Indigo is an ancient dye used by many cultures and was made from many plants. The plants with the strongest coloring potential are those plants from the leguminous plants, (plants that are able to affix nitrogen from the air to the soil) of the genus Indigofera. Although originally produced in India, it was used in

Egypt as early as 1600 bc (some say as early as 3000 bc). It may have been associated with wealth, as mummies from the XVIII dynasty were wrapped in fabric dyed with indigo.

In Europe the primary plant used to produce the indigo coloration was the Woad plant. The true indigo plant is not hardy enough to survive the winters in much of Europe. This plant was also used in Britain as the dye that Britons’ used to paint their faces blue to frighten the Romans.

Indigo was produced in the South Carolina and in Georgia during the 18th and early nineteenth centuries. Mainly made by slaves, the production of indigo almost ceased at the start of the civil war.

Have you ever heard of the term being sent up the river? This term did not refer to going to prison but rather to being sent up to work on the indigo plantation.

While the production of true indigo from plants lasted until the beginning of the 20^th century. In 1893 Adolph van Baeyer discovered the chemical used for the dye and over the next 10 years developed a method to synthesize the compound. Due to his work, he received the Nobel Prize in 1905, and much of the commercial indigo began to be produced chemically.

 Indigo itself was in high demand because it was the best of all of the natural dyes. It kept its color best and was most resistant to fading. Of course even with fading the resulting colors were still beautiful

There has recently been a resurgence of the growing and production of natural indigo due to the demand for the natural dyeing processes. People are willing to pay premium prices for premium products and naturally dyed products tend to be premium products. Because of this the production of indigo has been growing in Africa, Bangladesh, Thailand and in India over the last 20 years. Several organizations including the Mennonite Central Committee have pushed for the growth of the plants in poor areas as a source of income to farmers. The plants provide two benefits. First they can be planted and harvested in poor areas and soil conditions to improve the soil adding nitrogen and second are a good source of income.

Indigo itself is not a true dye but is a chemical reaction between the fabric and the agent. When the fabric is pulled out of the dye pot and is put in the air the agent oxidizes and produced the blue coloration.

Our fabric was originally produced in Manchester England. After over 100 years of production the company closed down the indigo lines and the factory and technology was sold to the company in South Africa where production continues using the same technology. The fabric is only 36 inches wide as the company uses many of the original copper plates from England.

As you will notice the fabric is very stiff when purchased. This is the result demand by the sewers in South Africa. When the fabric was first sent from England to South Africa, it took up to 3 months to make the trip. Fabric was always put in the bottom of the hold and everything else was stacked on top of it. Being in the salt air for three months, the time to make the trip, made the fabric stiff. When Steam ships came into being, the trip was much quicker and the fabric arrived much softer. The sewers refused to use it as they thought that the manufacturers were trying to foist off inferior goods on them. As a result, starch has been added to the fabric for the last 100 years. This starch washes out with the first washing leaving a soft and pleasant fabric to work with.