Dyes and Dyeing

The art of dyeing dates back thousands of years to the use of natural dyes extracted from plants and animals. Some dyes, such as Tyrian purple obtained from shellfish, were so rare that only emperors and kings could afford to wear purple—hence the term “royal purple.” The modern dye industry started 150 years ago with the discovery of “mauve,” the first synthetic dye. Since then, thousands of dyes have been developed to work with all types of fabrics.