10 Naturally-Dyed Fashion Brands Coloring Their Pieces with Plants
The sustainable fashion community talks a lot about using natural earth-minded fabrics — this is, of course, a crucial element of the discussion, but we can't forget about the importance of naturally-dyed clothing either!
As with textiles, not all natural dyes are created equal, but here are some general things to know.
What are Natural Dyes?
Natural dyes are, as they sound, derived from natural sources! The majority of natural dyes are plant dyes, coming from leaves, flowers, roots, bark, wood, lichen, fruits, nuts, or seeds. However, not all natural dyes are from plants — natural dyes can also include dyes sourced from insects and mineral compounds.
Why Do Natural Dyes Matter?
The textile industry uses up to 200 tonnes of water per tonne of fabric. When toxic synthetic dyes are used for fabrics, the hazardous chemicals from dyes and the mordants (what is used to set the dye on the fabric) often enter waterways, as detailed in the documentary RiverBlue. The documentary reported that over 70% of rivers in China are polluted, thanks in large part to the pollutants coming from the textile and garment factories.
So, not only are people who work in textile factories and dyeing facilities exposed to toxic and often carcinogenic chemicals, but the communities surrounding them are exposed to high levels of these chemicals as well. And, these dyes "persist as environmental pollutants and cross entire food chains", so really, no one can escape the damages of these textile dyes.
Why don't factories better control their waste? Well, as Fashion Revolution explains, "wastewater disposal is seldom regulated, adhered to or policed, meaning big brands, and the factory owners themselves are left unaccountable."
Using natural dyes can still involve a significant amount of water use, but many mindful conscious fashion brands use practices to reduce water use and to recycle wastewater. Also, with natural dyes, there are no harmful pollutants released into the environment except...
If those natural dyes are "fixed" onto the fabrics using toxic mordants like chrome, this of course would release hazardous effluent and the textiles would still contain toxic chemicals.
Many smaller organic and conscious fashion labels, though, use safe mordants and do not use harmful metallic mordants. We really need to be most concerned about brands that are trying to use natural dyes on an industrial scale. (And in general, big brands using natural dyes may not really be "sustainable" given the large scale and difficulties with traceability.)
Where To Find Naturally Dyed Clothing
Here is a list of some incredible brands with plant-dyed and other naturally-dyed garments and accessories worth supporting!
This guide includes affiliates and partners but as always, all brands meet stringent criteria for sustainability and are brands we love — and that we think you'll love too!
Modern Shibori
Founded by designer and natural dyer Jenny Fong, Modern Shibori is an organic fashion brand using plant-based dyes and traditional Japanese shibori techniques to create beautiful, effortless garments. Modern Shibori uses natural fabrics like GOTS-certified organic cotton grown in the US, GOTS-certified linen, and hemp.
For the colors, Jenny creates dyes from plants that are foraged locally or even grown on-site, like rosemary, and to set those colors, Jenny uses non-toxic aluminum salts. And, this small-batch slow fashion brand is always working towards implementing even more sustainable practices!
Highlights: Organic Natural Fabrics, Locally-Sourced Plant Dyes, Non-Toxic Mordants, WOC-Owned
Use the code CONSCIOUSSTYLE15 for $15 off any purchase
Sustain By Kat
Dedicated to creating the cleanest clothing possible, Sustain By Kat uses 100% organic natural fibers like linen and cotton, natural dyes, and even organic thread!
The brand uses only safe and healthy dyes like madder root, indigo leaf, myrobalan rhubarb, pomegranate peels, oak galls, and logwood for their plant-dyed clothing.
And Sustain By Kat also follows thoughtful production practices for their pieces, producing their garments slowly and locally in the U.S. or in artisans from small communities in India who earn fair wages and work in safe conditions.
Highlights: Organic Fabrics & Thread, Safe Healthy Plant Dyes, Fair Production, Woman-Owned
California Cloth Foundry
California Cloth Foundry is a farm-to-fashion brand using regenerative fibers grown in the US (including some grown locally in California!) and practices.
