Natural dyes help elevate ancient Vietnam’s Ma Chau silk brand

The use of organic dyes and pure mulberry silk has helped the brand be the top choice for an eco-friendly fashion.

Natural extracts from leaves and roots of plants are unique pigments used by craftspersons in the Mã Châu silk craft village of the former central province of Quảng Nam (which has merged into Đà Nẵng) to add stunning colours to the premium quality silk products, which were first traded back in the 15th century.

The use of organic dyes and pure mulberry silk has helped the Mã Châu silk brand to be the top choice for an eco-friendly fashion, in the modern era of green living.

Households in the 500-year-old trading village in Nam Phước Commune have been using natural dyes for silk fabrics following the restoration of the ancient craft of mulberry farming and silkworm breeding.

Around 20 extracts of natural dyes are used in silk production, including tinctures from green coconut shell, fermented almond leaves, green tea buds, melaleuca wood, purple cabbage, flowers of the Japanese pagoda tree (Styphnolobium japonicum), cashews and different roots and barks.

Dried betel nut and fresh mulberry leaves, bright yellow wood (Fibraurea recisa), sunflowers, petals of Mary’s Gold (Calendula officinalis) and leaves of guava, are also being used in the dyeing process for manual weaving, says Trần Thị Yến, vice director of the Mã Châu Silk Company.

“It’s not easy processing a natural dye. We have to boil leaves or roots of plants several times to get the extract. Some dyes need seven days to complete a fermentation process before they can be used to colour silk,” Yến explains.

“Natural plant extracts can cost ten times as much as chemical-based colours in modern textiles, but the pigments are safe to use, even if you have sensitive skin. Some dyes made from turmeric or fresh tea leaves are also said to keep wearers of the silk warm in winter,” she says.

Yến says natural dyes help increase value of the silk, which was originally traded and sent to the West using merchant ships sailing from the then busy Hội An Port.

“Natural dyes have a bit disadvantage compared to chemical colouring technology, as they can fade over time or be changed by sunlight, but it remains a favourite for traditional organic stylists and representing culture of the old times.”

However weavers at the Mã Châu Silk village have recently restored a collection of silk satin with patterns that had disappeared after an existence of 200 years, Yến says.

Trần Hữu Phương, the director of Mã Châu Silk Company and a master weaver of the village, says the company could produce nearly 10,000 metres of silk per year, but it needs to build the village up as a tourist destination and living museum of the old trade first.

“The location of the company still preserves the foundation of the Tứ Mã communal house, a spiritual worship place of the silk trade ancestors (1545). The brick wall section was damaged during the war, but the foundation has remained, with the area now used as a workshop,” Phương says.

“It’s also a reason that we want to restore the trade and the communal house for future generations and for the longer preservation of the spiritual tradition of the craft.”

He says the local residents are involved in the craft from growing mulberry, whose leaves are used to feed silkworms to provide raw materials for silk production.

For Phương, 55, the recognition of the silk brand is important to protect the product and to improve its standing against domestic and global competition.

He says the Mã Châu Company, which was established in the 1980, is now also a silk cooperative with more than 300 members, has remained operating and helps keep the craft alive.

Yến says she is proud of the company’s wide range of ties, scarves, long dresses and bags, which are designed individually but in bigger numbers from 100 per cent silk.

Silk has been preserved and manufactured by six communities along the Vu Gia Thu Bồn River in the province, but only the Mã Châu silk village and Duy Xuyên District (now part of Đà Nẵng City) continue to be major centres of natural silk production, with 30 households involved.

The Mã Châu natural silk brand product with natural dyes was recognised by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and the Korean Invention Promotion Association (KIPA).

The local brand has been seeking official recognition in terms of Intellectual Property listing from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Phương says.

Mã Châu silk has been used by fashion designers Lê Thanh Hòa, Ngô Nhật Huy and Huy Võ to create multiple garments sent down the catwalk at their shows.

By Cong Thanh – Viet Nam News – July 14, 2025