything I write about natural dyeing is based on my own experience. There are so many factors involved in natural dyeing, so you may experience something different to me. Each question and answer is more of a discussion point where I tell you what I have discovered through my own experimentation.

If you email me with more questions, I'll happily update the blog post in the future.
1. Which plants wash out quickly and are not recommended?
There are some plants that will never dye fabric, no matter which mordant we choose to use or how well we try to dye the fibres. Turmeric, red cabbage and beetroot are examples of plants that are stains, not dyes. These stains will wash out of fabric after a few washes - some more quickly than others.

Years ago, I feared staining tea towels and clothing with beetroot juice, but in actual fact the colour washes out easily. At worst, a light grey mark is left for a short while until all trace of the colour vanishes. Beetroot juice even fades in the dark!

The colour from turmeric doesn't survive on fabric either, but I do have a fondness for this medicinal plant, as its therapeutic properties may transfer into the cloth and benefit the wearer of the clothing. Does the idea of wearing anti-inflammatory clothing appeal to you? Fabric needs to be repeatedly dyed with turmeric to top up the colour. I like to think of this as more of a fabric conditioning treatment that adds this healing layer onto the cloth. It will wear off through washing, so needs to be topped up.
2. Which are the most colourfast plants?
One of the first ideas that I introduce in my book Botanical Colour at your Fingertips is that tannins play an important role in plant dyeing. Tannins are natural mordants and help dyes attach to fibres, which means the colour is more likely to stand the test of time through repeated washing. Some of my favourites that I explore in my book include oak leaves, acorns, black tea, pomegranate skins and different types of tree cones, such as alder and redwood.

Avocado skins and stones also contain tannins. The bright pink tinge often fades gradually over time and leaves a more muted peachy tone. However, my avocado pink clothing is still much more pinky-peach than beige, so don't let this deter you. Click here for more tips on avocado dyeing >>>

If you would like your colours to survive repeated washing (don't we all?), then choose your plants carefully.
3. Can you dye with black tea or will it wash out?
Yes, tea leaves contain tannins and make a wonderful dye! Tea will dye cellulose fibres (such as cotton and linen) without any mordant or pretreatment, but only to a pale shade. I like to pretreat all of my fabric in diluted soya milk (find the method in Botanical Colour at your Fingertips) and this helps us achieve much deeper shades on cellulose fabric.

Tea dyeing is the perfect introduction to botanical dyeing as almost everyone has some tea bags or loose tea in the kitchen. Since it's an edible dye, this is the one time that I use my kitchen saucepans for dyeing. I've written a blog post on dyeing with tea and I show you how to paint patterns with milk beforehand. It's a really simple and fun trick!
4. Do you use the washing machine or hand wash?
I rarely hand wash anything - everything gets thrown into the washing machine on a 30° cycle. I wash all clothing at this temperature, except for underwear and soiled children's clothing as those items need a higher temperature to kill bacteria.

In an ideal world, I'd group together all of my plant-dyed clothing and wash together. However, I don't want to wait for several items to get dirty, so I wash all my family's clothing together. I recommend keeping bright colours, lights and darks separate, because synthetic dyes can rinse out of fabric and tint your delicate plant hues. I wash my plant dyed clothes with other pale coloured items.

5. Do you use washing liquid or powder? My favourite items of clothing that I wear several times a week:
Personally, I use Bio-D washing liquid, which is a fairly natural washing detergent sold in the UK. (You can often find zero waste or health food shops that have refil stations for Bio-D.) I've always favoured washing liquid over powder, as that's simply what I've always known, but some people may prefer powders. The important thing is that you use something gentle, to preserve your plant colours.
Above: My favourite linen dress and cotton scarf - both dyed with avocado stones. The grey-purple colour is from dipping the dyed fabric into an after-bath of ferrous sulphate to shift the peach-pink colour to grey-purple. 6. Should we use pH neutral washing detergent?
Update: As of July 2020, I now use Greenscents (unscented washing liquid) which I feel has even more natural ingredients.

