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Italian cashmere

Italian Cashmere, naturally dyed with flowers, leaves and heartwood infusions

MURIÉE Cashmere is the essence of pure luxury and the core of our collections. Finest Italian Cashmere yarn is dyed with natural products like berries, leaves and heartwood infusions. The entire dyeing process is done free of chemical additives resulting in a 100% natural yarn. Based on advanced technology this environmentally friendly process still guarantees color performance of a very high quality.

MURIÉE Cashmere yarn is dyed with natural products like:

Licorice

LICORICE (Glycyrrhiza glabra): green and yellow hues

Licorice crosses the lines between fragrance, flavor and medicinal herb and is one of worlds most popular and widely consumed herbs. The source plant is a member of the pea family native in southern Europe. Licorice sticks are the underground stems of the plant and are of great medical and culinary interest.The repair of London Bridge was financed by a tax on licorice imports in 1305.

TEA (Camellia sinensis): shades of beige

Tea is an evergreen plant that grows mainly in tropical and sub-tropical climate zones. Only the top 2-5 cm of the mature bush are picked. A tea plant will grow into an up to 16-meter high tree if left undisturbed. Tea leaves contain more than 700 chemicals among which amino acids, vitamins E, C and a number of antioxidants that have beneficial effects to human health.

MALLOW (Malva sylvestris): purple and pink hues

Mallow is a spreading herb native in Western Europe. It is a vigorously healthy plant with flowers of bright mauve-purple growing freely in fields and as decoration in gardens. Already 5000 years ago mallow was highly valued as medical plant in Chinese traditional medicine and even the bible mentions the mallow.

TURMERIC (Curcuma longa): shades of yellow

Turmeric is part of the ginger family and grows wild in the forests of South and Southeast Asia. Annually collected for its rhizomes it has become widely known as spice and key ingredient for many dishes. In ayurvedic practices turmeric is used as anti-inflammatory agent and is said to improve the skin. Currently it is being investigated for possible benefits in Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.

INDIGO (Indigofera tinctoria): hues of blue

Indigo is probably the oldest natural dyestuff ever used. India was a primary supplier of indigo dye to Europe as early as the Greco-Roman era. It is derived from the plant Indigofera tinctoria, commonly known as true indigo, which grows as a bush of one to two meters heights. Indigo is produced through a process of controlled fermentation over a number of days to convert the green pinnate leaves of the plant into the blue dye.

COCHINEAL (Dactylopius coccus): hues of pink and red

Cochineal is a traditional red dye of pre-Hispanic Mexico derived from an insect that lives as parasite on plants. More properly cochineal is a chemical extract of carminic acid from the bodies of scale insects. The host plants are certain prickly pear cacti (platypuntias, Opuntia) especially the species called nopales.

POPPY (Papaver): shades of grey

Poppy is a herbaceous annual plant from European origins. It grows up to 90cm high with flowers varying in color from red to violet. The delicate petals are used to produce dyes with a color range from violet to grey shades. Poppy seeds are an important food item and the source of poppy seed oil. It is widely grown as an ornamental flower throughout Europe, North and South America and Asia.

INDIAN BLACKWOOD (Dalbergia latifolia): dark grey hues

The East Indian blackwood or Indian rosewood is from the Dalbergia latifolia tree, a premium-quality timber species having a dark purple wood. Dalbergia is a large genus of small to medium-size trees, bushes and lianas of the pea family. The tannins in the grey bark of the tree have Ayurvedic medicinal properties.