HOMESTEAD â Synthetic dyes are taking a back seat as consumers and manufacturers are driving increased demand for natural dyes with agriculture at the wheel.
Take the indigo blue color, for instance. It has been an international icon for centuries that captivated the textile, fashion and agriculture industries. Where would blue jeans be were it not for indigo, for example? For the last century, however, synthetic dyes stepped into the market, reducing the demand for growing the plant transitioning its agricultural demand into the back seat â until now.
Scientists at University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) have just completed a two-year series of field trials in Homestead that were sponsored by Tennessee-based company Stony Creek Colors. Their tests could make growing the indigo plant, which produces the iconic natural blue dye, a profitable and environmentally sound crop in the Sunshine State.