Au naturel

As the fashion industry takes a closer look at its environmental and human impact, some fashion makers are turning to plant-based dyes to lessen their contribution to pollution in waterways; according to the World Bank, approximately 20 per cent of global industrial water pollution is attributed to the dyeing and treatment of textiles. At her Toronto-based label Nusha, designer Aneta Sofronova taught herself to naturally add colour to fabrics such as cotton and hemp using plant-based materials such as tea and trees through trial and error. Unlike their lab-made counterparts, Sofronova says that natural dyes can be unpredictable, varying from vat to vat and even plant to plant because of conditions such as soil minerality and time of harvest. But whatever challenge that inconsistency may pose for large production runs is a special bonus for smaller makers. “It just makes each piece so much more unique and personal because it’s just this one singular tree in this one region that gives you this one specific colour,” Sofronova says. To that end, Sofronova offers natural-dye workshops for those interested in breathing new life into textiles.