Herbal Textiles: Green Business, Green Earth

The expansion of textile production and consumption has contributed to increasing pollution, water shortages, fossil fuel and raw material depletion, and climate change. Production of polyester fibre, the most widely used man-made fibre, consumes nonrenewable resources and high energy levels, and generates atmospheric emissions.

Modern automated textile plants consume large amounts of energy. Textile finishing consumes large amounts of water and energy and often produces harmful effluent. Apparel production is more environmentally friendly, but sourcing from low cost countries consumes more fuel for transportation. Among consumers, the trend towards fast fashion and cheaper clothing has led to a throw-away mentality. Although recycling activity remains at a low level—for economic and quality reasons. Some retailers are also voluntarily attaching “eco-labels” to garments to provide environmental information.

Although these have met with varying levels of success in the marketplace, they can encourage “best practice” in manufacturing. Some labeling schemes, such as the EU Eco-label Scheme and its associated flower logo, adopt a full life cycle or “cradle to grave” approach while others, such asÖko-Tex, focus on a single aspect of an item such as its environmental attributes, social attributes, or individual phases of its life cycle. Other initiatives include REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Restriction of Chemicals)legislation which aims to encourage safe and ecofriendly chemical production. [1]The Sanskrit word ‘Ayur’ means life and Vastra means dress. Ayurvastra is the garment that ensures better health and long life. Normal fabrics like organically grown cotton yarn, jute fibre, silk, wool etc. are used to make Ayurvastra by dyeing them with the desired herbs in a controlled temperature and environment. Ayurvastra cloth is completely free of synthetic chemicals and toxic irritants and is totally organic, sustainable and biodegradable. The color of the Ayurvastra is gained from the medicinal preparation only and no other colorants are used. Resultantly, its property will last as long as the colour is there. The roots, flowers, leaves, seeds and barks of around 200 herbs are used to make the dyes. Since the natural herbs are generally found in very beautiful shades, Ayurvastra is also becoming very popular for its colour properties. It has been proved that certain synthetic dyes used in garments are harmful to the human body. So garments carrying herbal property will be beneficial to the human body.

Introduction

Textile Industries use different chemicals in different processes like dyeing, finishing, scouring, bleaching, softening, washing etc. The textile chemicals & dyeing industry consume large quantities of water and produces large volumes of wastewater from different steps in the various processes. Wastewater from textile processing and dyeing containing residues requires appropriate treatment before being released into the environment. Interest in eco-friendly processing in textile industry has increased in the current scenario because of increased awareness of environmental issues.

Characteristics of eco friendly fabrics:

They are biodegradable and have no negative effect on the environment.
Eco friendly fabrics are preferred in hot and humid climates because they keep the body cool.
They are resistant to mould and mildew and are disease free.
They are grown without the use of pesticides and chemicals.
Most of them are antibacterial, skin friendly and have certain healing properties.
They help curb various skin ailments caused by synthetic and chemically treated fabrics earlier.

Ecofrndly fibres:

Conventional standards divide fibres into:

Natural fibres, and
Man-made fibres (Chemical fibres).

Natural fibres are sub divided into Organic (Vegetable and animal) fibres and Inorganic (mineral) fibres. Man made fibres are subdivided into fibre from by a chemical reaction (regenerated fibres) and fibres made from synthetic polymers (synthetic fibres).

The following are the Eco-friendly fibres:

Eco spun fibre
Soy silk fibre
Recycled polyester fibre
Corn fibre
Aloe Vera fibre
Nettle fibre
Pineapple fibre
Milk protein fibre
Bamboo fibre
Banana fibre

What makes a fabric Ecofriendly?

The less harming is the process of making a fabric to the environment, the more eco friendly it Such fabrics have some of the following characteristics: Minimum use of chemicals and pesticides during cultivation- Less harming chemicals are used if required for cultivation, whereas neem leaves are used to protect plants from insects and worms harming them.
Eco friendly certification- It is very important aspect to prove that the particular fabric is Eco friendly and it shows that the fabric is environment friendly without any harmful chemicals.
Fair trade practices- This includes environmentally friendly processes, healthy working environment for producers, respectful relationship between producers and buyers, a fair wage for the producers and also gender equality with respect to wages and working conditions.
Animal friendly- The production of eco friendly fabrics does not harm the animals as no chemicals and pesticides are used during its production and healthy farming practices are done.
Does not harm humans involved in the manufacturing process- Since no chemicals are used from the manufacturing to marketing of eco friendly textiles, so they pose no threat of any kind to the health of persons involved.
Ecofriendly clothing usually last longer than regular clothing.

