Frequently Asked Questions
Curious if your garment is a good fit for our natural dye service? Check out these frequently asked questions and learn more about the potential outcomes of natural dyes.
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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!
Clay is dyed with cutch
Coffee Bean is dyed with cutch and chestnut, a warm version of our Natural Black
Moss is dyed with pomegranate peels and chestnut. Our product photo features garments from our friends Faanware (Moss shirt) and Four Objects (Moss trousers).
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.
Q: What garments can I send to your dye house?
You can send any natural fiber garment or blends that are at least 60% natural fibers. Natural fibers include cotton, linen, silk, wool, and even semi-synthetic fibers like rayon, modal, tencel, and lyocell. You can find out more at our blog post “What Can I Send to Green Matters To Dye?” linked below.
Q: Your page says I can send something up to 1 pound - how much does ____ weight?
We answer this question extensively on our blog post “What Do Garments Weigh?” >> check it out below!
Q: How long until I get my garment back?
The time between when you send us your garment & when we return it to you can vary. For indigo, you can expect about 4 weeks as all indigo items are dyed one at a time, by hand, at our indigo vat.
For the Dye Lot of the Month, the timeline can vary. When we offer our monthly dylots, we accept orders from the first of he month until the last day of the month. Once all orders arrive at our studio, we can start running the communal dye lots. The amount of time it takes to process all the garments varies depending on volume. For this reason, if you send us your garments on August 30th, you may get them back within 2 weeks, while someone who sent items on August 1st have to wait a bit longer.
Q:Do you dye rayon?
A: Yes! Rayon, modal, viscose, tencel, and lyocell are semi-synthetic fibers. Each of these fibers is :: technically :: cellulose based, though chemical processing is required to transform wood pulp into fiber. The plant based dyes we use for our community dye lots will adhere to these fibers because they are :: technically :: cellulose based. That said, we often find that recipes come out less vibrant than if we dye a garment that is 100% cotton, silk, linen, or wool. We are happy to dye whatever garments you send our way (unless they’re polyester - the dyes just won’t bond with synthetic fibers, sorry!), understanding we can’t promise that your garment will take color the same way as our product images.
Q: If I send you a garment that isn’t white, do you remove the color before dyeing it?
A: We get this question a lot, and the answer is no we do not strip the color from your garments prior to dyeing them. While your garments do :: not :: have to be white when you send them to us, if your garment is not white it will likely have a different color outcome than you see in our product photos. For example, if you send a bright yellow garment to be dyed in our deep red Pinot, the color outcome may be warmer than the product image, leaning toward orange rather than red. If you send a dark brown garment and have it dyed in eggplant, it may be a very deep shade of purple, grey, or possibly black. The truth is, we can make some informed guesses about the color outcome of your garment, but we really don’t know until we try! That’s part of the adventure of upcycling garments with natural dyes ~
Q: Do you offer tie dye?
A: Sure do! When you place your order on our site, you will see the option to select “solid” or “tie dye” when you order. We also welcome you to tie your garment yourself prior to shipping if there is a particular pattern you want on your garment.
Q: Can I send several garments to the dye lot?
A: Yes, yes you can ~ If you send 5+ garments to the Community Indigo Vat and/or Dye Lot of the Month, you will qualify for bulk pricing. Your order of 5+ garments can be split between multiple colors- use code 5BLUE for indigo and 5BULK for DLOM colors, and be sure the quantities you are sending match the quantity in your cart at check out.
Interested in a wholesale order? Email us at info@greenmattersnaturaldyecompany.com
Q: Can I send you my slipcover? What about bedding?
A: You can definitely send us a slipcover as long as it is made with 60%+ natural fibers. And of course, a mind our caveat!:
We find natural dyes in the home to be very beautiful and fulfilling (I personally have an indigo dyed couch cover and I love it very much). It’s important to emphasize that interior fabrics receive more UV exposure than fabrics that we store in our wardrobes, and there may be visible shifts in color over time. Additionally, because of the oversized nature of the piece being dyed, you would expect to see tonal variation within the color which is caused by the way larger fabrics move in our dye machines.
