Exploring Unconventional and Sustainable Natural Dyes for Traditional Indian Block Prints to Develop Novel Color Variations
摘要
Traditionally, Indian wood block-printed textiles use certain natural dyes like Manjishtha, pomegranate rind, Indigo, iron extracts, flame of forest, etc. It offers a delightful palette of Indian, red, yellow ochre, bottle green, indigo blue, gray, and its combinations. However, the palette is limiting, offering limited color variety to the users. A block-printed textile consumer limits the purchase after having one or two block-printed textiles in the wardrobe due to limited color choices. The experiment was conducted to get more color range utilizing techniques of woodblock print to widen the color range of mordant printing. Brighter and wider hues are the main reason humans shifted to synthetic dyes. Expanding the color palette with natural dyes offers multifaceted benefits. It promotes environmental sustainability by reducing reliance on synthetic chemicals, preserving biodiversity, and mitigating pollution. Natural dyes also contribute to cultural preservation, honoring traditional techniques and indigenous knowledge. This paper talks about the experiment conducted toward exploring colors to get brighter, wider choices using natural dyes and its outcome and scope of work, as it is one of the most sustainable textile printing methods. The outcome of the experiment resulted in some interesting hues through unconventional natural dyes through block printing techniques.