Dharma Trading

What Dharma Trading does

Dharma Trading Co. is a privately held US specialty retailer of textile craft supplies, founded in 1969 and headquartered in Petaluma, California. The company sells fiber reactive dyes, natural dyes, fabric paints, blank clothing, silk fabrics, and supporting tools and chemicals through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront at dharmatrading.com and a single physical retail store in San Rafael, California. Its proprietary Dharma brand product line — including Dharma Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes, Dharma Natural Dyes, Dharma Dyer's Detergent, and Dharma Ice & Easy Ice Dye Kits — anchors an offering that spans 12+ textile craft techniques: tie-dye, ice dyeing, batik, screen printing, silk painting, marbling, natural dyeing, fabric painting, sun painting, stamping, discharging, and tub dyeing. Dharma also distributes third-party brands such as Jacquard, Speedball, and Hanes alongside its own label.

Revenue is generated through unit-level retail sales priced from approximately $2.24 (Habotai scarves) to over $10 (screen-printing inks), with same-day shipping from a California warehouse and free craft support via a toll-free phone line. The customer base is primarily individual artists and hobbyists, supplemented by a smaller commercial/industrial segment purchasing dyes for high-volume batch processing in uniforms, hospitality, and healthcare applications. The company maintains an extensive educational content library — Dharma Tutorials, Dharma Articles, and a Featured Artists program — and an active social media presence across Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to drive discovery and community building. With 11–50 employees, 56 years of continuous operation, and no disclosed external funding, Dharma Trading is a small, debt-free independent operator whose principal assets are brand equity, a curated product catalog, and a tightly run DTC operation in the United States and Canada.

Name

Dharma Trading

Legal name

Dharma Trading Co.

Website

https://dharmatrading.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Petaluma

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail E-commerce Sales: Direct online sales of textile craft supplies, dyes, paints, fabrics, clothing blanks, tools, and accessories through dharmatrading.com and one physical retail store.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Dharma Trading Co. is a specialty retailer of textile craft supplies selling proprietary Dharma brand dyes (fiber reactive procion dyes, natural dyes, ice dye kits, dyer's detergent), reselled fabric paints and screen printing inks (Jacquard, Speedball, Setacolor, Lumiere), habotai silk fabrics, blank cotton t-shirts, batik wax, fixatives, and tools. The catalog is organized around 12+ craft techniques including tie-dye, ice dyeing, batik, screen printing, silk painting, marbling, natural dyeing, fabric painting, and sun painting. Sales are primarily conducted direct-to-consumer via the dharmatrading.com e-commerce storefront with one retail store in San Rafael, California.

