Fashion that SLAYED!? A History of Fabric Dyes (and all the damage early chemical dyes did)

Why were Victorians wearing clothes that killed them? Why did a Scheele’s Green stick around so long? And why did everyone go mad for mauve?
I always enjoy researching fashion history and clothing history, but I think that looking into the history of fabric dye (and the history of chemical and synthetic fabric dye in particular) has been one of my favourite little history deep dives to date!
Between Paris Green arsenic wallpaper, Scheeles Green arsenic dresses, William Henry Perkin’s aniline purple mauvine dye, the death of artificial florists, and all the other ridiculous, tragic and bizarre confusions, impacts, and inactions - this was an absolutely fascinating subject to dive into!
If you enjoyed this video, you might like my other deep dives which I’ve squished together into a handy playlist:
• Deep Dives
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IMAGES:
The Arsenic Waltz - Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg / Punch - 42.1862 / Page 54 (doi.org/10.115...)
Accidents caused by the use of green arsenic, 1859 - Original image from Wellcome Collection (library.artsto...)
"Death of an Artificial Florist from Poison in her work" image of article (www.newspapers...)
Advertisement for Wallpapers free from Arsenic - copyright held by Wellcome Library, London (www.bl.uk/coll...)
Painting: Embroidery Woman by Georg Friedrich Kersting, 1817
Painting: At the Mirror by Georg Friedrich Kersting, 1827
Photographs of dresses available through the Met Museum’s Open Access policy
Heron wallpaper by Corbière, Son & Brindle, London, UK (1879) (© 2016 Crown Copyright)
Other wallpaper examples taken from Shadows from the walls of death : facts and inferences prefacing a book of specimens of arsenical wall papers, gathered
Imperial Federation, map of the world showing the extent of the British Empire in 1886 via The Boston Public Library (collections.le...)
GOTS and Standard 100 logos shown for educational and illustrative purposes, to aid viewer’s ability to identify and purchase products that are marked with these certifications

[@haileymoore3428]

Ok fun story about a famous fictional murder that was maaaaaybe referring to a poisonous dye of the ancient Greeks. So in the play “Medea” the titular Medea murders her ex-husbands new girlfriend by giving her a ‘dress poisoned with dragons blood’ that killed her when she wore it, then killed the girls father when he cradled her dead body. So there was this purple dye called dragons blood at the time that was used to make a red-purple dye. The catch was that the dye was made from a mineral (whose name I sadly forget) that was chock full of arsenic. So wearing clothes dyed with dragons blood for a few months WOULD kill you (which is why the Greeks stopped using it), but the dye made for a great murder method for the play which greek audiences would have likely understood (even if the effects were hammed up for the stage) but modern audiences would look at and overlook. tl;dr: the thirst for colorful clothes has been getting to humans for literally forever Source: Women’s Work by Elizabeth Barker (a great read)

[@EmilySnee]

