Did you know there are sustainable alternatives for the dyeing processes in the fashion and textile industry?
Let´s start with some relevant facts and figures that illustrate why this is relevant nowadays:
- The fashion industry uses around 93 billion cubic meters of water annually, enough to fill 37 million Olympic swimming pools, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
- Mills can use up to 200 tons of water per ton of dyed fabric, which in turn only produces about 1400 pieces of clothing.
- The fashion industry’s dyeing and treatment processes are responsible for 20% of the world’s water pollution
What is its impact?
Traditional colour dyeing is one of the most polluting and energy-intensive processes in the textile industry:
- Excess water consumption during the production process
- Waste water disposal after the production process
- Chemicals and dyes end up in the groundwater
- Heavy metals contamination: hazardous substances end up in our food chain causing health issues.
What are the available solutions?
Nowadays, there are a lot of innovative sustainable dyeing methods that are safe for people and the environment. Innovation in dyeing technologies ranges from:
- Pre-treatment of cotton
- Natural colors extracted from biodegradable plant sources
- Pressurized CO2 dye application
- Creating natural pigments from microbes.
