Our Natural Dye Ethics

When we say natural dye, we mean it wholeheartedly.

 

We grow our own garden. That's where most of our dyes come from.

Some dyes are from discarded tannin-rich food waste from our kitchen, like onion skins, avocado pits and skins, rosemary, and pomegranate skins.

Some are windfallen and responsibly-harvested from prolific trees growing in our Ubud neighborhood.

When available and possible, we also have the fortune of gathering flowers, leaves, fruits and vegetables waste (that are tannin-rich and contain dye pigments) from restaurants, wedding venues, lush resorts, and florists in Ubud. At certain times, these botanical beauties are included in our collections.

The ingredients we use through the entire process of natural dyeing in our studio are 95% from plants i.e. 36+ kinds of dye plants, bio soapnut for scouring, soy milk as binding agent, plant-based tannins (such as gall nuts, pomegranate skins and sea almond leaves), symplocos leaf as mordant, palm vinegar for fixation, and coconut soap for washing, whilst 5% are from minerals i.e. homemade rustwater, mud dye, and earth pigments.

We don't use plastic as barrier layer in bundle dyeing / ecoprinting. We care more about the authenticity of the plant characteristics, the impact of our practice, and the ecological values of bundle dyeing rather than focusing only on the surface beauty.

Our plant-dyed works are our heartwork. Each is produced consciously through a slow and meditative process that is kind to the people and the planet.

❤ ❤ ❤