olour has been playing a dominant role in life of man from time immemorial.

Man has tried making colours from plant and flower juices  and  extracts  from certain organisms and has learnt to use different types of natural colouring matters to dye cloths prepared from cotton, linen, wool, silk, etc. Indigo, cutch, logwood, brazilwood, roots of the madder plant, turmeric, safflower, flowers of the myrobalan tree, saffron, vegetable and fruit skins are some of the natural dyestuffs used for colouring fabrics. Some of the rare animal dyes are used from shellfish, kermes and cochineal. Natural dyes are either substantive or adjective.
Substantive dyes need no mordant to fix the colour to the cloth fibre and sources include Indigo, certain lichens, the bark and heartwood of trees. Adjective dyes require mordants for fixing the colouring pigment permanently on the fibres of the cloth. Mordants include metallic salts of alum, iron and tin as well as salt, vinegar, slaked lime and solutions of certain leaves, fruits and woodash and cowdung. There is growing demand for naturally dyed products all over the world due to its eco-friendly nature.