Catalysts of change
Enzyme-based processes can generate the worn-in look and feel of traditional bleaching and stonewashing without damaging the denim fabric and in near-waterless conditions. These milder, safer and more sustainable alternatives to some of the harshest chemicals and processes used in garment washing could make some of the industry’s worst pain points history.
These engineered biological entities, enzymes, do their job diligently, one task at a time. Their ability to break down molecules, oxidise, digest, remove toxins and more makes them key catalysts in many natural processes, from the making of cheese and beer to our own human metabolism. A common ingredient in detergents, their use in various preparing and finishing phases in the textile industry has grown continuously in the past decades.
In the world of denim, they offer more efficient and more sustainable, safer and milder alternatives to the traditional, and toxic, chemicals and materials used in bleaching and stonewashing, from sodium hypochlorite and potassium permanganate (PP) to pumice stones. As a result of ongoing research and development by the companies operating in this field, these clean and green agents of change for laundries are available in new formats and formulations. This past March, Kaiser Tekstil rolled out Lava Cell NSY, promoted as an alternative to stonewashing that can be conducted at room temperature and without water. It is based on a new formulation developed by Dystar with enzymes provided by Novozymes. In February, Garmon Chemicals introduced its first family of ‘Kemzymes’, made by the company’s owner Kemin Industries, and presented as a replacement for pumice stones.
New solutions
It was only a matter of time before Garmon, based in the Republic of San Marino, developed its own enzyme-based solutions, as Kemin Industries, its owner since 2018, is an expert in the field. The company has been working on developing a cellulase enzyme solution for the denim industry for the past three years, Kimberly Nelson, president of Kemin Textile Auxiliaries, tells Inside Denim. The first range includes four products, in two concentrations and in two ready-to-use powder granular formats, designed to cover the needs of laundries throughout the world.
“These stonewashing enzymes are not only an alternative but a true replacement to pumice stones,” says Ms Nelson, adding that they offer a more sustainable solution, as they are drawn from a natural resource and can be used at room temperature. She also insists on higher process efficiency, as they eliminate the need for pumice stones and the operations related to their use. Pumice stones may be powerful abrasive agents, but they break down in washing machines and the garments treated need to be washed and rinsed numerous times to remove the volcanic dust. This is not the end either, as their presence in sludge poses yet other challenges.
Garmon’s innovation pipeline to 2025 has pretty much been set, says Ms Nelson, but remains mostly under cover. “We plan, before anything else, to expand and improve the Kemzymes line, leveraging the feedback from our customers.” The first generation products are said to be 20% more efficient with regards to abrasion than some of the most popular enzymes in the market, she says, as found in comparative technical tests.
It can be expected that other biocatalyst solutions for denims, knitwear and various fashion industry needs will be forthcoming. Ms Nelson says the company will be “deeply exploring bleaching solutions to offer a true replacement and not just an alternative”. As the instigator of the diversification of the family-owned-and-operated company into textiles and denim, and granddaughter of Kemin’s founders, Ms Nelson believes strongly in the potential for enzyme-based solutions for laundries. “Denim is a huge industry, but it also has very specific needs. Denim will never disappear, if anything, it is a growing market, and we are not afraid to invest in this sector.”Less water and less risks
As the global distributor for Dystar’s laundry auxiliaries, Istanbul-based Kaiser Tekstil has an extensive network in the denim industry and a thorough understanding of its needs. With Lava Zyme NBF, it introduced what it says is a safer and more sustainable alternative to bleaching agents potassium permanganate and sodium hypochlorite. “It provides a single, unique enzymatic bleaching solution for local and full bleached looks and gives perfect results as a permanganate replacement on pure indigo fabrics,” says Kaiser Tekstil sales and marketing director Serdar Demircioglu.
In tandem with a machine manufacturer, a special sealed robotic spraying device was developed that isolates the application process to ensure a safer environment for workers and remove any risk of inhalation. “This concept not only replaces dirty chemistry with a cleaner and greener one, it also protects the health of the workers,” he says. The enzyme solution, he further points out, is used in low liquor ratios and, as opposed to traditional chemistry, does not damage the fabric. “We all know that garment durability is an important feature of sustainability and our enzymatic bleaching system creates a bleached look without relation to the actual level of bleaching. This makes the Lava Zyme NBF system much more sustainable compared to traditional or chemical bleaching,” he adds.
The latest enzyme-based process introduced by Kaiser, Lava Cell NSY, is promoted as a waterless solution. This is something of a stretch, as it is applied on wet clothes, but there is no need to add water when the enzymes are sprayed into the tumbler. “Lava Cell NSY is both an accelerator for denim stone washing and an auxiliary for stonewashed effects. The product accelerates the mechanical abrasion of denim at room temperature and in waterless conditions,” says Mr Demircioglu.