Generally, yes, but sometimes we may want to play around the pH of a dye and control the final colour. Many plant dyes are pH sensitive, so a final rinse in either an acidic or alkaline bucket of water will shift the colour into two directions. You may prefer the colour from either an acidic or alkaline bath, so after washing your clothing, give it a quick rinse in a bucket of water with a squeeze of lemon juice (or a dash of white vinegar), or a sprinkle of baking soda. Don't add too much acid or alkali as this could damage your fibres.
7. How does pH affect natural dyes?
Also, if you discover that you don't like a new dye colour after rinsing out freshly dyed fabric, try rinsing it in a bucket of acidic or alkaline water to see if the colour shifts to a slightly different shade that you prefer.

One of the beautiful things about natural dyes is that they are alive. The colours dance in different lighting and appear to mysteriously change shades, and most colours are universally flattering on our skin tones. These are all reasons why I love natural colours. However, they are susceptible to accidental staining from acidic food, such as lemon juice! It can be annoying at times, but all you need to do is wash your clothing in your usual way, and the stain will disappear. Keep reading for a little tip I have for citrus staining.
Tip: Pattern making with splashes of lemon juice. Use this simple method to disguise accidental splashes of lemon or lime juice on your clothing. Rather than wash the item because of a small patch, take off your clothing and add to the pattern so it looks more intentional. This grey dress was dyed with oak leaves and iron. Some dyes are more pH sensitive than others, so some dyes will discharge more than others.
8. Why do some of my naturally dyed tops develop different coloured patches under the arms?
Citrus juice will temporarily bleach the fabric, so if you're like me and you often forget to wear an apron in the kitchen (when will I learn?!), then your clothing will end up with bleached spots. It's particularly noticeable with fabric that's been darkened with iron, as the citrus acts as a discharge and temporarily bleaches the colour. The effect isn't as noticeable on colours that haven't been darkened with iron. Rather than wash my clothing just because I've accidentally sprayed myself with citrus, I often just add to the effect and splatter some more across the clothing to add to the pattern. Then the bleached spots look intentional and I can continue wearing the clothing. After all, it's not dirty, the pH has simply been changed. You can even play around with this effect and paint on stripes or spots whenever you choose!

This could be from either the pH of your sweat or an ingredient in your deodorant. Some dyes will be more sensitive than others. First of all, you could try a different deodorant to see if that makes a difference.
9. Can you put plant-dyed clothing in the dryer?
This happened to me many years ago when I wore a dress that I'd dyed with logwood (back when I used dye extracts). My sweat or deodorant - I'm still not sure which - lightened the underarms. The dress returned to normal in the wash, but it kept happening each time I wore it. It hasn't happened with any of the dyes I currently use, probably because I don't use that deodorant anymore. It's hard to pin point the exact cause in these situations, but try changing deodorant to see if that helps. Our sweat can vary according to what we eat. My diet has varied a lot over the years, so that could definitely be a factor in my case, so you may find that things change over time if your eating habits change. Dyes from plants are most certainly alive!

Yes, I do! I always use the low heat setting. I don't think that the heat from the dryer will cause any harm - in fact the heat may even help set the dyes and improve colourfastness. You could try an experiment to see if this is the case for you.

Don't use a high heat on delicate fabric. Prolonged use of a dryer will eventually weaken fibres over time. There's always some fluff left in a dryer, and those are the fibres that have been lost from the clothing through the tumbling in the machine. Over time, more and more fibres are lost and your clothing will literally get thinner and thinner.
10. What can we do about stains on naturally dyed clothing?
If you dry your washing outside, always dry it in the shade as sunlight can fade colours.

First, try soaking the stained clothing in cool water with some washing liquid added. I've made the mistake of washing blood-stained clothing in the washing machine and the heat actually sets the blood! The protein in blood makes it quite an effective dye on clothing which can be problematic. For other stains, see if this initial soaking helps loosen the particles that have caused the mark, then put the clothing in the washing machine. I tend to use a slightly longer cycle for dirty or stained clothing.

