Exploring natural colorants for sustainable environments and the future of the halal industry

Natural colorants have gained renewed interest due to concerns over the health and environmental risks of synthetic dyes. Traditionally sourced from plants and minerals, these natural alternatives align with the halalan toyyiban principle in Islam, which emphasizes safety, purity, and ethical sourcing. Synthetic dyes, often linked to allergies, hyperactivity, and pollution, pose challenges for halal certification due to unclear or animal-derived origins. In contrast, plant-based colorants offer supply chain transparency and sustainability. Advances in biotechnology and green chemistry now allow stable pigment extraction from natural sources, supporting the development of safe, eco-friendly, and halal-compliant products. As industries prioritize sustainability, natural colorants emerge as biodegradable and eco-conscious alternatives. Building upon the growing relevance of natural colorants as safe, sustainable, and halal-compliant alternatives, this review sets out to achieve three main objectives. First, it explores current research and recent advancements in the development and application of natural colorants across various industries. Second, it assesses their environmental sustainability by evaluating how natural colorants compare to synthetic dyes in terms of biodegradability and resource efficiency. Third, it examines the integration of natural colorants into the halal industry, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in meeting halalan toyyiban standards and enhancing consumer trust through clearer ingredient transparency. This review uses a narrative approach to explore recent studies on natural colorants. Relevant literature was collected from databases such as Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar using keywords like “natural colorants,” “halal dyes,” and “sustainable pigments.” Reflecting the insights gathered from the review, the expected findings reveal that natural colorants offer strong potential as sustainable, safe, and halal-compliant alternatives, with expanding industrial applications and improved prospects for halal certification.