From field to fashion: Tintoremus' homegrown indigo cultivation promotes natural dyes

In May 2022, Clemente Cebrián and Lola López of Spanish sustainably sourced fashion brand El Ganso found a solution for a problem they had been pondering: They had unused fields in western Spain (initially in La Herguijuela) but did not know what to plant there as summers were dry and hot. Then inspiration struck - indigo seemed perfect given that the plant is drought-tolerant and needs a good amount of direct sunlight. In October of the same year, Tintoremus was born to promote homegrown dyes as well as other natural dyes.

By June the next year, cultivation increased from initially 2,500 square metres to 20,000 square metres. By February 2024, it moved about 100 kilometres south to Santa María de Las Lomas and by the end of the year, the first garments dyed with natural dyes came on the market. In January of this year, denim was added with Tintoremus’ indigo by Royo Tech Dry Indigo fabric. Today, the project is the largest indigo cultivation in Europe, boasting more than half a million Persicaria tinctoria plants on around ten hectares. 

Re-dye demo at CIFF

The brand went a step further and not only produced clothes dyed with their nine natural dyes - Indigoremus, Arbor, Lilium, Granatum, Albus, Solaris, Flamma, Olea and Herbalis - but also started a ReDye corner in their store where customers can re-dye their own garments. To increase visibility, the brand recently demonstrated its in-store dyeing service at the Copenhagen International Fashion Fair (CIFF).

How does the re-dye service work? Customers simply bring in the garment (or sneakers) they want to dye - preferably natural fabrics like cotton, linen or silk in light colours - and pick the desired shade from the nine natural dyes on offer. The item is then hand-dyed by the Tintoremus team, a process customers can watch if they like. After three to five days, when the garment is dry, the customer can come back to the store and collect it.

The brand generates its own seed (of the Persicaria tinctoria variety), manages all the plantations and perform the various harvests. While it is a lot of work, it is also rewarding as it re-establishes the connection between producing clothes and the land it came from.

“We believe this is a good way of offering added value to the textile sector and to agriculture. But we have had to be patient and learn as we go. We have realised how dependent we are on the people who work the land, and on the weather,” explained Lola López according to Inside Denim.

Environmental impact

The results speak for themselves: The brand analysed the environmental impact of Persicaria tinctoria together with sustainability management platform Bcome. It found out, that compared to the cultivation of bell peppers for example, the indigo plant has a lower environmental impact and helps conserve soil in the Spanish community of Extremadura.

“We optimize every drop of water, reducing the impact on water scarcity. We also maximise every stage of the process: The leaves are transformed into compost, and the use of chemical inputs is minimal,” states the brand on its website.

Therefore, compared to other natural dyes, there is a 66 percent reduction of water use, emissions are lowered by 88 percent and resource depletion by 79 percent. In addition, Tintoremus’ natural indigo reduces the impact on global warming by 36 percent thanks to the use of spent leaves as a natural fertiliser during extraction.