Ethical Colour.
An exhibition by Colour of Saying at Switchboard Studios, Walthamstow in September 2024. It brought together responsible and regenerative colour practices that highlight key themes of: Waste & Reincorporation, Emissions, Pollution & Natural Regeneration, and Biotech Solutions.
Conceived by colour consultant Laura Perryman of Colour of Saying, Ethical Colour is an ongoing collaborative and interactive research project dedicated to nurturing and promoting responsible colour choices. It promotes climate-positive and regenerative colour sources, whilst also presenting progressive colour-makers whose work highlights circular systems and emerging innovations.
As part of London Design Festival 2024, the exhibition Ethical Colour was hosted at Switchboard Studios in Walthamstow, where on the day I visited, also provided a workshop on seasonal colour making with Hannah Elisabeth Jones and the aforementioned Laura Perryman.
This article provides an overview of the explored key themes — Waste and Reincorporation; Emissions; Pollution and Natural Regeneration; and Biotech Solutions — with introductions to the research of colour-makers: Jesse Adler, Colorifix, Phoebe Lewis, Ruth Lloyd, Hannah Elisabeth Jones, Indigo Garden, Kirstie van Noort, Jess Redgrave, Slow Painting Studio, and Studio Sarmite.
Images: Main exhibition space at Switchboard Studios showing the "colour tables". In shot are 'blues', 'pinks' and 'greens'.
01 Regenerative Nature.
An ethical approach to colour and materials (which increasingly are one and the same) means considering provenance, process, energy and impact as interconnected facets of one infinitely, intricate and nuanced living system.
Foraged palettes — Hannah Elisabeth Jones utilises neglected, native plants to create colour experiences that double as opportunities to re-engage with nature
Holistic hues — Phoebe Lewis and Jess Redgrave show how joined up, thinking around colour, sources can revitalise ecosystems and communities
Yellows.
How can colour flourish in regenerative agricultural systems?
Jess Redgrave — Climafibre from Jess Redgrave “encompasses textiles, dyes and coatings made entirely from sunflowers” through pigment extraction (using water and plant-based ethanol); colour isolation and separation (via chromatography column equipment); and creation of a hydroponic coating from sunflower oil (which increases textile usability, durability and longevity). As sunflowers are grown globally and are drought tolerant with extensive root systems (to counteract their height), this crop could be useful in improving soil health, intercropping for biodiversity and polycultures, and as a food-fashion byproduct ingredient e.g. if mainly petals are used for dye, seeds are used for food, then perhaps stalks can be utilised as a cellulosic fibre.
Images: 1-2. Exhibition table showing artefects of sunflower petals and oils; 3. Dyed garment using sunflower petals worn on a black male model in a garden surrounded by sunflowers [Credit: Jess Redgrave]; 4. Yellow dyes in progress on the workshop table.
Crimsons.
What if weeds were a valuable source of colour?
Hannah Elisabeth Jones — Lliw Lleol is a natural dye database charting the nuances of local berry and other plant-based hues in North Wales. It highlights the hue differences according to weather patterns and soil composition, along with effect of UV degradation on natural colour, particularly as the shades were not mordanted. Eliminating mordants and using slow heat to release pigments reduces environmental impacts, and using only abundant native species conserves ecosystem integrity. The by-products can also be composted to return as contribution.
Images: 1-3. Exhibition table for 'crimsons' showing Hannah Elisabeth Jones' artefacts of dyed fabric and yarns using locally-foraged weeds for red hues.
Greens.
What if colour could be harvested regeneratively from the ocean?
Phoebe Lewis — What this marine scientist and designer describes everywhere as “seaweedy work”, is a development of seaweed-based pigments for inks, dyes and paints (in collaboration with Dulux). Detatched seaweed was hand-foraged on beaches in the North East of England, avoiding over-harvesting in one location, but it seems there’s a suggestion of using seaweed farms for feedstock because this doesn’t compete for land or fresh water, and as with other folks’ projects, preserves ecosystem integrity. As seaweed is now farmed more abundantly for fuel, food and fertilisers, there’s arguably space for it to also be harvested for biomaterials such as this (in a regenerative way that supports the local communities and is used locally). Pigment extraction is again done using the chromatography column and plant-based ethanol, with any leftovers reincorporated as a “petroleum-free carbon black”.
Images: 1-3. Exhibition table for 'greens' showing Phoebe Lewis' artefacts for using seaweed to create dye pigments, with vials of liquid, dried pigment and a paint sample.
02 Transformative Waste.
Until now, our approach to waste has been colourblind. Resourceful colour processes look upon the remains of one process as food for the next. Waste’s material abundance makes it a necessary colour source, but through creative ingenuity, our rubbish can achieve a gorgeous metamorphosis.
Pre-loved hues — Studio Sarmite show how reclaiming colour from the things we used to love invests repurposed materials with new beauty and meaning.
