Apple Oak Fibre Works
Natural Dye House & Quality Fibre Arts & Crafts Supply
https://appleoakfibreworks.com/
We are a sustainable dyeing company and offer quality fibre arts & craft supplies………
We also offer sustainable clothing, dyeing services as well as Education at the Natural Dyers & Growers Academy. We also grow our own dyes and seeds organically all based in Ireland, Co. Clare.
From water collection to woodland filtration and worm compositing, learn how the circular economy of Apple Oak Fibre Works goes green for all our good!
It was quite clear to us from the very beginning, that our entire system had to be as ecological and as sustainable as possible. Dye Houses are anything but and are well known for pollution and high water usage.
So what were our goals?
No Mains Water
Avoid Water Pollution
Limit Waste & Create a wormery
Growing our own dye plants
Seed production
Green Energy
Future Outlook
Read more about this in detail on our website on our Sustainability & Circular Economy page to find out how we overcame these challenges.
What is so amazing about working with Irish wool/ natural dyes? It is very rewarding to use safe, healthy and natural materials grown right here and working hand in hand with nature.
If any/ what have been your challenges with working with these dyes and a local way of working? Working with designers/ clients and meeting their expectations which are based on chemical/synthetic dyes.
What gauge of Knitwear do you sell? i.e fine gauge 10-12gg or more chunky knits such as 7-5gg We sell lace to chunky and naturally dyed by us. We have also been offering quality Irish wool since 2024 with an expanding range into 2025/26.
Do you finish onsite? If not is it convenient or what would be your ideal situation? Yes we finish all dyeing processes on site which also involves labelling yarns/ fabrics and socks etc.
Do you find a lot of push back in the industry in terms of working with natural dyes? As professional natural dyers we encounter a certain amount of belittlement or hesitation by other manufacturers due to cost.
Do you find that customers are becoming more interested in natural dyes? Yes traditional aspects but now it is very much future thinking.
On a scale of 1- 10 (1 being the lowest and 10 excellent) how much do you think your business has improved in the below areas as a result of good working practices and environmental standards?
Waste Production - we are zero waste due to making only with our in-house designs - 8 (off-cuts, production)
Plastic Pollution - we send back plastics to suppliers despite us saying do not send to us – we use zero plastic packaging with our customers - 10 (packaging)
Water Waste - 10 (dyeing and finishing)
Energy Consumption - since day 1 in 2018 when we set up our mill we have always paid for green energy – we focus on in person sales now and therefore have reduced our shipping activities dramatically - 5 (shipping, machinery etc)
Do you have any hero farmers or people in your supply chain you would like to highlight? Eriu, Galway wool and Fibreshed Ireland