Botanical And Natural Dyes

The forgotten colors

A journey into natural dyes

Before factories, formulas, and synthetic pigments, color came from life itself.

It was coaxed from roots, leaves, bark, minerals, and even insects — each hue carrying meaning, medicine, and story. Across the world, color was not decoration but status, ceremony, and power.

One of the most prized colors in history was Tyrian Purple, extracted from the hypobranchial gland of the Murex brandaris sea snail that lives along the Mediterranean coast.

It took as many as 250,000 snails to produce enough dye for a single royal robe. The process was slow, pungent, and sacred — a ritual of transformation where the milky secretion turned green, then deep violet when kissed by sunlight.

Archaeological remains of purple-dye workshops in Tyre, Sidon, and Crete reveal mountains of crushed shells — the ruins of an industry that perfumed empires. For centuries, Tyrian Purple was more valuable than gold, worn only by emperors and priests.

But humanity’s relationship with natural color began long before that. The oldest known dyed textiles, discovered in Henan Province, China, date back over 4,000 years, colored with madder, indigo, and turmeric — the same trio of plants still used today in Bali.

From the Mediterranean snails to the rivers of Asia

Search for color has always been a search for life itself

By the 18th century, another pigment — Indigofera tinctoria, or true indigo — had taken its place as the world’s most coveted dye. Indigo was the second most valuable traded good on the Silk Road after rice, known as “blue gold.” It colored the fabrics of kingdoms from Persia to India and across the Indonesian archipelago.

Then, in 1856, a young British chemist named William Henry Perkin accidentally created the first synthetic dye — Mauveine, or “Perkin’s Purple” — while searching for a cure for malaria. Within a few decades, synthetic colors replaced centuries of botanical knowledge.

With them disappeared an entire way of knowing — the spiritual, ecological, and cultural relationship between human and plant.

At RIMMBA, our work is an act of remembering.

Each piece we dye, each leaf and root we stir, is part of a much older conversation — one that honors what color once meant: connection, ceremony, and the living intelligence of nature.

🔬 How Natural Dyes Are Made

Natural dyeing

ancestral craft and applied chemistry

Plant pigment is extracted from leaves, bark, wood, roots, fruit skins, and seeds through soaking, maceration, fermentation, or gentle heat. While many botanical dyes release pigment through warm-water extraction, some of the world’s oldest dye systems — such as indigo vat dyeing and mud-dyeing — use microbes, minerals, tannins, and controlled fermentation instead of heat. These cold-process traditions remain central to Indonesian and global textile heritage. Once the dye bath is prepared, fibres are immersed and slowly take up pigment. Most plant dyes require heat during immersion to help colour penetrate and bind to the fibre. Indigo, however, is dyed cold in a reduced (oxygen-free) vat and turns blue only when exposed to oxygen. Mud dyeing likewise develops tone without heat through repeated cycles of tannin soaking, contact with iron-rich soil, and sunlight. Oxidation, drying, mineral content, and pH all play essential roles in final tone and stability. Natural colour bonds into the fibre — not just on the surface — creating depth, nuance, and character that evolves beautifully with wear.

🧪 Mordants

Fixing the colour

Mordants are fixers

Mordants help colour form a stable chemical bond with the fibre so the dye remains wash-fast, light-fast, and long-lasting. Mordants can be plant-derived or refined mineral salts. As the Canadian dye house MAIWA explains:

“Mordants are used in combination with natural dyes to make the colours lightfast and washfast. Some mordants, like alum, prepare the cloth to receive the dye and do not add their own colour; others, like myrobalan, tannin and iron, will impart a colour to the cloth and can be used to significantly alter the colour of a dye.”
— MAIWA

Indonesia has a long tradition of using 100% plant-based mordants, particularly within community dyeing cultures. As Threads of Life shares:

“We use time-tested, colour-fast traditional Indonesian dye recipes using plant dyes and plant mordants, and without synthetic modifiers.”
— Threads of Life

At RIMMBA, we practice both traditions with intention and transparency. For indigenous dyeing practices — including mud-dyeing and morinda (mengkudu) red — we use Symplocos leaf, a natural high-tannin mordant historically used in Indonesia. For other colourways, we use alum sulphate, a refined, non-toxic mineral salt that provides consistency and durability for luxury silk garments designed for long wear. Both approaches are ethical, culturally respectful, and selected for performance, integrity, and longevity.

🎨 Modifiers

Shifting the Tone

Modifiers affect the colour tone

Modifiers adjust colour after dyeing by changing the chemical environment of the fibre. Minerals like iron deepen and “sadden” tones — turning yellow to olive, or red to plum.