What’s Organic…?

Organic Cotton says no to synthetic chemical fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides & yes

to natural fertilizers, compost and innovative farming techniques.

Why Organic…?

Less than 3% of the world’s arable land is planted with cotton. 24% of the world’s insecticides & 10% of the world’s pesticides are used for cotton cultivation.So, every year at least three million people get poisoned and 20-40,000 people ge killed.So, millions of water creatures get killed unintentionally each year. So, enormous soil pollution. Pests build up resistance to chemicals, farmer borrows money to buy morechemicals than before, farmer gets less profit from crop, this repeats until farmer is destitute.One acre of organic cotton instead of an acre of conventional cotton reduces CO2 release by two tones a year.

What’s Natural dyeing?

Natural dyes refers to the dyes that are used to dye/print the fabric. They are flowers /roots of plants like Turmeric, onion, pomegranate, myraballams, manure, Brazil wood etc…

(Table No.:- 4)

Why natural dyeing?

Natural dyeing is a practice of a society in tune with nature. Dyeing is an art; the moment science dominates it, it is an art no longer, and the craftsman must go back to the time before science touched it, and begin all over again No petrochemical dyes only plant extracts used as dyes so no water pollution,instead the waste after dyeing can be used as manure. Medicinal properties may be acquired by fabric as many dyes have medicinally rich properties. So no to allergies, septic, cancer and bad transpiration

What are herbal Clothes and how did it come to existence???

Herbal clothes, is an ancient technique of dyeing textiles in medicinal herbs. Organic clothing has been in India for over the last 5000 years. This came into existence from when Ayurveda or the uses of herbs have been practiced in India. When exposed to skin,

the herbs are absorbed into the body and may function as a means of providing Ayurveda treatment for a broad range of diseases including diabetes, skin infections, asthma,arthritis, and hypertension. It is also known to strengthen the immune system. Organic garments are 100 percent organic, completely free of synthetic chemicals and toxic irritants, and biodegradable.These herbals are used traditionally in Ayurvedic treatment and many medical applications. When this fabric is worn, the medicinal property of the fabric is then transferred to the skin, which is against the fabric. It is now suspected that many of the synthetic dyes are carcinogenic in nature and have in life systems. Colourful dye can be extracted from flowers for dyeing textile fibre. These herbal dyes are not toxic, no allergic to human health, easily available and more economical.

Herbal cloth is a value added cotton and linen fabric, which has been approved for patent.In herbal cloth products, herbal extractions are used instead of synthetic dyes. Nochemicals have been used in any of the steps of manufacturing of herbal cloth product.Herbal cloth promises positive benefits.Since time immemorial, ayurveda uses herbs like haridra, rakta chandana, and shweta Chandana, kumkuma etc (as shown in fig.no.1) for protecting the skin from harmful rays of sun and to keep it healthy. The herbal molecules act with the melanocytes cell present I the skin and control its function. It blocks the UV rays from penetrating deep into the skin.

Table no : 1

Colour

Botanical name

Parts used

Mordant

Red dye

Safflower

Caesalpinia

Madder

Carthamus tinctorius L.

Caesalpinia sappan L.

Rubia tincorium L.

Flower

Wood

wood

–

Alum

Yellow dye

Golden rod

Teak

Marigold

Solidago grandis DC.

Tectona grandis L.f

Marogold Tagetes sp

Flower

Leaf

Flower

Alum

Chrome

Blue dye

Indigo

Woad

Sunt berry

Pivet

Indigfera tinctoria L.

Isatis tinctoria L

Acacia nilotica (L)

Ligustrum vulgare L.

Leaf

Seed

Fruit

Alum

–

Alum and iron

Black dye

Alder Gaertn.

