RP’s natural dye industry headed for better times

Expect the country’s natural dye industry to head for much better times.

This optimistic outlook can be buttressed by R&D headways chalked up during the past few years.

The revival of the natural dye industry in the fashion world in recent years has influenced government and private entities to explore dye-yielding plants as sources of dye for fabrics.

Example is the La Herminia Piña Weaving Industry, Inc. (LHPWI) in Kalibo, Aklan, which had been assisted by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Before DOST’s technological intervention, LHPWI, which we visited last year, produced only plain woven abaca and piña cloth. Production of colored fabrics using synthetic dyes was minimal.

With an increasing demand for naturally dyed fabrics and environment-friendly technologies, La Herminia established a mini dyeing laboratory in 2001. It uses indigenous dye plants.

Last month, to sustain the budding industry’s momentum, DOST, through its Technology Incubation and Commercialization Program (TECHNICOM), funded the setting up of a common services facility (CSF) at the Aklan State University (ASU) in Banga town for the extraction and application of natural dyes.

The project is a joint venture of the DOST-Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) headed by Director Carlos Tomboc, ASU headed by Dr. Benny Palma (president), and Engr. Mario Lao of the Sto.Niño Natural Dyeing and Allied Services in Banga.

ASU will manage, maintain, and monitor for CSF facilities and equipment, which it will lease to Lao. It will also conduct bio-prospecting activities particularly in the identification and selection of natural dye-yielding plants and put up nurseries for selected plant sources for dyes in Aklan.

PTRI will, among other things, conduct training or technology transfer on the extraction process of the identified sources and train cooperators on how to apply these dyes to textiles based on fiber-based materials and products.

Also to be involved in the project are PCARRD, Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and local government units (LGUs). – Rudy A Fernandez