If we use any bleaching agents on naturally dyed clothing, then it is likely to wash out the colour of the fabric too. Some stains that are difficult to remove may actually contain tannins, so they are in fact dyes! Tea stains are notoriously hard to remove (without bleach) and that's because tea is actually a dye. For baby clothing that is stained with food, I've managed to remove tough marks with hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. But I wouldn't recommend this for plant-dyes as everything will get bleached.
Tip: Try hammering leaves and flowers on stained clothing to strategically cover marks. You could try making a simple pattern with just single leaves dancing across the surface of your clothing. Print a pattern on stained clothing to give it a new lease of life. 11. How much does plant-dyed clothing fade over the course of a year of regular use?
When you stain naturally dyed clothing and you don't feel you can wear it anymore as it is, there's not much that you can do but camouflage the stain. You could try dyeing it a darker colour, but often a stain will continue to grin through. Adding a new pattern is probably the best way to distract from a stain. Here are a few options:

This is so hard to answer. I want to say, "How long is a piece of string?" but I will answer it as best I can. I have several items of plant-dyed clothing that I've shown you through this blog post that have been washed a lot and the colours are still going strong. They were fairly muted colours to begin with and I can't really see any change in colour. Saying that, if I'd cut out a piece of surplus fabric from one of the seams and then kept it in a cupboard and not washed it, then my clothing is most likely paler, or the tones have shifted slightly. But when colours fade slowly over time, we don't really notice. As you can see from the photos, the colours are most definitely still there, and I enjoy wearing these pieces every week.

I estimate that my dyed linen dresses have each been washed 25 times and they are both still grey/lilac (from avocado stones and ferrous sulphate) and grey/brown (from oak leaves and ferrous sulphate). My favourite scarf that I dyed with avocado stones is still very much a pinky-peach, and I've worn it almost daily through all the seasons in the last year and it's washed frequently.
12. How can we prevent fading?
So the answer to the original question it that the colours will fade gradually over time, but not enough to take away from the enjoyment of wearing your garments. The type of dyes that you choose, the fabric you use and the way you dye your fabric will all have a big effect on the longevity of your colours.

First of all, make sure you're using dyes that are long lasting (as outlined at the beginning of this post). My complete dyeing method is in Botanical Colour at your Fingertips and I show you how to pretreat fabric in a bath of soya milk, which certainly helps with colourfastness. It's important to add that this isn't the only way to dye fabric. Natural dyeing is one of those crafts that has had many, many (re)interpretations. My book shows you the method that I use to produce long lasting colours. I wear my dyed clothing all the time and I'm very satisfied with the methods and results.

When you have your basics right, then you set the foundation for creating longer lasting colours. Also keep these points in mind:
Linen dress and organic cotton/hemp dress both dyed with avocado stones and dipped in iron water to shift the pink to grey-purple. 13. How much does light affect colour?

Wash as little as possible. Do you really need to wash your clothing after every wear? Try airing clothing outside in the shade to freshen it up.

Don't dry in the sunlight - always dry in the shade. Sunlight will rapidly fade some dyes.

Use a gentle washing detergent.

Sunlight affects some dyes more than others. Interestingly, I've noticed that the yellow dye from pomegranate skins darkens in sunlight. I imagine that the tannins react with sunlight and deepen the colour. However, many other dyes will lighten in sunlight. It's best to carry out a lightfastness test on any new dyes you use to assess how much the colour changes in sunlight. This is especially important if you plan to make and dye items for the home, such as cushion/pillow covers or curtains. After carrying out a series of light and washfastness tests, then you can choose the most appropriate dyes for the use you have in mind (e.g. clothing or home).

Don't display clothing in the light as this will fade colours more rapidly. The same goes for synthetic dyes: they can bleach in the sun. I once bought a top in a shop that came from the display in the window. I was thrilled to have found the last one in my size, only to get home and discover that the front was much paler than the back!

14. Can you redye clothing?

Yes, of course. If the colour fades then you can redye it. If you've pretreated the fabric with soya milk (or mordanted using another method) then you shouldn't need to redo this step. Just dampen the clothing and add to a new dye pot, then follow your usual dyeing method. Equally, if you grow tired of a shade, then you can layer on a new colour in the same way. Or dip dye half the fabric to add some interest.

