What can I send to Green Matters to dye?
Hello to our slow fashion community <3
What a year it has been for the team at Green Matters Natural Dye Company. Since late 2022 we launched our first-ever small batch offering and have been pleasantly surprised with the growing interest in this service.
Winona, co-founder of GMDC, dressed in 100% indigo
What began as a single-color offering through the Community Indigo Vat has grown to include an additional 3 colors per month through our Dye Lot of the Month service. Anyone in North America can send garments and home textiles (like bedding, quilts, slipcovers, etc) to our studio to be overdyed in a dyebath made from flowers, seeds, and barks.
These overdye services are a great way to reinvent and repair beloved garments that have become stained or could use a color refresh. It’s also a great way to transform not-so-beloved garments into your new favorite thing.
While we developed this service to be for clothing, to our surprise we have had people in our slow fashion community utilize the service for the unexpected, like dyeing quilts, napkins, yarn for hand knitting and fabric for sewing projects.
Whatever form the fiber you send takes, we are thrilled that you are participating in a slower, more thought way of interacting with the textiles in the world around you.
Enjoy our first consumer facing service, offering members of our community ways to keep garments in their closets and out of landfills. Our dye bath is the perfect solution for clothing that you already own.
Mail us any new or used garment or household item that is made of natural fibers, and our team will process it in GOTS certified natural indigo. Upon purchase, a member of our team will contact you to help facilitate shipping.
NEW! We have just introduced a new option for this service, Small Items! This will offer a lower price for dyeing items that weigh less than ¼ pound. Think silk scarves, camisoles, light tote bags, tank tops and baby clothing. Please note that if you select this, but your item is significantly over ¼ pound, we will reach out with an invoice to pay for a full sized item.
Once received, expect you garment to be returned to you within 4-6 weeks. Garments that weigh more than 1 lb may incur additional fees.
Have more than 5 garments, or want to submit a batch with a group of friends? We offer batch discounts.
Please see our bulk discounts below : Note that these do not apply during our birthday sale. If you have an order over 20 garments, reach out to our team about wholesale pricing.
3+ garments, use code 3BLUE for 10% off
5+ garments, use code 5BLUE for 20% off
10+ garments use code 10BLUE for 30% off
Costing for Large Items (items significantly over 1.25 lb)
Please note large items such as: bedding (sheets or quilts), large winter jackets, towels, yardage, etc. are billed per pound.
Please note that we no longer accept sweaters for dyeing. If you purchase this service for a sweater, our team will ask you to choose a different garment.
Shipping:
Once your order is placed, our team will reach out with a shipping label and instructions for shipping your garment. Please note it may take 2-3 days to process and email your label.
Our team will share packaging instructions with you in our email. Customers are responsible for any surcharges incurred for large shipments.
If shipping seems high for this service, please note that it is accounting for fees for two shipping labels.
Please note that on bulk orders we ask customers to pay shipping both ways. Bulk discounts do not apply during a sale.
Want to save on shipping? We now have drop off options available. At checkout, select ‘Pick up’ as your shipping option to see if any stores local to you partner with us.
Remember when choosing item size that ‘small’ is anything under ¼ (silk scarves, camisoles, children’s clothing). Regular items are items that are between ¼ pound and 1 pound. Please note that if you select small for a larger item, our team will send a bill to upgrade to a regular sized item.
Questions? Reach out to us at info@greenmattersnaturaldyecompany.com
I for one am guilty-as-charged when it comes to dressing in monochrome…. it’s perhaps the only current trend that I will nod my head with in agreement. Trends aside (and honestly, please, let’s leave them at the door) - these overdye services are a meaningful way to shift how we relate to our clothes. Garments are precious items. Earth was sewn, plants and animals stewarded, fibers spun, fabrics woven and sewn together to bring forth items we all take for granted, like t-shirts, denim jeans, a t-shirt dress.
Hanging out in the garden in cutch-dyed garments.
If you are a maker yourself, you know first-hand how resource intensive it is to sew or dye your own garment. I’m sure some of you have tried to spin your own yarn to knit up a pair of socks - maybe you even sheared a sheep somewhere along the way (something I hope to learn to do some day…). Creation is no small task, and our creations should be honored for all the precious time and materials that went in to them. Let’s keep our closets alive and seek ways to repair rather than replace!
So you may be wondering - what kind of garments can you send to GMDC to be dyed with botanical dyes?
Good question. Natural dyes can only bond with natural fibers, meaning you must be mindful with the garments you select to send to us. Let’s walk through the steps of determining whether your garment is made with natural or synthetic fibers.
Finding your garment tag
The most helpful tool that you have is already attached to your garment. If you are looking to send us a t-shirt, tank top, dress, jeans, etc. we recommend reviewing the care tag attached to your garment. This tag will typically include the fiber content of your garment as well as care instructions. Usually it is located on the back of the neck for tops, back of the waist for bottoms, and sometimes along a seam inside the garment.