Acidity and alkalinity also shift hue: vinegar or lemon can brighten warm tones, while chalk or wood ash can cool or deepen colour. Some materials, such as iron and tannin, can act as both mordants and modifiers — meaning they help fix colour and simultaneously reshape its tone. Modifiers demonstrate the reactive, living nature of botanical colour — a spectrum shaped by pH, minerals, plant chemistry, and time.

♻️ Sustainability

Controversy in Natural Dyeing

Are natural dyes really sustainable?

Natural dyes are often described as “sustainable” — but the truth is more complex.

Botanical dyeing is not automatically low-impact simply because the pigment comes from plants. Like any textile process, it carries environmental responsibilities that must be faced with honesty, not marketing language.

Natural dyes involves chemistry too. Many traditional mordants and auxiliaries — such as tannins, iron, and alum — can alter soil composition and affect microbial life when disposed of carelessly. Even “natural” substances, when concentrated or repeated, can have consequences.

Indigo dye vats operate in an alkaline environment, often reaching elevated pH levels depending on the recipe. If indigo wastewater released untreated, it can shift soil alkalinity and disturb the delicate balance of garden ecosystems.

At RIMMBA, we take this seriously.

We neutralize pH before disposal, reuse dye baths wherever possible, and remain mindful of how our small garden dyeing practice interacts with the land around it.

Sustainability, for us, means accountability — not assuming that “natural” equals harmless, but learning to work with nature responsibly, chemistry included.

Water Use & the Reality of Dye Volume

We are in a global water crisis — and textile production contributes to it. Botanical dyeing requires water to extract pigment, soak fibre, and rinse fabric. Even with thoughtful reuse and careful planning, natural dyeing still consumes water.

Eco-print — where leaves and flowers are pressed directly into the fibre — is arguably the most water-efficient natural dye practice, because it eliminates extraction baths and reduces rinsing. It is slow craft at its purest, but not scalable in the same way as immersion dyeing.

Transparency here matters: natural colour is beautiful and alive — but it is not “impact-free.” Responsible dyeing acknowledges what it uses, not just what it avoids.

Sourcing, Land & Plant Use

At RIMMBA, we work with colour in rhythm with nature. We are seasonal dyers, meaning we harvest and dye according to what the land offers and when it offers it. Many of our colours come directly from our garden in Ubud and from friends who grow dye plants on their land. Because we operate intentionally at a small batch scale — we do not need to produce large volumes to sustain our business — we can afford to dye slowly and only from what is naturally available.

We grow and gather plants such as marigold, mango leaf, mangosteen, annatto, and onion skins, following the natural cycles of growth and rest. We also work with by-products and food waste — including avocado pits, rambutan skins and mangosteen skins — giving new life to materials that would otherwise be discarded. This practice supports circularity and avoids unnecessary pressure on agricultural land.

Limitations of Natural Dye Colour

A key limitation of natural dyeing is that botanical colours can soften and shift over time. Unlike synthetic dyes engineered for permanence, plant pigments are alive — they respond to sunlight, wear, and the natural oils of the skin. Rather than treating this as a flaw, we honour it as part of the beauty of true botanical colour: it develops a gentle patina, becoming more personal to the wearer. This is the nature of living pigment, and we choose it for its harmony with the body, the land, and our commitment to avoiding harsh chemical dye residues.

Limitations of Scaling Natural Dyeing

There are also limitations in scaling natural dye production responsibly. Consistent results require stable dyestuff supply, controlled mordant systems, wastewater management, batch logging, and skilled hands. It is not a process that can be rushed or industrialised without compromising integrity. At RIMMBA, we scale with intention — partnering with experienced natural dye houses, building traceable systems, and prioritising craft over volume. Growth is possible, but never at the expense of ecological responsibility or authenticity.

🌸 The Colors of Bali

In Bali, color is sacred language

A dialogue between earth, sky, and spirit

Each hue holds direction, energy, and divine association. Together they form the Panca Warna — the Five Sacred Colors that guide ritual life across the island.

From temple banners to ceremonial textiles, these colors express Tri Hita Karana, the philosophy of harmony between the divine, the human, and the natural realms.

🌺 Bali’s Ancient Palette

Organic Dyes in Bali

Color extracted from nature with balinese traditions.

🔴 Red — The Blood of the Earth

From the roots of Morinda citrifolia (mengkudu) flows the color of life — the red of blood, earth, and creation.

In an ancient inscription from 883 AD in Sukawana, mamangkudu (red-dyers) and mangnila (indigo artisans) were listed as professions exempt from royal taxes, proof that over a thousand years ago, dyeing was considered sacred work. Source : ATS

In Sumba, this same red colors sacred ikat textiles used in rites of passage. In Balinese philosophy, it represents Brahma, fire, and the feminine force of fertility — the heartbeat of Ibu Pertiwi, Mother Earth.