Right! @Alice G asked a fantastic question about whether people BUYING things made/dyed with these pigments knew that it was dangerous, OR were they ignorant of that? The answer to that is a bit complicated! So here's my mini essay about the factors at play: 1 - Literacy! (and class) The first medical or scientific suggestion that arsenical pigments could be dangerous that I could find discussion of, was from chemist Leopold Gmelin in 1839, and Henry Letheby’s first case of confirmed arsenic poisoning that he attributed to wallpapers was in 1850. Through the 1850’s to the 1890’s multiple doctors and scientist confirmed the dangers of arsenic laced wallpapers (and clothes), and many articles, from many news publications, disseminated this information. Additionally, by the 1860s Paris Green had started being used in the US as an agricultural insecticide, and The Arsenic Waltz (from Punch Magazine) was published in 1862. So, in the 1850’s evidence of the dangers of arsenical pigments was growing, and by the early-mid 1860s the dangers had been WIDELY written about. However, in the 1850s only about 54% of women and 68% of men in Britian were literate, so a big chunk of the population couldn't *gain* that information. Most of the population that were unable to read were of the working class and had little or no education, which also meant they were poorer and less likely to purchase these products (or would purchase cheaper, lower quality ones). 2 - It was very much a British problem! (and a capitalism problem) Arsenical pigments in clothing and wallpapers were limited elsewhere in Europe DECADES before limiting them was even vaguely considered by the British Government. Most of the reason for this is that the majority of arsenic was mined in British mines, and most of the companies designing/producing arsenical wallpapers were based in Britain. So, a lot of very wealthy British industrialists stood to lose a lot of money if Britain limited arsenics in consumer products - particularly as Europe was closed for business. America also had a pretty hefty business for arsenical wallpapers. 3 - Mis/disinformation, differing opinions and propaganda! So because there were a lot of wealthy people set to lose money if it became law that arsenics weren’t allowed in consumer products, those wealthy people talked a lot of bumpf about how arsenical pigments weren’t dangerous, how their danger was being exaggerated, how the medical and scientific communities were being hysterical etc etc. Another difficulty in getting the severity (and truth) of the dangers of arsenical pigments taken seriously, is that not all doctors agreed that they were dangerous because not everyone exposed to them got sick/died. Therefore, the logic at the time went, it couldn’t be wallpapers or dyes doing it because *if it were* , EVERYONE would be getting poisoned and dying. So these conflicting opinions from the medical community, at a point in time where the average person (who *could* read) didn’t have ways of fact checking what they read in the newspapers meant that a lot of consumers weren’t certain that these pigments were dangerous. We *now* know that not everyone reacts to arsenic poisoning the same way! Certain people are more vulnerable to its effect, due to various factors including metabolism, overall health, age etc. But without that knowledge, at the time, it’s understandable that some doctors came to the conclusions they did. There may have also been consumers who trusted that, if arsenics in products were really dangerous, that they wouldn’t be allowed to be produced and sold. 4 - Personal exceptionalism! “Personal exceptionalism” means someone sees themselves as special and believe their outcomes are going to fall outside of or be different to, the ‘normal’ outcomes of others. Quite often, this comes out in people’s behaviour as an ‘it won’t happen me to’ attitude (sometimes called ‘perceived invincibility’). It’s incredibly common for people to be aware of the risks associated with something *for other people*, but not to have internalised the reality of those risks to THEM. ____________ So, the answer to ‘did people buying this stuff KNOW it was dangerous?’ is: It was a mixed bag. There were definitely people buying this stuff that were ignorant of its dangers. There were ALSO people buying it who knew (at least in theory) that it *could* be dangerous. I mean, Queen Victoria apparently had Buckingham Palace wallpapered arsenical green in the late 1870s - by which point the dangers were WELL publicised. ‘Shadows from the Walls of Death’, a book of facts and examples of arsenical wallpapers, was published in 1874. There were even widespread newspaper campaigns throughout the 1870’s encouraging people to do ‘home tests’ on their wallpapers to check their homes for arsenic. In the 1880s the recently formed National Health Society (NHS) drew up and submitted a bill to ban the use of arsenic in household goods, but the British parliament rejected it. In terms of aniline dyes, their toxicity was less understood and less publicised at the time, and the risks of AZO dyes were also much less known than those of arsenicals. So, some consumers were ignorant, and some consumers were informed but went ahead anyway!

[@ericathefae]

Another important detail (if I recall correctly) is that manufacturers started selling products as "arsenic free" but without rigid control there were often still arsenic in said products, so people thought they were doing the sensible thing, but could still end up slowly poisoning themselves anyway. This also added to the confusion of how toxic these dyes really were.

[@EmilySnee]

@@ericathefae yes! An excellent point! Thank you for adding it 😁

[@heidikoch-northrup8888]

Yes, this is why you should always wash your newly purchased clothes prior to wearing…especially denim! Thank you for always having interesting topics!

[@lizb7271]

It should be noted that assuming that compounds of arsenic were not dangerous was not incredibly stupid. Firstly a compound may not have the same poisonous properties of a pure element, secondly a poisonous dye is safe if the poison stays where it is. Both of these assumptions were wrong obviously. Actually I did read a paper which suggests that Vermilion (HgS), a pigment used since ancient times, especially in China, is not as toxic as pure mercury.

