GARMENT REBIRTH: INDIGO

Domestic Customers

After you place your order, you will receive a PDF download regarding the steps of action and what you can expect. We'll contact you personally with a USPS shipping label in 1-2 business days. Send your garment to us by packing it up and dropping it at the United States Postal Service. Once received, your garment will be prepped, dyed, washed, dried, and packaged in 4 weeks time. The garment will be sent back to you via USPS. Then, it's up to you to wear your garment with newfound pride and joy.

International Customers

Orders placed outside of the lower 48 United States will be charged an additional shipping cost. This varies based on location and item size and weight. After placing your order, we will send you an enrollment form to inventory your items. Once received, we'll calculate shipping and email you an invoice with the exact cost. From there, you can decide on proceeding with the project. Average shipping cost for 1-2 items back and forth to outer North America ($55), Europe ($75), Asia, Austrailia, South America ($90). We recommend bundling with friends and family to save on shipping and dyeing costs.

We encourage you to dye garments yourself locally! Here is our Kitchen Sink Dye Guide on how to use food waste to renew garments. Alternatively, you can find guides to dye with indigo powder or learn to grown your own indigo plant.

Regarding dyeing sewing and knitting projects, fabric is charged per yard and must be ≤ 18oz. Skein must be ≤ 200g.

As this is an experimental project, there are some small uncertainties. We have tried to cover them all as extensively as possible, and welcome any questions via support@ground-cover.com! Thanks for your shared curiosity. By purchasing this item, you acknowledge the following.

Dye

Botanical dyes naturally have strong textures and color variation. Your garment may not look identical to the samples above due to variances in weave, knit, composition, and weight. Please be aware that thread and buttons are often synthetic and may not take up as much dye as the body of your garment.

Sometime, previously unnoticeable stains come to light through dyeing. If this is the case, we will happily over-tie-dye your garment with a dark grey at no additional charge. We will confirm with you before proceeding.

Natural dye only bonds to natural fibers (cotton, hemp, linen, wool, silk, etc), and not synthetic fibers (polyester, acetate, etc). Note that if your garment is constructed with a synthetic thread in the seams, the thread may not change color with the fabric. The dye also has potential to change the finish of any hardware on your garment, including buttons, zippers, etc.

It is important to note that indigo dyed items nearly always crock, or transfer dye from the surface of the garment to other surfaces during the first wear. We advise washing alone before wearing, and not pairing your indigo dyed garment with white garments until after a few wears and washes. The crocking will slow down with time.

Please be aware that over dyeing garments that have been wore previously may exhibit previously unseen stains after dyeing. An example is a tee shirt we found at a Goodwill, after being mordanted and dyed, had darker markings under the armpits, where aluminum based deodorant permeated the fiber. Indigo is often best for covering stains. If any previously unseen stains present themselves, a member of our team will reach out and discuss dyeing a pattern over the indigo dye to cover the stain (bundle dye, shibori, tie dye, etc) Also note that indigo does not create a perfectly even color, and tonal variations my be present in the fiber.

Depending on how your item was cared for prior to dyeing, it is possible it could shrink slightly in the dye process. If your items have been previous washed warm or were sold as ‘pre-shrunk’ then you likely don’t have to worry!

Natural dyes should be cared for mindfully. Your indigo dyed item will keep color longest with the following:

• Wash cold on delicate (alone on the first wash)
• Use a gentle detergent (avoid Tide Original, oxiclean or bleach)
• Store out of light

Price

If your product weighs significantly more or less that the average item in its category, we will require an additional invoice or refund to accommodate the weight. Lighter items require less dye while heavier require more. This will be executed at the dye house before the garment is dyed. Customers will have the opportunity to approve of the fee/refund or request a return. In the case of a return, we will refund you the dye cost minus any shipping fees incurred to and from the customer.

International shipping is charged additionally on top of the price listed above. We will calculate the true shipping cost once we confirm what items you will be sending in. This cost will be invoiced to you prior to sending your clothes in so you can decide if you'd like to move forward.