Our Colour
Current colour palette
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Campeche
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Rubea
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Pale Rubea
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Luteola
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Castaneda
Method
ao textiles offers a unique service combining a natural dye colour consultancy with bespoke textile production for the luxury market.
We have developed techniques that revive heritage alongside modern production methods; in particular, the use of natural colour from plants for contemporary textile production.
Our colour is sourced from sustainable botanicals, including plant dyes such as madder root, weld leaves and dye extracted from chestnut, and we can demonstrate that plant based colours can play a critical part in circular 21st century textile production.
ao embraces an environmentally conscious move away from the synthetic petroleum-based colours common in textile manufacture today. Our fabrics are created using naturally derived colours that are scalable, repeatable, and of the quality demanded by industry.
Sustainability Commitment
All aspects of textile production; from the replacement of synthetic colour with natural dyes to sustainably sourced silk yarn, obtained through an environmentally friendly process that does not involve the use of pesticides and plays a key role in supporting rural communities.
Certified by Oeko-tex Standard 100 certification. The ao textiles dyeing process received the stamp of approval from Greenpeace International’s Detox Fashion Campaign in 2013. Using 100% sustainably sourced Oeko-tex Standard 100, Class I-IV natural dyes, which are compliant with the requirements of the ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List V2.0.
Additionally, mordants and dyes are GOTS certified. The exhaustion process employed in the dyehouse reduces wastewater and dye to negligible levels. Excess heat from steam pipes is channelled via a heat exchanger into the drying cupboard to dry yarn using no additional energy. Production has been reduced to almost zero waste as all fabric is made to order. Any yarn that is not woven is donated to recycling charities and to students. Gainsborough fabrics are designed with longevity in mind and often exceed their expected life span of 25 years.