[@EmilySnee]

Oh, I definitely don't think it was stupid that they didn't assume arsenic compounds would be poisonous because, as you said, compounds don't necessarily (and often don't) keep the qualities of their components. I do think it was a bit foolish of their inventors to not do any testing to check if arsenical pigments were dangerous *before* putting them out into the world - although stuff like that happens all the time (lead paints, asbestos, etc etc) - but seeing as arsenical pigments were invented in the 1770s, I think it's pretty stupid that it took nearly 120 years, a LOT of consumer and factory worker deaths, and about 70 years of doctors and scientists shouting about how dangerous/deadly they were for the UK government to DO anything about it! 😅😄

[@SeSeMittens]

I really liked that you linked this topic to modern fast fashion practices. I think it really helps to put things in perspective.

[@EmilySnee]

Thank you! I was a big worried that it might freak people out a bit too much, but I think it’s important to talk about!

[@DorisS75]

That was fascinating! I thought I knew something about arsenic dyes, but your deep dive was really interesting and informative. Thank you 😊

[@EmilySnee]

I'm so glad you liked it! I had SO much fun researching it! Originally I was just planning on talking about arsenical greens, but the more I learned the more I wanted to include about different kinds of dyes 😅 I got a bit excited 😊

[@joelphick]

So interesting! Since Covid I've bought basically no new clothes and it's made me realise I don't really need much, and definitely don't need to follow fashions. It makes me wonder about how safe hair dyes, yarn and paints are too. Thank you!

[@EmilySnee]

I don't know a huge amount about hair dyes, but in terms of paints, yarns etc it would depend a little on where in the world you are. I know that in the EU (and so, in any products sold in the EU) the use of AZO dyes is VERY strictly limited to ensure consumer safety, but I think that outside the EU, legislation varies from place to place. Maybe I need to go on a new research mission about hair dye and its history 📚😊

[@joelphick]

@@EmilySnee ooh that would be interesting!

[@Lexykassan]

Just ran across an article from BBC about a book found in a library that had a green color... Made with arsenic. Immediately thought of this video. Thanks again for digging in to this one.

[@aliceg5327]

Being from Paris myself, and being kind of a morbid person, I knew of Paris Green (another related subject Mummy Brown. How whack was that?? Here, have my painting. It's people.). I really enjoyed that you went more into depth than the usual documents on this. Sometimes it felt like there was an undercurrent of "people kept wearing/doing it even though they knew it was harmful". Maybe it was just the phrasing or my tired brain. But it had me wanting to know more. Because.... Wearing a poisonous garment when you don't KNOW it's poisonous is one thing. Selling a poisonous garment when you know it's poisonous is.... a side effect of capitalism and greed (yay). But knowingly engaging in something that can be disfiguring or deadly is something else entirely. (and there's not addiction to take into account there. At most societal pressures) So it made me wonder exactly how it shifted. Did most people actually not know?(hopefully) Did some maybe refused to believe for a while? Or did some knowingly keep doing a thing they knew could be harmful before efe it i want My green fashionable wallpaper? It's kind of trippy to consider and parallel with stuff we do today. You know what that made me think of? The Shape-Up craze. Remember that?

[@EmilySnee]

Okay, so 1) I didn't know about Mummy Brown and WOW, that's wonderfully bizarre! Also, my initial reaction to it was "what a waste of mummies! Those are priceless remains and artefacts! My uncle (who's an archaeologist) would be VERY angry about this." 2) Re: did the people buying this stuff know it could harm them is a complex question, but a very interesting one! So interesting, in fact, that I'm going to write a pinned comment to answer it, because other people might want to know too! 😊

[@barbaraferron7994]

@@EmilySnee I have read that in Victorian times there was a plethora of mummys in Egypt so much so that they were burning them for fuel to run trains.

