Are natural dyes really eco friendly ?

As many of you know already I use acid dyes in my work yet I am a keen protector of the environment so get frequently questioned over my choice of using a chemical dye over 'natural' dyes. Personally I prefer to work with products that pass EEC testing for their effect on the environment and human health rather than untested organic chemicals and metal salts in the form of natural dyeing. I also exhaust my dye baths and recycle rinsing water, from my primary dyed product containing excess dye and use it to colour scoured fleece for my own projects.Waste water is therefore stripped of as much dye as is humanly possible before being discarded..

I am continually surprised at how many people who lambaste me for using chemical dyes are the same people who use herbs and plants for medicines. They extol the virtues of their strong medicinal effects yet dye with the same plants and herbs,which often need metal salts to act as a mordant then throw excess dye and water from the dye bath down the sink or worse still in their garden where it can leach untreated into water systems.

Just because something comes from a 'natural' source doesn't mean that it is safe when put into the wrong place in an environment and as in the case of dyes, often in strong concentrations . It also doesn't mean that if the colour is taken out of the water in the dye process that the active ingredients have been too.