Herbal Tee Anyone?

admin — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:28:20 +0000

We’ve all seen the rise in the organic textile industry over the last decade, ecological alternatives to textile production and dyeing have contributed to a near renaissance in the t-shirt industry. The consumer is far more savvy about the damage many industries can do to the environment and there has been an explosion in demand for organic apparel and street wear throughout recent history. However much t-shirt designers and producers try to keep up with these demands there is always more that can be done, be it recycled cotton, organic inks and dyeing, ecologically sensitive production processes or even charitable donations to environmental causes, however you may be surprised to know that even eco-friendly dyeing processes have left much to be desired when it comes to the protection of our fragile planet.

I was approached recently by Aura Herbal Textiles Ltd. at AuraHerbalWear.com, an extremely progressive ecological textile company who have truly opened my eyes to some facts that for many will offer some rather nasty surprises. We at Aura Herbal Textiles Ltd have dedicated ourselves towards finding the most natural ways to process textile articles. AHT have succeeded in innovating techniques in bulk quantities which offer true 100% Organic Fabric + HERBAL DYED = 100% Organic Herbal Dyed Fabric. Currently the seven major processes in textile processing that are known to use only low impact & hazardous chemicals (approx. 8000 chemicals are known to be in use) are now being introduced to a revolutionary method of using only natural ingredients such as sea-salts, oils, medicinal plants, manure etc. I’ve tracked down one fashion label already using their services to produce tees at Truly-Organic.com.

Any self-respecting ecological textile company will offer eco-friendly alternatives to these processes:

Processes	Substances
Bleaching	Chemicals
Scouring	Caustic, Soda
Mercerizing	Chemicals
Dyeing	Chemicals/extract
Dye Fixing	Chemicals
Finishing	Chemicals
Washing	Detergents

The truth is that ecological dyeing processes still harm our environment and to highlight exactly why I’ve included the following breakdown of exactly why Aura complete the ecological cycle. They have eliminated all toxic wastes from the production process, something that even the ecological and organic textile industries have for the main part yet to do…

ECO – Friendly Dying	Aura Herbal Dying
Developed hardly 10 Years Back	The lost treasure of Indian Heritage dating back approximately 4000 years is being rediscovered
Even though pollution is under check, 8000 chemicals are involved	No pollution is involved as colors are directly derived from Medicinally rich herbs, flowers, stems, roots, etc.
Could be allergic, pro-microbial inflammatory and bad transpirators	Herbs used are known to cure allergies having anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory properties, also enhance body transpiration
Only 22 banned amines are eliminated, which are cancerous in nature (AZO FREE)	No cancerous amines present. Instead has rich medicinal properties due to the presence of medicinally rich herbs
The fabric used may be synthetic or natural	The process is only possible on natural fabrics e.g. silk, cotton, wool, etc.
Hydrogen Peroxide bleach is used	Only Natural Bleaching is done
Could be Inorganic Matter	Organic Matter
Mostly degradable detergents used	No detergents used
Weakens textile fibre due to the chemicals involved	Strengthens textile fibre, lasts longer
Incomplete even if combined with organic textile because some of the stages where chemicals are used	Organic textile + herbal dyeing completes the ecological cycle.

Now take a look at exactly what their processes mean for t-shirt designers and printers:-

Waste can be used as MANURE
Bulk production a possibility through innovative techniques
Capacity of dyeing evenly in length of over 1000mtrs of same shade through innovative controlled machine replacing the requirement of Sun, running water etc which is a must in any such natural process.
Repetition / standardisation of shades
Versatility in process including the ability to dye yarns, towelling, knits, cotton, voile, silk etc.
No heavy metals like chrome, copper etc used unlike natural /vegetable dyeing
It is extra smooth and good for transpiration helps in recovering various diseases.
The colors are unique and cannot be duplicated with any dyes, thus new shades
A simple synthetic shirt will not degrade for at least 200 years whilst herbal textiles naturally breaks down without damaging the environment.
Balances the Ecological cycle completely
Certified by SKAL international for Dyeing, Weaving, stitching

Aura offer a full mass-production service including:-

Dyeing & Printing
Weaving
Knits Dyeing
Packaging
Product Development according to the customer’s requirements

If you’re looking to improve your ecological credentials and offer a true environmentally friendly range of t-shirts then herbal dyeing is most likely the way forward. Have some herbal tee today ;)

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Herbal Tee Anyone?