🔵 Blue — The Breath of Sky and Water

Born from the leaves of Indigofera tinctoria and Strobilanthes cusia, indigo’s transformation from green to blue is a quiet alchemy — water meeting air.

In Tenganan Pegringsingan, indigo is so sacred it cannot be fermented within the village walls; it must be prepared beyond the temple boundary, purified, and brought back only when ready.

Blue belongs to Siwa, the god of transformation — the masculine principle, representing sky, breath, and consciousness. Together with mengkudu’s red, it forms the balance of earth and heaven, body and soul.

🟡 Yellow — The Sun’s Blessing

From batu pare (yellow ochre of Ketewel) and turmeric roots comes the color of the sun — Mahadeva’s hue of wisdom, prosperity, and light.

It shines through offerings, temple parasols, and woven cloths, embodying warmth, clarity, and abundance.

⚫ Black — The Ancestors’ Shade

Traditionally dyed from camplung fruit — as documented in the Balinese natural-dye film The Colour of Bali (2022) — black carries a quiet power in ritual textiles.

It is the colour of protection, grounding, and everything that lives beyond the visible world. In temple cloths, black marks the realm of Wisnu, guardian of the northern direction, water, and preservation — stabilising, steady, and protective. A shade that holds the weight of memory and the presence of those who came before.

⚪ White — The Breath of Spirit

Made from tulang babi guling (powdered pigs bone) and river clay, white signifies purity, light, and renewal.

It belongs to Iswara, the god of air and clarity — the color of balance and awakening that unites all others.

✨ The Taksu of Color

Balinese spirituality in colors

Religious beauty of balinese pigments

In Balinese belief, true beauty carries taksu — the unseen spiritual radiance that gives life to a creation.

The same sacred energy flows through the natural pigments used in Barong masks, Wayang Kulit puppets, Kamasan paintings, and merajan (family shrines).

The red from mengkudu brings courage; the black from camplung anchors protection; the white bone invites purity.

When artisans paint, carve, or dye with these plant-based colors, they do not just decorate — they awaken spirit.

As Balinese say, “Taksu datang kalau hati bersih” — Taksu comes when the heart is pure.

🌏 Ancestral Threads

Across the Archipelago

Natural Dyes in Indonesia

Beyond Bali, Indonesia holds one of the world’s richest dye legacies — a living archive of color that stretches from Java’s riverbanks to the limestone plains of Sumba.

In Sumba, women still dye with morinda and indigo under strict taboos: men may not enter the dyeing house, and rituals must be performed before each vat is stirred.

As documented by Threads of Life, the vats themselves are treated as living spirits; prayers are whispered to the dye, and the first cloth dipped becomes an offering to the ancestors. The towering roofs of Sumbanese homes are said to bridge the sky and the earth — the same invisible connection that links the dyer’s hands to those who came before.

Unlike Bali, where sacred knowledge is preserved in lontar palm-leaf manuscripts, Sumba has no written scripture — its cosmology is woven directly into cloth. As The Rahayu Project beautifully describes, “the textile is the text.” Every motif, from the kaheli crocodile to the nunga serpent, records genealogies, mythic origins, and the balance between the seen and unseen worlds. To weave is to remember.

In Java, soga brown is created from tingi bark (Ceriops tagal) and tegeran wood (Cudrania javanensis), while in Toraja, rust reds and deep blacks mark ancestral lineage and the journey to the afterlife. Across these islands, color is not merely aesthetic — it is a language of belonging, an inherited cosmology written in plant, soil, and fiber.

🌸 A Living Revival

every hue is an act of cultural revival

Traditions of the natural dyes

Through the rhythm of boiling water, fermenting leaves, and patient stirring, we reconnect to an older way of living — one that honours slowness, reciprocity, and respect for the land.

To wear naturally dyed silk is to wear a fragment of memory — a color born from the meeting of sunlight, soil, and sacred water.

It is to carry a story that once travelled along trade routes, across islands and generations.

🌸 RIMMBA is not just about fashion.

The return of color to its original form

Color as prayer, as medicine, as art

While much of Bali’s dye heritage is rooted in sacred plants like mengkudu and mengnila, at RIMMBA we also celebrate the everyday alchemy of nature — the unexpected colors that bloom from our kitchens and gardens.

Marigolds, avocado seeds, mangosteen peels, hibiscus flowers, and mango leaves — each carries its own magic, creating shades once considered fleeting but now reclaimed as living color.

These are not the dyes of royal looms or ancient inscriptions — they are modern botanical dyes, born from the same curiosity and reverence for the Earth.

Through them, we continue the lineage of exploration, turning local abundance into wearable art.