Zero-waste — Slow Painting Studio reveals the untapped colour potential in our compost bins and teaches us how to make stunning shades in our kitchens.
Reclaimed shades — Kirstie van Noort transforms potentially hazardous mineral waste into evocative products that can be endlessly recycled.
Indigos.
Can colour help us love our waste?
Studio Sarmite — Exploring recycled denim textiles as a feedstock for a new indigo dye, specifically the shoddy short fibres and ‘dust’ from post-consumer textile recycling. This is mixed with a “small amount of water” to release pigment that can be applied conventionally through a dye vat, or combined with fibres and biobinders to create textile sheets [as shown in this example]. A key note from this project is that it highlights the need for industry protocols to protect workers from textile dust particulates. The examples show indigo ink and samples of non-woven textile created from varing amounts of fibre dust.
Images: 1-2. Exhibition table showing research artefacts for 'pre-loved indigos' from Studio Sarmite, including textile waste fibre, dye pigment, non-woven fabric sheets and information boards.
What if colour was community action?
Indigo Garden — At an allotment in Walthamstow, North London, beds of indigo varieties are grown and harvested for colour. Educational workshops and industry collaborations with the likes of Fantasy Fibre Mill raise awareness on the history (and colonialism) of dye and fibre crops and root resilience and adaptability into supply chains. They use low-impact growing practices including rain-watering, seaweed fertiliser, a rotation crop of winter broad beans for nitrogen-fixing, and spent leaves/stalks incorporated in compost. Alongside the examples of indigo pigment on the table were a jar of woad seeds (traditionally grown in Britain for blue pigment over the Japanese indigo varieties now commonly grown) and flax fibre in various stages.
Images: 1-3. Exhibition table for 'garden indigos' from Indigo Garden and Fantasy Fibre Mill, showing dyed indigo fabric, processed linen fibre, woad seeds, Japanese indigo pigment, dried Japanese indigo leaves, retted and hackled flax straw and information boards.
Blues.
What would a slow colour movement look like?
Slow Painting Studio — The focus is shifted here into kitchen labs, where food waste is preferred not simply for using it up, but for delighting in the everyday. Slow Painting Studio suggest taking a moment in your own home to observe and react. Foodstuffs tend to offer anthocynanins, which aren’t colour-fast or light-fast; ephemeral inks are produced, or if a longer-lasting pigment then it’s combined with sodium bicarbonate or potassium alum (the least harsh mordants). Remains are dried to create edible pigments.
Images: 1-3. Exhibition table for 'blues' from Slow Painting Studio showing samples of blue paints on paper derived from kitchen food waste scraps.
03 Biotech Solutions.
Bringing natural processes and human ingenuity together, bioengineered colour is a hugely exciting field characterised by creative partnerships between designers and scientists. With an estimated trillion species of microbes on Earth, and 99.9% of them yet to discover, the potential for innovation is unbounded.
Biosynthesised shades — Ruth Lloyd + Colorifix harness bacterial processes to create reliable, scalable dyes - and show us that industrial colour can be earth-kind.
Cultured colour — Jesse Adler reveals the cosmeceutical advantages of pigments derived from fungi, highlighting the vast potential of this colour source.
Pinks.
What if manufacturers could grow colour directly onto their textiles?
Ruth Lloyd + Colorifix — By applying biotechnology thinking to colour, Colorifix has developed “a lean model for dye production and application based on natural fermentation”; Ruth Lloyd is a PhD researcher supported by them. Pigment-producing DNA is identified e.g. from Streptomyces coelicolor and “translated into engineered organisms”, and then [I guess combined in a petri dish] with a culture of agar, soya flour and sugar, bacteria grows. A vial of this bacteria is provided to the client who can then replicate the culture at scale in their own facility. Colour can also be grown directly onto textiles, giving a bundle dyed effect.
Images: 1-2. Exhibition table for 'pinks' from Ruth Lloyd and Colorifix showing fabric samples in petri dishes dyed directly with bacteria, and a vial of bacterial culture; 3. Pink bacteria-dyed fabrics hung up in the exhibition space with other brightly-coloured fabrics in the background.
Browns.
Could fungi help clean up our colour cosmetics?
Jesse Adler — Alchemical Mycology illustrates the viability and benefits of cosmetic pigments derived from fungi through a range of cosmetics designed and made in a waste-free patent-pending process. Pigment-producing fungi were identified (perhaps by exploring the Mushroom Color Atlas, especially as their brand icons are incredibly similar 👀) and then cultures lab-grown to preserve ecosystem integrity. Solvents are recovered and recycled in a closed-loop system with leftover biomass compostable.
Images: 1-2. Exhibition table for 'browns' from Jesse Adler showing part of a mushroom, an eyeshadow made from mushroom pigment and a paint sample of brown fungal dye on paper.
