Possible Clues:

• Shade of purplish-red
• Spy on Frenchman before a battle
• Shade of crimson — name tag (anag)
• Scholar's written about spy in battle
• Old lady keeps plant perhaps in shade
• Graduate engages someone to promote book: The Color Purple
• Graduate incorporating representative colour
• Colour of new nametag
• Kid's utterance, eating chap's plum
• One of the base shades used in four-colour printing