15. Does fabric type make a difference to how well the colour lasts?

Yes, I've found that unbleached and less processed fabric takes on dye better and colours last longer. For example, unbleached organic cotton and linen develop deeper colours than processed fibres such as bamboo viscose. In terms of longevity of colour, in my experience the purest fibres keep their colour better.
Two tops dyed with Japanese indigo. The one on the left is made from less processed fabric (organic cotton and hemp) and the colour was vivid right from the beginning and the colour has lasted well. The top on the right is made from viscose, which is a processed cellulose fibre, and the colour has always been paler and I feel that it's faded slightly more.

The dresses I wear are linen (I ordered white dresses from Not Perfect Linen on Etsy) and I've found that they have held their colour very well over time. In contrast, a few years ago I dyed myself some viscose tops with elastane and those faded more quickly. My scarves are all made from unbleached organic cotton from Greenfibres (this page gives you a coupon code for 10% off all Greenfibres fabric!) and the colours last remarkably well. Of course, the most important thing is that you choose your dyes wisely so they have the best chance of lasting. It's still fun to play around with more transient colours, but we can't expect the colours to survive repeated washing.

I hope that some of these answers are helpful to you. Of course these are just my experiences and you may well notice something different happening to your clothing. There are endless factors at play with natural dyeing and it's a continual journey of discovery. Enjoy!

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FAQs: Washing and caring for plant-dyed clothing

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­What's the best way to wash clothing that you've dyed with plants? Do we need to use special washing detergent? Will the colour last? I receive these questions every week, so I'm sharing my tips here with you. First of all, I'm going to let you into a little secret: I'm not actually that careful with my naturally dyed clothing.

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Biodegradable and eco friendly
helps idea of circularity

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Seeded Plantable Card Sheets Plantable Seed Paper A3 A4 - Etsy UK

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This Card Stock item by TheMankeyMonkey has 410 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from United Kingdom. Listed on 16 Nov, 2022

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to fasten packaging?

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20 natural coconut shell buttons with 4 holes

Size: 25mm/1", 2mm thick

Please let me know if you have any questions, or if you would like a listing for a different quantity!

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING NOT IN OUR SHOP? Please send a shop message or email to: aniknition [!at] yahoo.com letting us know what our shop can provide, and any other comments would really be appreciated! In return for your message/email, you will receive a coupon code for 10% OFF!!

Learn more about this item

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Buttons Natural Coconut Shell 25mm 1 Inch Craft Supply Bulk - Etsy UK

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20 natural coconut shell buttons with 4 holes Size: 25mm/1", 2mm thick Please let me know if you have any questions, or if you would like a listing for a different quantity! LOOKING FOR SOMETHING NOT IN OUR SHOP?

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biodegradable envelopes too

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Early Black Friday is here! Get 20% off on selected lines. Shop now

Ruby & Bo
An eco-friendly card handmade sustainably using recycled materials and native British wildflower seeds

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Early Black Friday is here! Get 20% off on selected lines. Shop now Ruby & Bo An eco-friendly card handmade sustainably using recycled materials and native British wildflower seeds Delivery to selected countries only Sorry, there are no reviews for this product yet.

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I can email for a sample if this is something we wanna do, fairly cheap too

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Showing design development and behind the scenes, before we have an actual garment to photograph

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A fun way to generate hype for our brand. It's a unique thing that not many brand will think of doing, make us stand out be be different.
People love free things.

Location:
Either a city or area that our target consumer lives
Or
A location in nature to link back to our use of natural food and flower waste dye

What hidden in each prize:

Invite to the launch event

First access to the face filter (which will then be accessible to all on launch event day)

Esoteric Spotify playlist

£50 Esoteric gift voucher

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Get the free Official Geocaching app and join the world's largest treasure hunt.

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There are millions of geocaches worldwide, just waiting for you to find them. There are probably even some within walking distance of where you are right now. Visit Geocaching.com to see just how many geocaches are nearby and to learn how to start finding them.

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Short 5/10 second Instagram reels of behind the scenes dyeing and making of garments, and small snippets of the break up story e.g. then arguing, her ripping up the flowers, hands in the dye.. etc