Colours of Walthamstow.
For this specific exhibition, dyes and inks were made locally from resources in Walthamstow, E17. Visitors were invited to explore the little ceramic bowls of liquid on pieces of what appeared to be recycled post-consumer cotton paper.
There was:
Garden indigo pigment from Persicaria tinctoria leaves from Indigo Garden (I had access to a pigment from Bailiwick Blue).
Verdigris made from copper waste scraps acquired from Blackhorse Workshop.
Rust made from steel, iron and brass metal scraps from Blackhorse Workshop.
Indigo from denim textile offcuts from Blackhorse Lane Ateliers jeans factory.
Turmeric from food waste.
Purples from elderberries and bird cherry (foraged from streets).
Images: (top row r-l) 1-2. Exploring the pots of local colour by painting on small strips of paper to create my own Walthamstow artwork; 3. Other experimental colour samples presented carefully on the wall; (bottom row r-l) 1-3. Colours of Walthamstow colour samples on paper with ingredients, including turmeric, elderberry, denim waste, verdigris and indigo.
Seasonal colour making workshop.
Behind silky fabric panels, the workshop was in full swing. The table was covered in colour samples, dye pots and plant ingredients. Participants were moving around exploring their own hues. In another room, workshoppers were knelt on the floor hammering pigment out of fresh flowers onto textiles. I listened to the instructions and felt relieved when the host — Hannah Elisabeth Jones — was explaining the activity exactly how I explain it in my own hapa zome workshops. I appreciated the integration of the practical workshop within the exhibition; some of the research was far-fetched in the sense you’d need a lab and scientific knowledge, but here it was being shown you could create colour yourself with local plants, some heat and some water.
Images: 1-2. Workshop table full of dipped paper samples, dye pots full of fabric and yarn; 3. Floor where a hapa zome plant pounding workshop was going on.
Key takeaways.
Circularity model cards — these were presented with each table and showed how that particular solution was circular, including where products were made and where additional loops could be integrated. A large board on a wall explained that designers have a responsibility to provide clients with regenerative alternatives, but there’s a difficulty in knowing how to best advocate or what’s possible. When using circularity as a tool, ethically-informed choices can be encouraged; highlighted are colour/material origin, resource inputs for the process, resource outputs from the process, unintended but unavoidable byproducts from the process, the use phase, and how it would be recirculated.
Images: 1. Information board showing The Circularity Colour Model from Colour of Saying; 2. Small information board showing the example circularity model for Indigo Garden's indigo pigment.
Industry cards — questions were asked, for instance “how to implement for craft and interiors”, and presented next to a colour solution. This one for crimsons suggested to embrace a designed-to-fade aesthetic and to explore colours made within a small footprint of your local area. These were practically useful and helped to position these perhaps dreamland projects as viable. It’s about a mindset shift yes, but here are some simple ways to get there.
Images: Example of industry takeaway card for 'crimsons' and 'blues'.
Resource and energy usage cards — another small but impactful card to include with each solution was the ‘summary of resources and energy choices’ cards. Not particularly high in contextual data, but a useful snapshot to help in decision-making. This went hand-in-hand with the large information board regarding ‘A Guide to Ethical Colour Decision-Making’ that unpicked the Design, Source, Process and In Use phases where a designer and client would have to consider circularity and impacts.
Design — for longevity, for reincorporation, for regeneration.
Source — replace synthetic with regenerative colour, replace virgin with recycled colour, explore and adopt low impact colour processes.
Process — collaborate, conserve water, renew resources and reduce emissions, valorise byproducts.
In use — limit colour leakage, generate excitement around ethical colour, make colour part of your service.
Images: 1. Example of the 'summary of resources and energy choices' card sat with sample of the Colours of Walthamstow table for rust; 2. A Guide to Ethical Colour Decision-Making information board.
Obviously, if you want actual advice on implementing colour solutions then do head to Colour of Saying. Or look further at the designers, makers and researchers included.
The above are takeaways and insights pretty much taken from the exhibition information boards so that this wonderful wisdom can be passed on. I did ask if it would tour again! But even still, you’re not all going to be able to visit. This should tantalise you.
Even if you took just one of those aspects of ethical colour decision-making into your design/making/research process, you’d be moving onwards positively. Frankly, we don’t consider colour as much as we should. Whether it’s because we take it for granted, or because there’s too much to know to fully understand, or because we genuinely don’t think about it. We’re all part of the system where colour is used and wasted right under our noses, and all the bits that go into making that colour too. And we don’t question it. Yet, we really do need to. Industry especially, but public too.
Thank you for reading.
All images unless otherwise stated were taken by me at the exhibition.
Read similar exhibition review + THOUGHT posts, such as:
Imagining possibilities [Centre for Sustainnable Fashion].
Regenerative dyes at Groundswell.