Rofblamala

Custrard apple.

Alnus glutinosa(L)

Loranthus pentapelatus

Roxb

Anona reticulate

Bark

Leaf

Fruit

Ferrous Sulphate

Ferrous sulphate

–

Orange dye

Annota

Dhalia sp.

Convallaria majalis L.

Bixa orellena L

Dahlia sp

Convallaria majalis L.

Seed

Flower

Leaf

Alum

Ferrous sulphate

About the herbal cloth

Ayurveda, the 4000 years old Indian system of medicine is now a globally accepted science because it is the world’s most eco-friendly system of medicine, since it does not use any material unfriendly to the ecosystem. During the Vedic period itself we have got references mentioning the properties of several herbal based dyestuff used centuries ago. There are references in different texts of ayurveda quoting examples of wearing pure cotton clothes processed with herbs like chandana, haridra usheera, manjista, nimba aragwadha etc to protect the body from different climates and to keep the body healthy. They kept the clothes clean with herbal products like soap-nut, lime etc even before soap sand detergents were discovered. These methods kept them healthy and their clothes were strong and everlasting. When the cotton cloths are processed with the medicinal herbs instead of synthetic dyes and chemicals, the cloth imparts anti-bacterial, antiinflammatory, anti-puritic and anti-oxidant properties of the drugs into the body. By 18^th century synthetic dyes and chemicals were introduced, as a result of which there was a decline in the use of natural herbal dyestuff.

How does the herbal clothing differ from other fabrics?

The below are some of the tangible and intangible properties of herbal clothing which

differentiate it from conventional clothing:

Organic/Herbal is soft in feel
Organic cotton/Herbal fabrics will have more strength then conventional comparison
It would have typical smell of herbs used for processing the same
Lime discharges on herbal textiles since the strongest source of Acid in nature
Colors are more earthly, not compatible to pantones
Got biodegradability and bio compost tendency
The colour may changes with the other physical and chemical and external environmental changes
They are extremely therapeutic to eyes and mind
Herbal dyed colors are created from plants and minerals. All of the herbs have the rapeutic uses as botanicals (herbs), or as homeopathic (diluted), or as nutritional supplements (minerals)
Colors are extremely therapeutic to eye, mind and body
It is extra smooth and good for transpiration
The colors are unique and cannot be duplicated with any dyes, thus new shades

Wet processing- Herbal Vs Chemical

Table2

Process	Herbal Dying Process	Chemical/Natural/Low Impact/Vegetable Dying Process
Bleaching	Cow Dung, Minerals	Chemicals
Souring	Sea Salt,Sunlight	Caustic ,soda
Mercerizing	Minerals, Oils	Chemicals
Dyeing	Medicinal Herbs	Chemicals
Dye fixing	Natural Oils	Formaldehyde etc
Finishing	Rolls,Sigar,Oil	Chemicals
Washing	Rita,Khar,Natural Soap	Detergent
Innovation	No chemicals;only herbs & natural resourses used. Natural medicinal properties are imbibed on cloth	Aprrox 8000 chemicals used.No medicinal properties claimed or imbibed.

Dye sources

Many natural dyestuff and stains were obtained mainly from plants and dominated as

sources of natural dyes, producing different colours like red, yellow, blue, black, brown

and a combination of these (Table No.1). Almost all parts of the plants like root, bark, leaf, fruit, wood, seed, flower, etc.(as shown in fig. no.2) produce dyes. It is interesting to note that over 2000 pigments are synthesized by various parts of plants, of which only about150 have been commercially exploited. Nearly 450 taxa are known to yield dyes in India alone9, of which 50 are considered to be the most important; ten of these are from roots, four from barks, five from leaves, seven from flowers, seven from fruits, three from seeds,eight from wood and three from gums and resins.

