Patagonia taps silkworm poop, beetles, and pomegranate rinds for textile dyes

In California, high-end outdoor clothing giant Patagonia is working with Swiss textile chemicals firm Archroma to introduce renewable dyes to its new collection of sweatshirts, shorts, T-shirts, and shirts.

The dyes in question, dubbed EarthColors by Archroma, contain up to 96% plant-based material. These include Palmetto Green, made from non-edible palmetto green material and Citrus Brown from bitter orange peel waste from agricultural and pharmaceutical production. The Mulberry dye is derived from Chinese silkworm excrement, while Carmine red is produced from chochineal beetles. Pomegranate rinds are used to produce a yellow-brown color.

Patagonia, which already uses Archroma’s Advanced Denim technology in its Patagonia Denim collection, says the synthetic dyes it employs already use less water and energy than conventional processes.

“Trail blazers like Patagonia bring us invaluable support in accelerating sustainable concepts in the textile value chain,” Paul Cowell, head of brand marketing at Archroma, tells just-style.com.