Why are dusters yellow?

Here’s something to mull over before the year goes out. Why are dusters yellow? And why has it never occurred to me to wonder why until now?

It seems I’m not the only one who’s puzzled. The Guardian featured this question in their Notes & Queries section (Why are dusters yellow? Notes & Queries, The Guardian)

I imagined that there’d be a simple answer, but there doesn’t seem to be a definitive one. The one I find most convincing is the one about dusters once being recycled butter muslin, which absorbed the colouring used in the butter it once wrapped.