Issue 19  August 8th 2019

Avocado Dye Is, Naturally, Millennial Pink

Lauren started THE KINDCRAFT to bridge heritage craft cultures and contemporary design and, as you've probably noticed by now, we think it’s important to note whenever mainstream media outlets cover designers and brands that use naturally-based techniques to make contemporary products. Most readers seemed to like when we shared this profile of designer/dyer María Elena Pombo by Isvett Verde in the New York Times on our Facebook page but, as the piece was passed onward, I saw a few people taking issue with it.

Their concerns are probably best encapsulated by this passage:

"Prices ranged from $300 for a linen shirt to $1,580 for a silk shantung jacket. But Ms. Pombo said that the carefully fabricated pieces are meant to be heirloom items — unique and inheritable. “The idea is to slow down and have a more thoughtful relationship with what we’re consuming,” she said.

Avocado dyes are prone to fading when washed or exposed to light, and so some felt that Pombo’s positioning of these high-priced garments as "heirloom items” should be challenged.

The article mentioned Ms. Pombo's professional background in both fashion and engineering and, given that, I thought it was a good bet that she'd given ample consideration to the color/lightfastness of her garments. I decided to contact her directly and ask for her response.

Ms. Pombo told me that she’s been researching natural dyes since 2013 and, though some of her samples have faded due to sun exposure, most are basically the same color than when she first dyed them. “Avocado seeds are very high in tannin,” she wrote, “so they’re actually a very stable color source. Avocado seeds don't even need mordants, as their high tannin content works as a sort of mordant.“ When I raised her use of the term ‘heirloom’, she said that she defines it as “something that has a special value and that you take care of” — and that her choice of materials reinforces this idea. “For the clothes I make, I use silk fibers, which on their own, are also quite delicate. Adding the layer of dyeing them with avocado seeds doesn't really make them much more delicate. I don't know many people would put silk fibers in the drying machine, regardless of how its color was made.”

I'm sure her answers will satisfy some and not others, but the whole exchange made me think more about what goes in to making a healthy community. Some communities thrive, but many wither — often from an inability to process disagreement. People have a right to be skeptical of the vague language often used in "slow fashion" marketing but I think a healthy community — one that fosters dialogue between its members — needs to assume positive intent as the starting place for these kinds of discussions. It's good to remember the abundant common ground we all share, even in the moments when we disagree. -JL