GREENDIGO
Biosolutions for Denim Dyeing within the Planetary Boundaries
A new era of enzymatic denim dyeing.
GREENDIGO reimagines indigo dyeing through biobased precursors, enzyme-driven textile coloration and sustainability assessment designed around planetary boundaries.
3B+
pairs of jeans produced annually
>50%
projected footprint reduction
84kt
sodium hydrosulfite potentially avoided yearly
53kt
sodium hydroxide potentially avoided yearly
Replacing a century-old petrochemical process with a cleaner biological platform.
Core promise
A fully enzymatic, water-based denim dyeing approach that removes toxic reducing agents, lowers environmental impacts and builds toward industrial adoption within planetary boundaries.
Cleaning up the chemistry behind blue jeans
Most people have a pair of blue jeans in their wardrobe. However, the traditional blue comes at a heavy environmental cost. The dyeing process is one of the textile industry’s greatest pollutants. The EIC-funded GREENDIGO project aims to introduce the first industrial-scale, enzymatic alternative to fossil-based indigo. The breakthrough lies in a bio-based precursor that, when paired with a specific enzyme, generates colour directly on the fibre. This eliminates the need for the toxic reducing agents that have defined denim production for decades. By integrating enzyme engineering with sustainability tracking, GREENDIGO is building a scalable blueprint for circular fashion. This technical upgrade is a fundamental shift toward making Europe’s textile industry as clean as it is creative.
Start date End date
1 April 2026 31 March 2030
Funded under: The European Innovation Council (EIC)
Project objective
The global denim industry, producing over 3 billion pairs of jeans annually, is one of the most chemically intensive sectors in textiles. Conventional indigo dyeing relies on fossil-derived synthetic indigo and toxic reducing agents such as sodium hydrosulfite, resulting in widespread water pollution, hazardous working conditions, and high energy and chemical input. GREENDIGO aims to revolutionise this process by developing the first fully enzymatic, biobased dyeing method for denim that is scalable, safe, and sustainable. The project will replace conventional indigo with a water-soluble precursor, which can be adsorbed onto cotton fibres under mild aqueous conditions. A specific enzyme will catalyse its in-situ conversion to indigo directly on the fabric, eliminating the need for harmful reductants and enabling a cleaner, circular textile value chain. GREENDIGO will combine cutting-edge enzyme engineering, synthetic biology, and textile chemistry with advanced sustainability assessment to ensure the process is economically viable, environmentally safe, and aligned with planetary boundaries. The project applies the EC’s Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework from the outset and integrates life cycle analysis, ecotoxicity testing, and absolute sustainability modelling. Outcomes will be benchmarked against current practices, with particular attention to emissions, resource use, and scalability. If successful, GREENDIGO will lay the scientific and technological foundation for a new class of biosourced textile dyes, enabling the reindustrialisation of denim dyeing under strict environmental standards. The project supports key EU priorities, including the Green Deal, the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, and zero pollution targets.
Designed to cut pollution, reduce resource use and improve safety.
At full implementation, the project will realise its impact around large reductions in hazardous chemical use, lower wastewater burden, reduce carbon footprint and improved human and ecosystem health.
Cleaner chemistry: GREENDIGO aims to phase out hazardous reducing agents and fossil-based indigo inputs in favor of a water-based enzymatic process.
Lower environmental burden: Projected reductions span global warming, resource depletion, human health and biodiversity.
Safer working conditions: Reducing toxic chemicals can improve occupational health, especially in dyeing hubs where workers face hazardous exposure.
Regulated market readiness: The process is designed to support compliance, transparency and future alignment with circular and sustainable textile regulation.
Four partners combining biotech, textiles, sustainability and commercialisation.
Ca' Foscari University of Venice - IT
Coordinator • SSbD • Safety and sustainability assessment
UNIVE leads hazard, exposure, environmental/social/economic/planetary boundaries assessments (LCA, S-LCA, LCC, AESA) to guide a genuinely safe and sustainable pathway.
Nordic Blue - DK
Enzymology and process development • Scale-up
NORDIC leads enzymatic cascade design, indoxyl glycoside synthesis and overall technical feasibility and scalability.
Aalto University - FI
Textile chemistry • Fibre application and dyeing validation
AALTO translates the enzymatic concept into practical textile processes, including adsorption, conversion, fastness and continuous dyeing methods.
Bee Granted - NL
Exploitation • Communication
BEE leads dissemination, communication, IP and exploitation strategy, and market-facing stakeholder engagement for post-project uptake.
