Showcasing the best of global developments in textiles and accessories created especially for all the major high-street chains of both men’s and women’s clothing retailers, the 6th edition of the London Textile Fair witnessed the presence of over 120 exhibitors mainly from Europe, including mills from Italy, UK, Turkey, Japan, Spain, France and Portugal. The exhibitors’ profile was very wide from manufacturers of knitted and woven yarns to textile mills to freelance designers and even importers of textiles and accessories. Reporting first-hand on the exhibition, Toolika Gupta, a London based Fashion and Textile Consultant for FASHION FORWARD TRENDS highlights one of the most innovative discoveries unveiled at the event for the season of Autumn/Winter 2013-14…
Over the years the fair has grown to have a major influence on the fashion scene in London, recognized not only for its large variety of textiles for both apparel and home furnishings, but also displaying the entire chain of accessories right from leather and woven linings, to all kinds of zippers and pullers, hangtags, embroideries and patches, straps, studs and rivets, tags, packaging, personalized accessories to a variety of buttons including glass, shell and horn along with natural trims. Many exhibitors are using the platform to launch new concepts and explore fashion for the future.
This year’s event was spread over 150 stalls, 120 of which were exhibitors and the balance 30 were trend forecasters, print studios and accessory developers. Amongst the vast range of fabrics, the focus of attention was on sustainable options – from natural fibres to recycled and synthetic ones which are predicted to be the next green future of the world.
Tabocco Dyes
The newly launched company, Ploughboy Organics, presented its breakthrough discovery which transforms the tobacco plant into a renewable resource, usable by the textile industry. The company seeks to establish profitable global business through the reinvention of tobacco as a sustainable organic dye and fibre. Determined that the tobacco plant could be utilized not only as a dye, but also as a fibre that can be blended with most yarns such as cotton, wool, silk and cashmere to name a few, this patent pending technology has significance because it allows organic, non- toxic dyeing to be done on a larger commercial level scale.
Managing to create a buzz at the event, the company has been able to create a palette of over 30 exquisite colours in a wide variety of hues raging from white, off-white, rust, green and gold, apart from various shades of terracotta, moving far beyond the myth of tobacco being able to produce only shades of brown. Beautifully named after rocks and metals and other natural elements, the dyes are called ‘AVANI – Dyes of the Earth’ and the fibres ‘Onatah Fibers’. Elaborating on the features of the development, Steve Bender, President/CEO of the company said, “Suzanne DeVall, the founder, Chairman of the board, has long been working on these dyes. She is an inventor and visionary. These are water soluble dyes, made from organically grown tobacco field waste. The colour range is from yellow to dark brown, but when combined with other natural colours, the colour range extends to include oranges, reds, blues and purples, green, grey and black.”
The innovation further utilizes specialized equipment that requires a fraction of the water used by conventional dyes and leaves virtually no toxic waste by products in the environment. Unlike almost all the natural dyes, barring a few exceptions like indigo that need a mordant to bring out rich colours, these dyes require no mordant.
The best part is they use very little water as compared to the traditional dyeing methods, thereby reducing pollution while saving on water consumption. “Also important is the fact that we are using tobacco waste – which means we use discarded leaves of the tobacco plant that are not used by the tobacco industry and the stalk of the plant, comprising waste over 9 million tonnes in North Carolina in the US alone.” adds Steve.
With the commercial implication of the dye, this process offers the marketplace a completely organic and natural dye that is comparatively low in cost with respect to many organic dyeing methods available today and also eliminates the need to purify toxic water expelled by conventional dye processes.
On their way to becoming the next bestselling innovation for the dyeing industry, these dyes can colour all natural fibres including wool, silk, cotton, hemp, bamboo, viscose and linen. The limitation so far is that they are yet not usable on manmade material.
