A technology that will produce natural and eco-friendly dyes was invented by the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST). Synthetic dyes are now recognized in the market, while natural dyes are forgotten. But as people becomes environment-conscious the demand for natural dyes increases. Natural dyes can be acquired from bark, wood, roots, berries, lichens, insects, shellfish and flowers. The growing demand resulted to the development of different study and advanced programs that would support the production of environment-friendly textile products.
That is why PTRI had the project Pilot Scale Verification of Selected Natural Dye Powder Production and Textile Application Technologies. PTRI team was lead by Julius Leaño and assisted by the Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD) of the DoST. They focus on seven dye sources which include annatto, mahogany, duhat, talisay, yellow ginger, sampalok and indigo. The sources showed satisfactory results on colorfastness assessment. The color consistency and reproducibility of the particular dye sources were also enhanced. The natural dye powder will have long shelf life and reproducibility The technology was advanced under the Technology Business Incubation (TBI) of the DoST. They are now accepting interested institutions that can comply with the requirements and regulations of the PTRI. [via mb.com.ph]