Sustainability in the fashion industry and the resurgence of natural dyes

challenges and possibilities in the 21st century

Abstract

This article intends to address how ecological sustainability and the care with industrial waste started to be discussed in fashion. It is considered that to be in fashion is to have a concern for the environment, for sustainable development and to do something that contributes to change the current directions of consumption and enable the interaction between man and nature in a more harmonious way. Rethinking the productive cycles and the forms of exploitation and interface with the forest and the environment is precisely the paradigm of the coming years, and the so-called green recovery. The dyeing of textile design products with natural dyes is a unique cultural expression and cannot be compared only in terms of efficiency in relation to the use of synthetic and industrial dyes. A disadvantage of natural dyes, regardless of the plant source, is the low concentration of dye present in the extracts obtained. Concentrating the extract through evaporation consumes a large amount of energy. An interesting aspect of natural dyes that has been addressed in the literature is the antimicrobial activity of the raw material for its extraction. In the current context, the sustainable character is no longer considered only as a differentiator, but as something essential, leading to the need to use materials that are not harmful to the environment, such as renewable materials and, more specifically, the use of natural dyes as raw material for the design of textile products, constituting an important part in sustainable development.