Product overview

Dharma Trading Co. is a specialty retailer of textile craft supplies founded in 1969, offering a comprehensive portfolio of dyes, paints, fabrics, clothing blanks, tools, and accessories for various textile arts. The core offerings include Dharma Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes and Dharma Natural Dyes as primary product lines, supplemented by an extensive range of branded paints (Jacquard, Setacolor, Lumiere) and fabric substrates (silk, cotton, hemp). The product ecosystem is organized around craft techniques including tie-dye, ice dyeing, batik, screen printing, silk painting, marbling, natural dyeing, fabric painting, sun painting, stamping, and discharging. Dharma Trading operates as a direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform without software or API products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dharma Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes Proprietary professional-grade fiber reactive dyes for tie-dye, ice dyeing, and solid color dyeing on natural fabrics including cotton, rayon, hemp, linen, bamboo, and Tencel, sold to individual artists, crafters, and select industrial buyers.
• Dharma Dyes brand line Dharma-branded umbrella dye line covering Dharma Dye for Tie-Dye, Dharma Dye for Ice Dye, Dharma Dye for Solid Color Dyeing, and Dharma Dye for Silk & Wool applications.
• Dharma Natural Dyes Proprietary plant-based and botanical dye extracts including madder, indigo, marigold, and cochineal for natural dyeing applications.
• Dharma Ice & Easy Ice Dye Kits Proprietary beginner-friendly ice dyeing kits including dye bottles, gloves, rubber bands, and instructions in themed color combinations such as Dragonfire and Peacock.
• Dharma Dyer's Detergent Proprietary specialized detergent formulated for pre-washing fabrics before dyeing to improve dye uptake and consistency.
• Batik Wax Wax for batik resist technique to create designs on fabric before dyeing.
• deColourant Color Remover Color removal product for discharging and dye-discharge techniques to remove color from fabrics.
• Soda Ash Fixer Alkali fixative required for setting fiber reactive dyes on cotton and other cellulose fibers.
• Hanes 6.1 oz. Beefy-T blank t-shirt Blank cotton t-shirt suitable for tie-dye, ice dyeing, and fabric painting projects.
• Habotai Silk 8mm fabric 8mm weight habotai silk fabric available in over 30 colors, suitable for silk painting and dyeing projects.
• Habotai 8mm Scarves Pre-made silk scarves in 8mm habotai silk available in multiple colors, suitable for hand painting and dyeing.
• Jacquard Textile Colors Fabric paints for painting on light-colored fabrics, available in over 36 colors including primaries and metallics.
• Lumiere and Neopaque fabric paints Fabric paints with metallic and pearlescent finishes for fabric decoration and printing.
• Setacolor Transparent Fabric Paints Transparent fabric paints suitable for sunpainting and fabric decoration on light fabrics.
• Speedball Flex Fabric Screen Printing Inks Screen printing inks for fabric available in multiple colors including primaries.
• Jacquard Dye-Na-Flow Fabric paint for direct application on fabric, suitable for silk painting and watercolor effects.
• Jacquard SolarFast Light-sensitive fabric dye for sun printing projects, activated by UV rays.
• Jacquard Marbling Colors Floating paints for fabric marbling on a thickened water (size) surface.
• Organic Indigo Organic indigo for natural dyeing, suitable for indigo vat dyeing technique.
• Jacquard Indigo Dye Kit Complete kit for indigo vat dyeing including crystals and instructions.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pro Chemical & Dye: Specialty supplier of professional and hobbyist textile dyes, mordants, and auxiliaries. Closest direct competitor to Dharma in the fiber-reactive and natural dye categories, serving overlapping artists and small-batch industrial customers.
• Speedball Art Products: Manufacturer of screen printing inks (Speedball Flex Fabric Inks), block printing inks, and art supplies—sold through Dharma and competing directly in the fabric printing and screen printing categories.
• Jacquard Products: Manufactures textile paints and dyes—including Jacquard Textile Colors, Lumiere, Neopaque, Dye-Na-Flow, SolarFast, and Marbling Colors—that Dharma resells as part of its fabric painting assortment. Direct product overlap in textile craft chemistry.
• Rit Dye: Mass-market consumer fabric dye brand (Rit All-Purpose, Rit DyeMore for synthetics). Competes with Dharma's Dharma Dyes across the broader fabric dye category, especially for casual hobbyists and home textile refresh.
• Tulip (Duncan Enterprises): Best-selling consumer tie-dye kit brand (Tulip One-Step Tie-Dye). Direct competitor to Dharma's Dharma Ice & Easy kits and Dharma Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes in the mainstream tie-dye category.

Broad incumbents

• Blick Art Materials: Major art supplies retailer (online + catalog + retail stores) carrying fabric paints, dyes, and screen printing inks. Overlaps Dharma's surface decoration assortment but skews toward fine art rather than textile-craft specialization.
• Hobby Lobby: Large U.S. arts, crafts, and home decor retailer. Overlaps with Dharma in fabric paints, basic dyes, and blank apparel, though with broader hobby and seasonal assortment rather than textile-craft specialization.
• JOANN Stores: Major North American fabric and craft retailer carrying dyes, blank apparel, sewing notions, and fabric paint. Directly overlaps Dharma's piece goods and surface decoration categories with stronger fabric assortment.
• Michaels Stores: Largest North American specialty retailer of arts, crafts, and home decor supplies. Overlaps with Dharma across fabric paints, dyes, blank apparel, and basic craft supplies, with broader assortment and physical store footprint.

Emerging players

• Folkwear: Small heritage brand selling sewing patterns and textile-craft kits inspired by global folk textiles. Niche overlap with Dharma's fabric arts customer base, particularly for hand-decorated and culturally inspired textile projects.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@DharmaTradingCo
• Facebookfacebook.com/dharmatrading
• Instagraminstagram.com/dharmatradingco
• Pinterestpinterest.com/dharmatrading
• TikToktiktok.com/@dharmatradingco
• Xx.com/dharmatrading
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dharma-trading-co

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dharma Trading