Bringing Back the Chintz

“Spring is here mom”, our daughter announced the other day after she came home from a long walk with her brother. As I was making dinner, she enthusiastically shared stories of all the colours of flowers she saw that day and I could feel her excitement. I had to agree with her, the arrival of flowers after a long winter definitely puts a spring in my step. It also reminds me how much I love beautiful, bright and bold flower patterns for interiors. 

When I think about bold floral patterns, I often flashback to my youth in the 80s. Pink florals adorned my bedroom walls, with a matching comforter, and let’s not forget the balloon window treatments. My room inspiration likely came from watching hit movies such as Pretty in Pink over and over and trying to replicate Molly Ringwold’s ‘cool’ bedroom style in hopes that I would have the same love story as her. I went even so far to wear chintz to my grade 8 graduation when I sported a green Laura Ashley dress. The fabric was basically a replica of my bedroom!! Chintz was everywhere. On clothes, and throughout interiors. Wallpapers, draperies, pillows, bed covering, chairs, it became extremely popular and most would argue, overdone. Some attribute part of its demise to Ikea’s 1996 ad campaign, “chuck out your chintz.” Needless to say, it’s been considered ‘out of fashion’ for a while now. Many still associate it with their grandma’s curtains. I, on the other hand have always had a soft spot for the beautiful floral patterns and rich colours. It could be leftover nostalgia from my floral bedroom in the 80s. Whatever it is, I love chintz and with traditional coming back into style, I want to work to bring back the chintz. Not the old chintz, a new and improved environmental and ethical era of chintz. 

During my research on the sustainability issues within the textile industry, I stumbled across articles about the history of my beloved chintz. I was eager to learn more and to see if there was insight into the traditional methods used long ago. What I discovered was a very detailed and troubling depiction of its origins. One that is filled with greed, slavery and the forceable relocation of a large population of the American Indigenous population. All in the name of interior design, fashion and, ultimately, wealth. 

Chintz, a cotton fabric that features flowers and other patterns in an array of colours, originated in India and Pakistan over a 1000 years ago. Wooden blocks were used to apply the natural dyes onto hand woven cotton fabric. This tradition is still used by master artisans throughout the same regions today. These bright patterns were brought back to France and England throughout the 1500’s by merchants and explorers. The wealthy could only afford such beautiful work and used them as wallcoverings and bedcovers, most commonly. It wasn’t until the middle of the 17th century when chintz began to be used for clothes and as it gained in popularity it so happened the textile manufacturers in both France and Britain revolted. With the rise in popularity of this sought after cotton, the production of their linen, wool and silk products were waning. Pressure mounted and between 1686-1759 imported chintz was banned in France and between 1700-1774 in Britain.

Britain began to manufacture chintz at home. To reduce their dependence on cotton from India, they turned to the New World to produce. The creation of a frost resistant cotton in the US that could be manufactured in machines in Britain had devastating consequences. These included, the enslavement and forcible relocation of much of the American Indigenous population and the beginning of the horrific West African slave trade. The number of cotton mills and factories exploded throughout Britain and elsewhere in Europe, through unethical means and human devastation coupled with an explosion in technical innovation in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.

With the emergence of the Arts and Craft movement, the popularity of chintz waned. It had a brief resurgence in the 1960s, but it wasn’t until the 1980s as I discussed earlier, that its popularity gained momentum once again. Today, in India and Pakistan, artisans continue to practice their ancient practice of woodblocking on natural cotton using natural dyes. These beautiful, traditional chintz fabrics are largely used in the fashion industry. Rather, in the design industry, most manufactured chintz used for draperies, pillows and light upholstery is manufactured using harsh chemicals that are often improperly disposed of in waterways. 

With the trends moving towards traditional style again, it seems likely that the chintz will regain in popularity. As we’ve seen in history, with popularity there can come devastating social and environmental consequences in the name of making money. Let us learn from the horrific mistakes that we’ve made in the past and bring back a new and improved chintz. One that incorporates a wealth of knowledge passed down for thousands of years in the production of traditional chintz, to the current environmental degradation of the waterways  in both China and elsewhere where some chintz is produced. I would like to see the OEKOTEX (free of harmful substances) label on all of the new chintz fabrics. As chintz regains its popularity, knowing that the fabric workers and their local environment aren’t being subjected to harmful substances is the direction we need to go. As Winston Churchill once said, “those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.” Instead let us learn, grow and do better. I’m excited to bring back the chintz, but I want to do so ethically and environmentally.