While most of the colors used in our dresses, towels and other fabrics are synthetic, do you know that there are natural dye makers who create green dyes from the herbs such as Tulasi and Bringaraj (Karisalankanni), brown dye from Vettiver,  Red and Pink dye from Sappan Wood, Yellow from Turmeric, etc? 

Fabrics made using natural dyes and organic cotton are great not just for the wearer and manufacturer but for Planet Earth too. To highlight the value of Nature Dyeing, a one-day National Conference and Trade Conclave on Natural Dyeing and Handloom - Impact on Environment, Human Wellness, and Business Innovation was organized by Kumaraguru College of Technology’s Department of Fashion Technology and KCT Business School on Friday. 

This event was held in collaboration with The Gandhigram Rural Institute; Quality Council of India; Ayurvastra and Textile Sector Skill Council. This program was designed to serve as a platform for dialogue on sustainable practices in the handloom and textile industry.

Priyadarshini, Head, Fashion Technology, KCT welcomed the gathering; Prof. A.Pavendhan, Associate Dean – Textile Cluster, KCT highlighted the Textile Cluster in KCT, Mary Cherian, Head – KCT B-School shared the insights on sustainable business and G.Ramakrishnan, Principal Investigator- AICTE IKS Project at KCT highlighted about the AICTE IKS Project.

Prof. Ramakrishnan shared that when they announced this National Conference, it received an overwhelming response of nearly 75 abstracts, and registration of over 130 participants in just 20 days. This shows that natural dyeing is one of the major areas of focus in India, and it is supported by the Indian knowledge system to transform things in sustainable manner in line with SDG of the United Nations.

The Chief Guest, Deepti Gupta, Professor at IIT Delhi delivered the keynote address. She highlighted the various challenges that natural dyeing sector and stressed that developing an ecosystem for natural dyeing is the need of the hour.

C. Venugopal, Advisor, National Board for Quality Promotion (NBQP), Quality Council of India, releaseed the Book of Abstracts during the event. A Trade Conclave on Natural Dyeing and Handloom was held at the Fashion Technology block of KCT.