Brummet's Conscious Blog

  Synthetic Dye and Its Impact on the Environment By Sarah Yeoh  Since the accidental discovery of the first synthetic dye, mauve, made from coal by William Henry Perkins in 1856, the use of natural dyes begin to phase out. And why not? Synthetic dyes are more colour fast, have a wide spectrum of colours that can be easily and accurately reproduced, cost less and can impart qualities such as making the cloth wrinkle free or even having a permanent, fashionable crease. It does seem quite the novel invention but have you ever paused to think; just what you are wearing actually harms the environment? Let us take a look at the ingredients used for manufacturing synthetic dye. Synthetic dye is usually made from aniline or chrome. While dyes made from aniline are less poisonous than aniline on its own, we need to think how aniline can impact not just the environment but the workers involved in the manufacturing process. Aniline's level of toxicity is not known ...