To color their garments, California Cloth Foundry uses natural dyes like indigo, madder root, chestnuts, weld (extracted from a flower), and more.
The brand uses minerals like calcium carbonate and iron (as in the iron you can find in multivitamins!) to deepen and expand the range of colors and to set their dyes onto the fabrics.
Highlights: Local Fibers and Production, Regenerative Practices, Non-Toxic Mordants, Woman-Owned
Check Out California Cloth Foundry
Ziran
Ziran is an Asian-owned brand partnering with skilled artisans in southern China who handcraft xiang yun sha silk. Creating this silk is a centuries-old tradition and requires much time and expertise. The silk is coated with iron-rich mud and then dyed with vegetable juice before being set out in the sun.
Highlights: Cultural Preservation, Natural Fibers, Slow-Made, WOC-Owned
Harvest & Mill
California-based Harvest & Mill has an entirely localized supply chain, sourcing USA-grown cotton and working with American mills to spin, knit, and finish their fabric. All of the brand's designs are available undyed and they even have some colorgrown cotton options (made from cotton that is naturally colored). For their colored pieces, Harvest & Mill uses a low-impact fiber-reactive dye for their black color and also has some pieces dyed naturally with indigo and California clay.
Highlights: Regenerative Brand, Fibershed Member, Fully Traceable Supply Chain, Offers Undyed Options
Rosemarine Textiles
This Etsy shop creates home goods, sweatsuits, and accessories (like bandanas, scrunchies, and socks) using natural fabrics and plant dyes. The Detroit-based small business partners with local restaurants to collect food waste like avocado pits and onion skins as well as florists to collect leftover flowers from events for their dyes! And, Rosemarine Textiles takes efforts to recycle greywater, limit water waste, and compost all plant material left after the dyeing.
Highlights: Upcycles Materials for Dyes, Water Recycling & Composting Practices, Natural Fibers
Object Apparel
Another Detroit-based business using natural dyes is Object Apparel! The brand uses GOTS-certified organic textiles, plant dyes, and water-based inks for their low-impact clothing. They sell basics like underwear and tees and comfy loungewear like sweatshirts and joggers.
Highlights: Organic Fabrics, Genderless, Made-to-Order In-Studio
Gaia Conceptions
Gaia Conceptions crafts their clothing using sustainable and certified organic fabrics such as hemp, organic cotton (either US-grown or certified Fair Trade from India), and organic merino wool. To achieve their rich colors, Gaia uses natural plant dyes or fiber-reactive low impact dyes. All of their garments are handmade to order in Gaia's own studio in North Carolina, meaning you can get a piece made just for your measurements, ensuring an amazing fit.
Highlights: Sustainable and Organic Fabrics, Low-Impact and Natural Dyes, Handmade-to-Order
Fibershed Marketplace
Fibershed is a California-based nonprofit organization advocating for a regenerative, localized future for fashion. The organization has a marketplace where they sell products from small brands using organic, biodynamic, and climate beneficial practices.
Highlights: Regenerative, Small-Batch Makers, Natural and Organic Fabrics
Miranda BenNett
Slow fashion label Miranda Bennett uses plant-based petroleum-free fabrics for all of their garments and uses mostly natural dyes as well (the black pieces are not only ones not naturally dyed, and they are mostly dyed with low-impact dyes). The brand partners with a local refugee-run organic farm that grows dye plants for their studio and sources other plant based dyes as byproducts from other industries, such as food suppliers.
Or, Plant-Dye Your Own Garments!
Plant-Dyeing Kits
If you have some existing garments that you'd like to dye or want to buy some secondhand pieces to dye, you can get crafty with plant-dyeing kits! Fibershed has a number of locally and regeneratively sourced plant dyes and Etsy has a really wide selection of natural dyes too.
Note: Sustainability-driven companies take different approaches to this common goal and are all in different parts of this journey. At Conscious Fashion Collective, we celebrate, respect, and honor this diversity in values, expertise, and context of craftsmanship on the supply side, and we also encourage consumers to make purchases aligned with their personal style and values. Please refer to each brand's official website to learn more.
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Cover Image: California Cloth Foundry