What kind of garments can I send to you?
We accept any natural fiber garments, including:
protein fibers: silk, wool, alpaca, etc.
cellulose fibers: cotton, linen, hemp, etc.
synthetic cellulose fibers: modal, viscose, rayon, bamboo
We cannot dye items that are 100% synthetic, which includes fibers such as nylon, polyester, and acrylic.
Can you dye my garment if it’s 50% polyester?
Yes! We are able to dye fabrics that consist of at least 50% natural fiber. It is important to note that the presence of synthetic material can shift the color outcome of your garment, in terms of evenness and saturation.
I have a vintage garment and don’t know the fiber type - how do I find out?
Thanks for asking! We get this question a lot and the answer may shock you. The best way to find out whether your garment is natural or synthetic is to do something called a burn test.
If you are a sane person, you may be wondering - are you seriously asking me to set my grandmother’s vintage knit blanket on fire?
Well.. yes and no…
This video shows the different burn characteristics of synthetic versus natural fibers. The important takeaway is that natural fibers will burn like kindling, leaving a soft residue behind, and may smell like burning hair. In comparison, synthetic fibers melt and often ‘bead up’ into a small hard residue.
This test can be done on a single fiber - we recommend either pulling a loose thread from your textile or garment, or conducting this test on an inner seam that will not be visible from the outside. A piece of fuzz or pilling works too. If it both melts, and smells like burning paper/or hair it may be a blend.
A spin off of our Community Indigo Vat, we now offer a small batch dye service of rotating a color dye bath to help members of our community keep garments in their wardrobe and out of landfills. Each month, there will be a new dye recipe.
NEW! We have just introduced a new option for this service, Small Items! This will offer a lower price for dyeing items that weigh less than ¼ pound. Think silk scarves, camisoles, light tote bags, tank tops and baby clothing. Please note that if you select this, but your item is significantly over ¼ pound, we will reach out with an invoice to pay for a full sized item.
This month we are launching 3 entirely new colors!
Eggplant is dyed with madder root and chestnut.
Salted Caramel is dyed with cutch
Midnight is dyed with indigo, then dyed with chesnut
These colors will be available to anyone who purchases the service while these colors are live on the site (if they are up, they are available). Garments will be shipped back to you around the end of the following month.
A shipping fee will be applied at check out, and one of our team members will reach out to make you a shipping label and leave instructions for how/where to drop off the shipment. Labels are emailed Weekdays between 9AM-4PM Eastern.
First time ordering? Please scroll to the bottom of our product page to read our terms and conditions, which outline more about what to expect from this service.
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Bulk Costing is Available:
The cost of this service - $35 - 50- covers (1) garment up to ~1lb. Please note that if you have 2 or more garments of average size, you must order the service for each garment. If you have irregular sized items like socks, childrenswear, reach out to our team to get a cost of your project.
3+ garments, use code 3BULK for 10% off
5+ garments, use code 5BULK for 20% off
10+ garments, use code 10BULK for 30% off
Costing for Large Items (items significantly over 1.25 lb)
Please note large items such as: bedding (sheets or quilts), large winter jackets, towels, yardage, etc. are billed per pound.
You can purchase entry to the dyelot online and our team will weigh your items upon arrival and send an invoice for the remaining balance.
Find out more at our Love My Linens service page.
Please note that we no longer accept wool sweaters for dyeing. If you purchase this service for a sweater, our team will ask you to choose a different garment. Cotton sweaters are acceptable, but please note they will placed in garment dye machines.
Shipping Terms:
If shipping seems high for this service, please note that it is accounting for fees for two shipping labels.
Once your order is placed, our team will reach out with a shipping label and instructions for shipping your garment. Please note it may take 2-3 days to process and email your label.
Our team will share packaging instructions with you in our email. Customers are responsible for any surcharges incurred for large shipments.
Note that we do not cover shipping for international orders, and we do not cover shipping for orders that eligible for bulk discounts.
Have a brand? Reach out to our team about wholesale pricing.
Remember when choosing item size that ‘small’ is anything under ¼ (silk scarves, camisoles, children’s clothing). Regular items are items that are between ¼ pound and 1 pound. Please note that if you select small for a larger item, our team will send a bill to upgrade to a regular sized item.
So, how did it go? Did you determine the fiber content of your sweater without burning your house down? I certainly hope so.
If you’re looking for news on upcoming dye lot colors, join the Dye Lot of the Month Club! This free newsletter includes a sneak peak at upcoming colors as well as monthly discount codes for your orders… plus some pretty good music recommendations, like this album by Robohands:
Peace to you and your beloved ones,
bixa