[@nonnymouse3839]

Fantastic video Emily, I learned a lot and really admire your research chops. I had read about arsenical green somewhere but the other dyes were new to me, as was the fact that fast fashion is guilty of using toxins in manufacturing. Yet another tick mark on the long list of reasons to avoid it - those poor people who work in the factories that make it, just awful to think about. I mostly shop at thrift stores these days but really must get around to learning how to sew my own clothing, I know it will make me feel ever so much better about myself. I think about your video on the ridiculousness of sizing often and have shared it with friends who have also appreciated it. Thank you for your lovely vids and I will be looking very much forward to whatever you make next!

[@ReneePowell]

Another use for a related azo dye: literally the OTC medication Azo, used for urinary pain relief if you get a UTI. It turns your pee the most sickeningly brilliant orange color that stains anything it touches. At the dosage and short duration it’s meant to be taken, it’s considered pretty safe. Not all azo dyes and pigments are toxic, let alone carcinogenic or mutagenic, but several are.

[@EmilySnee]

Very true! I also read some really interesting stuff about the invention of aniline dyes and the psychiatric medications that it was possible to develop as a result. By no means are all Azo dyes toxic (I probably should have clarified that, whoops), the earliest ones were and there are still some that are unsafe used in denim products, certain food colours etc. but, as you said, there are also azo dyes that are entirely safe.

[@Tvianne]

About ten years ago my cousin got chemical burns from a t-shirt she bought in a chinese shop, the kind that sold 5 pair of jeans for 10 €. So, yeah, nothing really changed. PS: love the level of research. Thank you!

[@EmilySnee]

I’m glad you enjoyed the research 😂😂

[@LaBricoleuse]

Great video! Such a good overview of why synthetic dyes can be so dangerous. Love your pesky kitty, too.

[@EmilySnee]

Thank you! (And she's lovely really, she just *really* wants attention sometimes 😂)

[@dilihopa]

Another great video. Your presentation is excellent! You might be interested to know that arsenic was included in all colours and I recently came across a wonderful book regarding this: Bitten by Witch Fever: Wallpaper & Arsenic in the Victorian Home by Lucinda Hawksley

[@stevezytveld6585]

You do realize that this is potentially the introduction to your Masters in Art History (sub-specializing in dress history). Just thought I'd put that out there. Fantastic video. What databases are you using - your work was far more in depth than I can usually get on the Google Machine. - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi

[@jomaule1568]

Thank for sharing this video. I presume this would be the case with fabrics used in quilting?

[@juliecoton9291]

Really really fascinating, and even if I knew about some of this story, it's a pleasure to listen to you, you tell this so well :D (probably not the good words at all, sorry, i'm french AND poorly woke up) And really good conclusion as well :)

[@EmilySnee]

Thank you! I’m so glad you found it interesting! 😁

[@lingolift5917]

Such an interesting video. Thanks!

[@coreygilles847]

So interesting! Thanks for doing this

[@EmilySnee]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@grimnirnacht]

Fascinating

[@ohblondishone]

Wow! What a trip. You can always count on the Victorians for some horror.

[@BarbaraCreates]

I loved this.

[@EmilySnee]

Thanks so much! That's great to hear!

[@BarbaraCreates]

@@EmilySnee Also the cat Voice Over. Hilarious. haha. can't wait for the next video!

[@pippaseaspirit4415]

Ignore fashion. Create your own look and style and stick with it!

[@Tidde]

It always bothered me when I see modern day people glorify William Morris' designs. He knew and tried to downplay how harmful the poison in his wallpapers were. He is hardly worthy of praise imho.

[@snooksmcdermott]

My great-great grandfather killed himself in 1888 (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA) by drinking coffee spiked with Paris green. He and my g-g grandmother were German immigrants. He lost his job after he went on a bender because his wife was pregnant with baby #8. Luckily, things in my family have improved.

[@rd6203]

To be fair, my love of green might mean death by arsenic

[@emilyrln]

Funny, it's almost like pursuing profit above all else is _bad_ for people and the environment… 🧐

[@ReinaElizondo]

😳

[@EmilySnee]

I know, right?!? 😭

[@barbaraferron7994]

For purple why didn't they use poke berries?🟣