COTTON COLOURED WITH AYURVEDIC PLANTS
Our cotton is coloured according to the wisdom of Ayurveda at a small dye-house in the southern forests of Kerala. Using 100% natural plant dyes rich in medicinal properties, the fabrics are known locally as 'healing cloths' used more for health than for fashion.
With a 7000-year history, India's ancient Ayurvedic medicine is a trusted science of the mind, body and spirit that gives much honour to the power of plants. Used to treat all manner of problems from minor ailments to life threatening diseases, it is impossible to overstate the magic of this medicine. Not only is Ayurveda used to cure, but also to prevent. It is an all encompassing way of life that can be used to elevate even the most mundane daily tasks; even something as simple as slipping on underwear.
Each of our natural colours is achieved using somewhere between 25 and 50 mindfully selected herbs, plants, flowers, roots and barks. The 100% vegan dye baths (consisting of no smashed insects - a common ingredient in most natural dyes) are boiled at a controlled temperature before being filtered, dried, softened with natural ingredients such as coconut oil, and left in the dark to fixate. In Sanskrit, the Hindu language of worship, this process of fabric dyeing is referred to as 'ayurvastra', loosely translating to healthy clothing. Like most Ayurvedic practices, it aims to restore the body’s natural equilibrium.
With a 7000-year history, India's ancient Ayurvedic medicine is a trusted science of the mind, body and spirit that gives much honour to the power of plants. Used to treat all manner of problems from minor ailments to life threatening diseases, it is impossible to overstate the magic of this medicine. Not only is Ayurveda used to cure, but also to prevent. It is an all encompassing way of life that can be used to elevate even the most mundane daily tasks; even something as simple as slipping on underwear.
Each of our natural colours is achieved using somewhere between 25 and 50 mindfully selected herbs, plants, flowers, roots and barks. The 100% vegan dye baths (consisting of no smashed insects - a common ingredient in most natural dyes) are boiled at a controlled temperature before being filtered, dried, softened with natural ingredients such as coconut oil, and left in the dark to fixate. In Sanskrit, the Hindu language of worship, this process of fabric dyeing is referred to as 'ayurvastra', loosely translating to healthy clothing. Like most Ayurvedic practices, it aims to restore the body’s natural equilibrium.
EACH OF OUR NATURAL COLOURS IS ACHIEVED USING SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 25 AND 50 MINDFULLY SELECTED HERBS, PLANTS, FLOWERS, ROOTS AND BARKS.
View our dye-house photo gallery HERE.
Best of all, these plants offer an alternative to the poisons of the typical synthetic dyeing process. Your skin – the body’s largest organ – will no longer be soaking up the text book of unstudied chemicals found in artificial dyes. Innocent employees will no longer be handling carcinogenic chemicals. And small rivers - often those used for bathing, washing clothes, and drinking - will no longer be tarnished by mismanaged toxic waste.
Below you will find the health benefits and details of just a few of the plants that are most concentrated in our natural dyes. We certainly don’t think that wearing our underwear will change your life or cure diseases. But surely there is some health benefit to be found in exchanging toxins for medicinal plants...
AN ENTIRE GARDEN OF GOODNESS...
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NEEM (AZADIRACHTA INDICA)In some parts of India the neem leaf and flower are considered so special that they play a role in weddings, festivals, celebrations and worship. It is often consumed in the summer months to balance the Ayurvedic dosha of pitta, and consumed with jaggery to remind of the bitter and sweet tides of life.
Nimbin, the organic chemical compound derived from the neem plant, is thought to be the producer of the anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and antihistamine properties that make this plant so medicinally rich. Being widely available in India, this multipurpose plant is known affectionately as ‘the village pharmacy’. |
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HOLY BASIL / TULSI (OCIMUM SANCTUM)Coined ‘The Queen of Herbs’ and hailed as an ‘elixir of life’, the power of the Holy Basil Tulsi plant – used to achieve our green natural underwear – is considered unrivalled in Ayurvedic medicine. Through countless scientific studies it has been found to work through stresses of the body in physical, metabolic, chemical, and psychological form.
The benefits discovered span from improved cognitive function and memory to balanced blood glucose and lipid levels. An anti-depressant, an organ protector, a hand sanitiser, a mosquito repellant, a treatment for snakebites…. and now an underwear colourant. It seems there is nothing the little Tulsi shrub cannot do. |
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TURMERIC (CURCUMA LONGA)Everyone’s favourite curry spice, the benefits of turmeric are no longer the secret of Ayurvedic devotees. A potent antioxidant and immune booster, it has been proven to support the heart, brain, liver, nervous system, circulatory system…in fact there are very few parts of the body this root cannot care for.
You could coat your entire body in turmeric paste so that your skin inhales its benefits (as is tradition for many Indian brides) or you could just throw on one of our underwear sets. |
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ALOE VERAThe watery gel that seeps out of a snapped Aloe Vera leaf is 96% water, leaving just 4% to hold the magical concoction of vitamins, amino acids and enzymes that led the Egyptians to deem it the ‘plant of immortality’. According to Ayurvedic medicine, this lily family plant can be used to treat numerous health concerns from spleen disorders and asthma to skin burns and abdominal tumours.
We use aloe vera as part of our alternative to chemical bleaching, together with other natural ingredients like white rose, soap nut and sunlight. This natural whitening process takes place before colouring, ensuring the fabric used for our underwear and basics begins as a bright and pure surface without the tonal variations found in raw organic cotton. |
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FENUGREEK (TRIGONELLA FOENUM-GRAECUM)Some sources claim fenugreek’s usage dates back as far as 4000 BC; found in both Indian Ayurvedic medicine and Chinese medicine, and used by the Greeks and Romans in centuries gone by. Packed with vitamins A and C, iron, copper, calcium, zinc, folic acid and more, it is used for simple healings like a sore throat or improper digestive system, as well as more complex jobs like reducing hyperglycemia in diabetics.
Brimming with power from the stems to the twigs, this ‘lucky legume’ is a bountiful addition to our natural dyes. |
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SAPPANWOOD (CAESALPINIA SAPPAN LINN)Also known as East Indian Redwood or Pathimugam, the flowering sappan tree is indigenous to India, used in the southern states to purify water and prevent the spread of disease.
Praised in the Tibetan Medical Encyclopaedia and written about by many Ayurvedic scholars, it is commonly used to ease abdominal pain following childbirth, rectify blood disorders, and counterbalance damages caused by excessive intake of caffeine, alcohol and western medicine. Naturally colouring underwear is just one of sappan’s many impressive tricks. |
When starting Monsoon Blooms we embarked on a fairly substantial learning quest to find out as much as we could about organic cotton farming, natural plant dyeing and ethical manufacturing - specifically in the context of India. If you're a little intrigued by the topic, you can view our resource list HERE. You can also view the complete farm to front door journey of Monsoon Blooms underwear and apparel HERE.