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For some of our garments we work with the traditional process of hand block printing. This artisan technique of making clothes has been practised for many centuries in India and is famously known as Block Printing. It’s a complex and labour-intensive craft that involves a variety of skills at different stages: carving the block (usually done by craftsmen), preparing the cloth, mixing the dyes, and finally the printing, dyeing, and washing steps, which can be repeated several times to obtain a final colour and design.
Today, however, trends in Indian fashion are rapidly moving towards the use of synthetic clothes and western designs. These aesthetic changes are happening because the export market demands novelty in a way that the traditional market did not. Ancient printing techniques promote slow fashion because these prints take time. Meaning in our fast paced and commercial world, slow and ethical fashion is gradually being squeezed out.
It would be devastating if these traditional techniques were lost. Which is why we are on a mission to keep the tradition of Block Printing alive by working with skilled artisans who practise this artful technique. Our clothes are uniquely made by hand, which means when you purchase and wear your KLEED garment, you are part of this traditional clothemaking heritage.
We are continuously working towards using non chemical dyes to produce our exclusive prints. Of course it would be easier and cheaper to use chemical dyes, however these are detrimental to our environment. As a lot of our prints use blue tones, we decided to work with natural indigo. When done naturally, indigo dyeing is one of the most ecological dying methods because the dye is taken from local materials that can be planted and produced sustainably.
Indigo is a pigment extracted from the leaves of indigo-bearing plants and is the oldest natural source of blue dye in the world. However in recent years, natural indigo has been replaced by synthetic indigo, which is very toxic.
The city of Bagru, India, is known around the world for natural coloured hand block printing, natural dyeing, indigo dyeing, mud block print, and mud tie dye.These sustainable printing and dyeing methods have been used for thousands of years. The source materials for natural dyes are not only plentiful but also harmless and non-pollutant. The extracted plant residue can be composted, and the wastewater generated during the indigo dye collection process can also be used as irrigation for recycling.
As a result, it is a truly sustainable dyeing method. For our future collections, we will implement more natural dyeing processes in the manufacturing of our garments as much as possible.
