Natural dye
Colour taken from plants, insects or minerals rather than made from petrochemicals.
Also: vegetable dye, plant dye
Natural dyes come from roots, bark, leaves, flowers and fruit, from a few insects such as the lac insect, and from some minerals. Indigo, madder, turmeric, pomegranate rind, indian kino, iron-and-jaggery black and lac are common in Indian craft. Most need a mordant and several steps, so the work is slow, and the shade changes a little from batch to batch. Natural dyes are not always gentler on the environment than they sound, since they take large amounts of water and plant material. Label claims are worth asking about, because many cloths sold as natural use a mix.