Buckthorn Bark Extract

Shepherd Textiles Buckthorn Bark Extract is made from the bark of the alder buckthorn, rhamnus frangula. Alder buckthorn is a shrub native to most of Europe and western Asia that has been used for thousands of years as a dye, especially in the region around Scandinavia. The bark is rich in an anthraquinone called emodin (coincidentally, the same pigment found in Himalayan rhubarb) as well as a variety of natural tannins. Emodin produces warm golden yellow shades on natural fibers. It is also very pH-sensitive, and the color will shift toward red in an alkaline bath above pH 9. Use at 10% weight-of-fabric for medium shades; dyeing without heat will produce clearer yellows and dyeing with heat will develop browner hues. For more information and color recipes, check out our Guide to Dyeing with Buckthorn Bark Extract.

Product of France. Certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) for use on textiles that will be labeled “organic.”