Patrick Brenac was at the Second International Symposium and Exhibition of Natural Dyes (ISEND2008) in Daegu, South Korea, last September. He heads a small Rochefort based business with the evocative name Couleurs de Plantes (or plant colors). At the event, he received confirmation of something he already knew, viz., that the sector of natural dyes worldwide is mainly a small-scale industry despite its huge potential for applications. "We have observed that there is mounting interest in every-growing sector. Nevertheless, we have to admit that our business is practically the only one in the world to mass produce products, and with quality constraints that are just as demanding," said Patrick Brenac emphatically.
Consequently Couleurs des Plantes, which offers plant dye extracts, powder pigments and other insoluble dye specialties, and pigment pastes, has decided to increase communication on its products, especially since they can be used in numerous industries. Today, the cosmetic industry, of course, is the main outlet for the small business. Indeed, last autumn the Alban Muller group launched a new range of so-called 'environmentally responsible' cosmetic ingredients on the international market. The plant dyes, which meet the growing needs of cosmetic formulators, were designed as part of a partnership between the group's laboratories and the team at Couleurs des Plantes. "They are liquid extracts used to make cosmetic formulations such as beauty lotions, make-up removers, shampoos, or gel products," explained Patrick Brenac.
Meanwhile, the business is also banking on textile, "an industry that has been on the move in upholstery as well as clothing, since 2007," but also on paints, a traditional industrial that is changing more slowly. "We firmly believe in the development of natural dyes in the biomaterials sector. We have already run tests with a large European company that manufactures bioplastics into which our products are smoothly incorporated. Samples of a range of molded and injected products as well as plastic films to make bags are circulating in Europe," exclaimed the founding manager of the business.
