Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd. is a professional underwear sourcing & supply-chain management company based in Xiamen, Fujian Province, in the Xiamen–Quanzhou–Jinjiang knitwear cluster of south-east China. Founded by Will Lin, who has worked in the apparel trade since 2004, the company has been exporting since 2009 and was incorporated in Xiamen in 2013. It runs its own liaison office in Jinjiang and works with a network of BSCI & OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified partner factories to serve retailers and brands across Europe, the US and Australia.
I. Background of the Rise of Plant Printing and Dyeing in the Underwear Industry
With people’s growing attention to environmental protection and health, natural plant dyes are gradually gaining popularity in the textile field. In today’s society, environmental pollution and the potential hazards of chemical substances have become issues of increasing concern. People are increasingly pursuing green, environmentally – friendly, and sustainable lifestyles, and this concept has also extended to the field of textiles for daily wear.
Underwear, as the most private clothing of people, directly contacts the skin, so its healthiness and safety are of particular importance. Traditional chemically – synthesized dyes may irritate human skin and may even contain harmful substances. Long – term wearing may pose potential threats to health. However, natural plant dyes have the advantages of being green, environmentally – friendly, renewable, and naturally healthy, which exactly meet people’s requirements for the healthiness and safety of underwear.
According to statistics, the market scale of the plant dye industry in China has grown from 914 million RMB in 2014 to 2.486 billion RMB in 2019, developing rapidly. This indicates that the status of natural plant dyes in the textile market has been continuously enhanced. Most plant dyes are traditional Chinese medicines. During the dyeing process, their medicinal and fragrance components are absorbed by the fabric together with the pigments, so that the dyed fabric has special medicinal health – care functions for the human body. For underwear, this health – care function is even more important because underwear has a longer contact time with the body and can better play the health – care role of plant dyes.
In addition, natural plant dyes have a rich and diverse range of colors, which can meet the aesthetic needs of different consumers. The raw materials of plant – based dyes are obtained from nature. The roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, etc. of commonly – used plants are used as raw materials, and the extracted pigments can present various beautiful colors. These colors are not only natural and soft but also have a unique charm, which can add a natural beauty to underwear.
II. The Advantages of Underwear with Plant Printing and Dyeing
(1) Green environmental protection, health and safety
Underwear with plant printing and dyeing uses natural plant dyes, and its raw materials come from nature, being non – toxic and harmless. Many plant dyes are traditional Chinese medicines themselves, such as tea leaves, pomegranate peel, wormwood, gromwell root, etc. During the dyeing process, the medicinal and fragrance components of these plant dyes are absorbed by the fabric together with the pigments, making the dyed underwear have special medicinal health – care functions for the human body. For sensitive people, underwear with plant printing and dyeing is an ideal choice as it can reduce skin irritation and lower the risk of allergies. For example, wormwood has the functions of antibacterial, anti – inflammatory, anti – allergic and promoting blood circulation. Underwear dyed with wormwood can provide better care for sensitive skin.
(2) Integration of fashion and tradition
Underwear designers have perfectly integrated the traditional plant – dyeing process with modern underwear design to create underwear products that are both fashionable and rich in traditional charm. The colors of plant – dyed fabrics are naturally soft and have a unique charm, which can add a natural beauty to underwear. Meanwhile, modern design concepts and technical means make plant – dyed underwear more in line with current fashion trends and meet consumers’ pursuit of beauty. This integration not only brings consumers an ultimate skin – friendly experience but also inherits and promotes the traditional plant – dyeing process culture. For example, some plant – dyed underwear adopts fashionable style designs, such as deep – V necks and beautiful backs, while combining the unique colors and textures of plant – dyed fabrics, showing both women’s sexy charm and the connotation of traditional culture.
(3) Comfortable and seamless wearing experience
Underwear with plant printing and dyeing features no restraint, good push-up effect and soft and comfortable fabric. Underwear with plant printing and dyeing usually adopts soft materials such as mulberry silk and pure cotton. These materials have good air permeability and moisture absorption, enabling the skin to remain dry and comfortable. At the same time, plant printing and dyeing avoid the invasion of chemical agents into the skin and reduce skin irritation. The plant-printed underwear has no underwire design and seamless process, making it more comfortable to wear, and will not leave embarrassing underwear traces. For example, some underwear with plant printing and dyeing adopts a one – piece seamless design with an invisible effect like the original skin, carrying the “light and thin” feature through to the end. It doesn’t show embarrassing underwear marks, allowing you to wear body – fitting clothes freely. While liberating the body, it can also maintain a beautiful breast shape.
(4) Good functionality
Underwear with plant printing and dyeing has functions such as widened shoulder straps, eliminating armpit fat, holding in armpit fat, and making the wearer look slimmer visually. The design of widened shoulder straps can relieve the pressure on the shoulders, at the same time, better fix the underwear to prevent it from slipping down. The sides of underwear with plant printing and dyeing usually have a heightened design, which can effectively wrap the underarm flab, hold in armpit fat, and make the figure look slimmer. For example, some underwear with plant printing and dyeing adopts a heightened side design, which can firmly wrap the underarm flab, easily hold in armpit fat, and make the wearer look slimmer visually. It is less likely to shift during large movements, providing consumers with a better wearing experience.
III. Development Prospect of Underwear with Plant Printing and Dyeing
- In line with the environmental protection trend: With the green and environmentally – friendly consumption concept gradually taking root in people’s hearts and the vigorous implementation of ecological civilization construction, green textile is one of the important directions of development. Natural plant dyes are derived from nature, less environmental pollution, easy to decompose, and are favored by the textile printing and dyeing industry. Underwear with plant printing and dyeing complies with this environmental protection trend and has broad market prospects.
- Enormous potential: Underwear with plant printing and dyeing not only has environmental protection advantages but also has special medicinal value and health – care functions. As mentioned previously, many plant dyes are traditional Chinese medicines themselves. During the dyeing process, their medicinal and fragrance components are absorbed by the fabric together with the pigments, making the dyed underwear have special medicinal health – care functions for the human body. In addition, the colors of the underwear with plant printing and dyeing are naturally soft and have a unique charm, which can meet consumers’ pursuit of beauty. With the continuous progress of technology, problems in aspects such as dye supply, dyeing reproducibility and color fastness of underwear with plant printing and dyeing will be gradually resolved, and its market potential is huge.
To sum up, although underwear with plant printing and dyeing is faced with some challenges, it complies with the environmental protection trend and has great development potential. In future development, it is necessary to strengthen technological research and development, improve the extraction efficiency and dyeing performance of plant dyes, and at the same time establish standardized production processes and industry standards to promote the healthy development of the underwear industry with plant printing and dyeing.
· Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd. — OEM & ODM underwear sourcing partner