Vegatable Dyes

While studying eco friendly fashion in college, i found various aspects that i did not even realise existed. One of these is vegetable dyes.

Vegetable dyes are a great way to dye fabric and hair, without using chemicals that damage the environment.

There are many different plants that can be used to create dyes, these are:

Plant	Part	Colour.
Woad (Isatis tinctoria):	Leaves	blue, Somewhat complicated process involving a real chemical cocktail. Woad (Indigo) dyes by oxidation, the trick is to get the dye bath right. Indigo is a fast dye that fades very little in sunlight or in washing.
Weld (Reseda luteola):	Whole plant	lemon yellow with alum.
Blueberries (Vaccinium myrtillus):	Fruits	shades of purple and blue with alum.
Elder (Sambucus nigra):	Berries Leaves	purple and violets with alum, green with alum.
Blackberries (Rubus fructicosus):	Shoots Berries	black /greys with iron, blue, grey with alum
Bracken (Pteris aquiline):	Young shoots Roots	yellow/greens with alum; orange/yellow with alum
Heather (Calluna vulgaris):	Shoots:	olive/yellow with alum
Fig (Ficus carica):	Leaves:	lemon yellows with alum
Birch (Betula alba):	Leaves:	yellow with alum
Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium):	Leaves:	yellow with alum
Ragwort (Senicio jacobaea):	Whole plant	yellow with alum
Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare):	Flowers	yellows with alum
Canadian Golden Rod (Solidago Canadensis):	Flowers	golden yellow with chrome
Pine (Pinus ssp.)	Cones:	orange/yellow with alum; browns with iron
Onion (Allium cepa)	Skins:	golden browns with alum
Walnut (Juglans regia)	Shells	pinkish browns (no mordant)
Turmeric (Curcuma longa):	Root:	yellow (no mordant)

The best known vegetable dye for temporary designs is probably Henna (Lawsonia inermis), which is still widely used in the Middle East and Asia, particularly in connection with wedding ceremonies. In recent years it has also become increasingly popular in the West, at first as a hair dye and now also for temporary tattoos. In South America indigenous people use Achiote (Bixa orellana) and Huito (Genipa americana) both, for body painting and as a dye for natural fibres.