"On January 11, at Maronie exhibition in Kyoto. Gyeongnam Natural Dyeing Association of Korea held a six-day exhibition in Kyoto which is said to be a city of traditional culture in Japan.
Nine members of Gyeongnam Natural Dyeing Association introduced various kinds of natural dyeing products that were made with passion, which received good comments from not only Japanese public but also from the experts of the same industry. Let’s take a closer look at this globally recognized and beautiful field of natural dyeing.
Gyeongbuk Natural Dyeing Association declared that it will become a Mecca of the natural dyeing after hosting ‘Symposium for the Vitalization of the Natural dyeing Industry’ last June. (Photograph: Fashion Journal)
Natural dyes, the solution of Health and environment
In the Three Kingdom period, while the kings and nobles wore the silk costumes which were imported from China, commoners began to dress themselves with the naturally-dyed clothes. At the beginning, they used grass and polygonum indigo from mountains and fields for navy, persimmon for dark blue, and charcoal for black.
In other words, Korean ancestors wore naturally colored clothes, which are totally different from the modern clothes with unnatural colors made from artificial fibers and chemical compounds.
Naturally-dyed clothes do good to skin. Some clothes with chemical dyes cause atopic dermatitis or other skin diseases to some children who have a sensitive skin. However, considering the fact that natural dyes come from vegetables are harmless to human, it can be said that clothes improve our quality of life.
While the chemical dyes can cause serious environmental problems with waste water in dyeing process, natural dyes reduce those damage which can be said an environmental-friendly dyeing method.
In addition, if we make clothes with natural dyes which are extracted from the plants that have unique ingredients or smells to protect them from the harmful insects or animals, it will also protect our body. An example, some ancestors used "polygonum indigo" as a dyeing material from their knowledge that snakes dislike its smell.
Exhibition by Gyeongnam Natural Dyeing Association in Kyoto. Muffler(left) by Lee Kyung-ran, representative and printed scarf by You Chang-ho, the chairman of the association (Photograph: Fashion Journal)
Despite the processing time and hard work needed, it can be considered a ‘Must Try’ among foreigners
Then, what is the process of making such a wonderful natural dye? The beautiful naturally-dyed cloth can be made only after passing through 20 manual labor steps, such as boiling, drying, and adding mordant in it.
Mordant is an ingredient which helps the color last longer. As it requires a long time and hard work, accordingly the cost also rises and become more expensive than the artificial colored-one..."
Edited until here but do read more here
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