Handspun wool and natural (vegetal) dyes are key ingredients associated with top quality carpet production. Colors achieved through the use of natural dyes are soft in appearance and have a calming effect on the eyes.

The same cannot be said for their man-made counterparts - chemical, or chrome dyes. The best of these dyes attempt to mimic the colors of nature, while the poorest qualities give off colors that are harsh and offensive to the eyes.

 Caravan classics uses natural dyes exclusively, including fermented indigo in liquid form (shown above in vats in our Hebei province workshop) which produces tones impossible to replicate through the use of synthetic indigo. We use only the top quality Chinese wools, primarily from Ningxia, Xining and Tibet. These are blended with the best New Zealand wools, renowned for being rich in lanolin and for producing deep, lustrous tones. Our wools are spun entirely by hand. Hand spun woolen yarn varies in tightness and thickness. These variations cause the dyes to be absorbed differently into the wool, sometimes more, sometimes less, which in turn produces subtle variations within a given color, an effect known as "abrash". When it appears naturally, abrash greatly enhances the way we experience and respond to a carpet's colors.