Note that for oversized items, we ask that you submit your order thorugh our Love My Linens page, which is priced for larger items such as bedding, slipcovers, etc.
We now offer an overdye service for those of you looking to nourish your sleeping experience. Please enter the color of the month you are interested in having your bedding dyed, and select the appropriate options below. This is also a great option for quilts, blankets, or large garments link jumpsuits, and coats. Please do not select custom color without contacting our team at info@greenmattersnaturaldyecompany.com.
Unlike The Dye Lot of the Month, this service is billed per pound. The amount due at checkout is a deposit toward your order total. Our team will weigh your bedding when it arrives and issue you an invoice for any outstanding balance due toward your order. Billing varies per color:
Eggplant and Salted Caramel: $30/lb
Indigo and Midnight : $40/lb
Custom Colors: $40/lbs
Note we do not accept bedding in our natural black service.
Note that any indigo based recipe (aqua, teal, hyacinth, deep space, midnight, emerald, slate blue and indigo) and are billed at $40/lb.
How Much Does my Bedding Weigh?
See below for an estimate of what we expect your bedding to weigh, noting that this may vary depending on the fiber type and construction of your linens.
King Flat Sheet or King Fitted Sheet: 2.8lb
Queen/Full Flat Sheet or Queen/Full Fitted sheet: 2-2.5lb
Twin Flat Sheet or Twin Fitted sheet: 1.5-1.75lb
Duvet: 3-5lb
Quilt: 2-5 lb
Shipping Terms:
The shipping fee you pay serves as a deposit toward the return cost of shipping your linens back to you once they are dyed.
Love My Linens customers are responsible for organizing shipping to our studio. You can ship your items to us at the following address:
Green Matters
5541 Old Philadelphia Pike, Unit 3
Gap PA 17527
If you would like our team to generate a shipping label for you, please send us the dimensions of your package when you have packed up your items.
Your order serves as a deposit toward the total cost to ship your linens. When your items arrive, our team will weigh them and determine if there is an additional balance due toward your order. We will send you an invoice that includes the following charges:
Additional balance due toward dyeing your linens
Shipping costs to and from our studio
When will I received my freshly dyed linens?
Because larger items can take longer to dye and more individual attention than smaller products, please note that it may take up to 6 weeks to dye your bedding or oversized items.
Indigo-based colors and Natural Black may take up to 8 weeks to complete.
Have questions? Email our team at info@greenmattersnaturaldyecompany.com
Q: Can you overdye my _____ a custom color?
We offer custom dye through our Bridal Heirloom service, originally offered to help upcycle wedding garments that are typically worn on a single occasion. This package has two options. Customers can opt for samples to review prior to dyeing the dress. We are only able to process samples if you have swatches of the same fabric your dress is constructed out of. Customers can review swatches of color outcomes to review and select prior to dyeing the dress. If you select no samples, our team will communicate with you about desired color outcome, and will dye the garment according to previous recipes with a similar outcome.
Our Bridal Heirloom package helps you breathe new life into a garment typically designed to be worn once. Our team will send you a shipping label so you can package up your garment(s) and send our way for custom dye. Collaborate with our team to develop the color or print you desire. We will reach out to you directly to begin this process together.
This package has two options. Customers can opt for samples to review prior to dyeing the dress. We are only able to process samples if you have swatches of the same fabric your dress is constructed out of. Customers can review swatches of color outcomes to review and select prior to dyeing the dress. If you select no samples, our team will communicate with you about desired color outcome, and will dye the garment according to previous recipes with a similar outcome.
Sending your wedding bouquet or other floral arrangements is encouraged to further memorialize your special day.
Questions? Fill out our Bridal Heirloom Survey.
Please scroll down to review our service disclaimer prior to your purchase.