By using numerous herbs for dyeing and processing of yarn and fabric for herbal cloth production. For herbal cloth production using a particular method, extracts of selected herbs are used for dyeing and processing of Cotton / Silk / Linen, yarn and fabric. No synthetic/ chemical dyes are used in any stage of Herbal clothe production. For washing and cleaning purpose we recommend the nut or nut powder of Sapindus Laurifolia. The mordanted samples are immersed in dye bath for 2 hr at a temperature range of 80 °Cand after completion of dyeing; samples are taken out and dried. It is allowed to be aged for a fixed time, and after that soaping is carried out with 2g/l Ritha, Natural at room temperature for 10 minutes followed by rinsing and line dyeing. Shade variation from batch to batch would be approximate 15% to 20%.

Mode of Action of Herbal cloth on the body

Skin is the largest sense organ in the human body. The radiated heat activates herbal

molecules of the cloth and is reflected back to the body along with the herbal molecules.

Through the blood the herbal molecules enter deep into the body and show its property at different levels of the body and helps in curing other diseases like arthritis, allergic bronchitis, tension etc. Conventional Western medicine and traditional Eastern medicine recognize the skin as being the body’s largest organ. The skin can act as a barrier but also as a medium for outside substances to enter the body. Many environmental toxins and chemicals in conventional clothing are assimilated into the body through the skin. Anything which can improve the skin’s natural ability to block and resist harmful chemicals and toxins from entering the body will be beneficial to health.

Differences between herbal cloth and chemically dyed cloth

The main difference between herbal cloth and chemical dyed cloth is that cloth dyed using synthetic dyes has no therapeutic effects. On other hand, certain synthetic dyes will cause serious damage to the human body. Herbal treated cloth has the ability to protect us from various skin diseases, provides relief from viral infected disease and mental depressions since the herbal dyed clothes /garments come in prolonged contact with the human body.

For herbal cloth production with a particular method, extracts of selected herbs are used

for dyeing and processing of cotton/ Silk/ Linen yarn and fabric.No synthetic/ chemical dyes are used in any stage of Herbal cloth production. For washing and cleaning purpose, the nut or nut powder of Sapindus Laurifolia is recommended.

Advantages of Eco-textile

We are avoiding the use of 1/3rd pound of lethal chemicals known to be used in making of 1 shirt.
We breathe through our body more than, we do through nose in chemical dyed textiles with those carcinogenic amines and chemicals which are allergic and dangerous to human skin
We have only 0.6 % surface water in world at our disposable and can be used constructively
Because of using Medicinal Herbs, the fabrics also have a lot of therapeutic value,thus, the fabric has been found very helpful for people suffering from ailments like Skin allergies, Breathing problems, sleeping disorders, Blood pressure etc
The colours are unique and cannot be duplicated with any dyes, thus new shades are developed every time
Highly promoted agriculture
Balances the Ecology cycle completely
Waste can be used as manure
Made Bulk production a possibility through innovative tech.
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.
Versatility in process. Ability to dye on yarns, towels, knits. Fashion fabrics likevoile, silk etc. Home Furnishing like Jute etc
No heavy metals like chrome, copper etc used unlike natural /Herbal Ayurvedic dyeing
Organic clothing can help reduce exposure to allergens and other irritants and give a comfortable feeling.
Manual farming and organic practices have a lower carbon footprint as the entire process consumes less fuel and energy and emits fewer greenhouse gases compared to chemical textiles.
Grown with natural rather than synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, no chemical defoliants used.
Eco-friendly processing that does not compromise workers’ health and helps reduce and electric use and toxic runoff.
Strict testing ensures the absence of contaminants like nickel, lead, formaldehyde,amines, pesticides and heavy metals.
People with allergies and chemical sensitivity especially benefit from organic cotton clothing, as conventional cotton may retain harmful toxic residues. Even if you don’t have sensitive skin, organic cotton will just feel better against your skin.
Children are at greater risk for pesticide-related health problems than adults.Millions of children in the US receive up to 35% of their estimated lifetime dose of some carcinogenic pesticides by age five through food, contaminated drinking water, household use, and pesticide drift.
Farm workers working in conventionally grown cotton fields around the worldsuffer from an abundance of toxic exposures and related health problems.Pesticides used on cotton cause acute poisonings and chronic illness to farmworkers worldwide. Acute respiratory symptoms and other health effects incommunities surrounding cotton farms are correlated with high use of defoliation chemicals.