I'm a complete sucker for all things pretty and pink, and recently I've become obsessed with natural plant based dyes. Imagine my sheer delight when I stumbled upon Botanical Colour at your Fingertips by Rebecca Desnos with a complete section on dyeing with avocado pits and skins. The unexpected palette of blush pink and dusty rose produced from the avocado is a little incredible, and I'm so excited to share a little more of this process!
First things first.
What is avocado dye?
When I tell people about this, the general reaction is surprise and mild skepticism. But for some reason, the plant waste of skins and pits (the lovely people in the UK have such a more refined term for it, they call them stones) can create a gorgeous dye bath of deep crimson red with tones of rust orange. And then that leads to the next question.
Why avocado dye?
Not only is the process completely natural and organic, but I'm a big proponent of responsible production and consumption, and a major way to contribute is by reducing waste. Taking plant discards to produce dye is significant in 2 ways:
1.) It allows a secondary purpose for the avocado, therefore maximizing the utilization of the resource. What is conventionally considered as trash or garbage is repurposed to create something beautiful, special and completely one-of-a-kind.
2.) Dyeing in a small batch process with natural baths reduces the use of synthetic, commercial dyes. It's non-toxic, safe and overall, just really great for the sustainability and the environment.
We dyed two designs in the collection, the LAUREN and the MEADOW, and we couldn't have been happier with the results. Isn't it amazing that these beautiful shades of peachy pink were created using an all-natural dye bath of organic avocado stones and skins? The process takes 7 days to pre-treat, launder and hand-dye to produce this lovely palette with a texture of washed vintage linen.
The garments are completely one of a kind, with subtle gradient of color through the fabric. The variations are natural and beautiful, resembling slight feathering of color like whimsical watercolor strokes. Each dress is completely unique in color and wash, and is hand dyed with love and care.
