Dating back nearly 6,000 years, there is evidence of plants being processed into dye. With the widespread use of modern synthetic dyes, it is easy to forget that all textiles were once dyed with plants, bugs, and fungi.
Geographical location was often a determining factor in what dyes, and therefore what colors, were available to a group of people. When international trade began through the silk road, dyes were among the most desirable goods, especially for the noble.
Tyrian purple was the most prized because of how expensive it was, sometimes taking 12,000 mollusks to produce only 3.5 ounces of dye. This is why purple was considered the color of royalty.
It wasn’t until the 19th century in the heat of the industrial revolution that synthetic dyes were introduced. The first natural dye to be replicated synthetically was Alizarin, found in madder root. This was the birth of aniline dyes, which were processed from coal tar.
Synthetic dyes are widely accepted because of their color consistency and durability, but the benefits did not come without their downfalls