A supplier to some 30 different industries, Copenhagen-based Novozymes is a leading producer of enzymes that has developed specific solutions for the denim industry. The company claims that laundries can reduce their water and energy usage by up to 90% by switching to enzymes under its DeniSafe concept. “Conventional denim washing can consume anywhere from 60 to 90 litres per jeans. When one considers that six billion pair of jeans are made globally every year, its impact on water resources is clearly unsustainable, and saving water is critical,” says Ilhan Simsek, commercial head of technical industries at Novozymes.
Besides water, energy and time savings, he says enzymes-based solutions can help laundries reduce the need for hazardous chemicals and address sludge issues related to the use of potassium permanganate and pumice stones. The shorter and lower temperature processes reduce CO2 emissions, as enzymatic bleaching eliminates the need for curing or neutralisation, he adds. These low impact solutions also contribute to safer working conditions. “We don’t sell enzymes in powder form to avoid exposure to airborne particles during application. Our encapsulated enzyme technology reduces this risk,” he says.
Game-changing formats
Soko Chimica, a supplier of auxiliaries for the textile industry, has played a prominent role in developing novel enzyme-based solutions. The Florence-based family-owned company develops these in its own innovation lab, and this is where, in the early 2010s, it began to investigate new ways of using enzymes. “We began to rethink the application process itself,” Matteo Urbini, grandson of the company founder, tells Inside Denim. He believes it is important not only to develop new chemicals, but also ensure they can be applied in industrial equipment. “Many opportunities for innovation are based on evolution in machinery, especially when it comes to washing,” he says.
The company’s first innovative move into enzymes was to develop a washing machine-based stonewashing solution in which the enzymes are sprayed on garments directly in the drum through a nebulising device that is added to the machine. This patented solution officially launched in 2013 is not waterless per se, says Mr Urbini, but rather uses “less water”. It has since inspired similar developments across the market.
A few years later, Soko Chimica developed and patented another novel format for enzyme solutions with the launch of a tablet system, presented at ITMA in 2019. “At the time, we were looking for the next industry standard, as we thought that spraying had reached its peak. We saw a new opportunity in the creation of a single product covering the full process from raw to washed,” he says. The tablet format requires even less water than the spraying process, as it reduces the number of stages, from stonewashing to cleaning, all interspersed with rinsing cycles, that are needed to treat items of clothing. “All processes are done in a single bath using two different tablets that are added in subsequent stages, with a low liquor ratio (1:5), and without requiring any draining of the tumbler, just rinsing at the final phase,” he says.
This June, the company will be announcing the launch of a new enzyme-based product that is designed to be used with synthetic pumice stones. “It will generate an abrasion and clean look alternative to real pumice to create a more authentic aesthetic,” he says. Another new product in the pipeline is a more sustainable chemical process (not based on enzymes) to replace PP, which will also be launched in June. This patent-pending solution will usher in a brand-new concept without using oxidising products as alternatives to PP. The company’s strategy, he insists, is to develop products that are immediately applicable using existing machinery. “The production side is essential, beyond the aesthetics. If you solve a problem, the industry will adopt it,” he says.
More sustainable jeans
Enzymes are what Mr Urbini calls ‘good players’: “they are natural, they are considered chemicals but have a very low impact and they are a part of nature”. They have contributed to lowering water consumption and reducing the need for pumice stones. “Water, harmful chemicals and sludge are major pain points for the denim industry. Today we have a solution to make jeans more sustainable with biodegradable enzymes that can fully replace traditional methods,” says Mr Simsek, adding that Novozymes’ LiveLong is specifically designed to make fabrics last longer, and look better. He points out that potassium permanganate may soon be banned under upcoming European Union REACh regulations.
The Jeans Redesign Guidelines, compiled by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, recommends phasing out PP not only because it is dangerous but also to make garments last longer. In the participation report it publishes, the number of brands that have pledged to phase out the toxic chemistry was up from only three in 2019 to 19 in the 2021 edition. Confirming this trend, Mr Demircioglu believes that PP usage will go down, its market share may be in the 10-20% range within the next two to three years.
“Enzymes enable milder processes at lower temperatures, they save energy and ultimately make the denim industry more sustainable. Our replacements for permanganate, hypochlorite and pumice stones have made laundries much more sustainable than before and we can thank enzymes for that,” he says. Another positive evolution is the reduction of liquor ratios, which he says have gone from 1:10 to 1:2 or 1:3, leading to huge savings.
For Tonello, a maker of garment finishing machines based in Italy, huge progress has been made in the field of enzymes, specifically in the possibility of applying them at room temperature, which Alice Tonello, head of marketing and R&D, says is a very positive evolution for the industry. The company’s Up system, which uses enzymes, offers at least 50% water reduction. But the most innovative application is its Core technology, which she says is the first one to be certified for the safe application of enzymes.
From water and energy savings to a reduced use of harmful chemicals and safer working conditions, enzymes address some of the denim industry’s most critical environmental and social impacts. All thanks to these natural, and industrious, catalysts of change.
Kaiser’s latest enzyme process, Lava Cell NSY, is both an accelerator for denim stone washing and an auxiliary for stonewashed effects. It accelerates the mechanical abrasion of denim at room temperature and in waterless conditions.
Photo: Kaiser Tekstil
