Water-saving pioneers still dream of ubiquity
When it was launched at the end of 2018, water-free foam dyeing appeared to herald a revolution. But has the industry been convinced? We discover how the machinery has advanced and ask why the market appears to have been slow on the uptake
For Kontoor Brands’ director of sustainability, producing their Lee and Wrangler jeans dyed with an innovative water-free foam dye system was one of the things he was most proud of in 2019. Roian Atwood described it as the opportunity to stop polluting water and depleting resources, and the company was one of the first investors in the nascent technology, alongside Walmart and the US Conference of Mayors. Using a process developed by Texas Tech University, machinery maker Gaston and consultancy Indigo Mill Designs, Spanish textile mill Tejidos Royo embarked on a process that took more than a decade to develop. Wrangler foam dyed jeans under the brand name Indigood were released to much fanfare in June 2019.
While the reaction from brands has been “crazy”, it appears mills have been hesitant to invest. Perhaps they fear the unknown and are waiting for the first movers to iron out any problems, suggests Jose Royo, Tejidos’ sales director. “The machine is expensive, but no more expensive than a normal machine,” he tells Inside Denim. “The problem is the technology, people are uncertain. They don’t seem to believe that you can dye indigo this way and it’s working. Of course, there are things to improve but we are demonstrating that this is a million times better than using the old technology.”
Savings
The figures are impressive – as well as using no water, the process uses 65% less energy and 90% fewer chemicals than the standard process. No water also means no wastewater to dispose of – “for me, this is almost more important than saving water,” says Mr Royo.
The machinery is completely different to a standard machine – although it is three metres high it is only 4.5 metres long, which means three or four machines can fit in the same space, and running costs are lower. Tejidos’ know-how in handling foam made them an ideal partner – as well as denim, it makes textiles including an artificial leather substitute, made using foam.
For several years, the companies travelled back and forth across the Atlantic, using input from chemicals maker Dystar to perfect the concentration of the foam, the machinery and the dispersion of colour. The machine uses an aqueous process with standard textile dyes and chemicals.
Chris Aurich, Gaston’s general manager, tells us that dyeing yarns is not an easy task: “A warp sheet does not present a solid wall of fibres like a fabric does, there are loosely moving elements. Combined with the physical aspects of handling yarns continuously, there are many variables to be brought under control and some of the answers didn’t come easy.”
The yarn is fed in at the top of the machine, turning yellow, and then blue as it oxidises. The machine wastes less yarn, too; a standard machine might need 600-800 metres running through once it starts; the smaller machine would need only around 200 metres. “We are using what we have always used in a different manner, with the least amount of water, at higher chemical concentrations and virtually no waste,” Mr Aurich adds. “The additional benefits are the chemicals can be strategically placed in a substrate with a possibility of producing substrates with bi-functional properties face to back.”
Safety in numbers
As well as the Kontoor Group brands, Spanish retailer El Cort Ingles and clothing brand Banana have placed orders for the fabric, with Banana’s products appearing on shelves this January. Mr Royo says it will be the millennials who will provide the impetus for IndigoZero, its name for the process. “What we are doing now is the future,” he says. “Governments will not allow people to keep using these huge machines when now we have a machine that doesn’t use water. Sooner or later, people will have to change.”
Arvind in India has also bought a Gaston machine and is currently testing the system; Mr Royo says it will not be long before others follow suit. “The first man to own an electric car was the bravest man on earth, but once people saw him drive around safely, everybody wanted it. We are doing the testing for the world,” he says. “With this system, there is no need for a water treatment plant. They will save space, energy and chemicals. Also, if it’s smaller, the maintenance is much easier. Of course, everything new has its problems, but compared to the old one it’s a much easier machine.”
One million litres
To promote the process to consumers, Tejidos launched its One Million Litres campaign last October to ask the public for suggestions of projects that would benefit from the water saved. It partnered Unicef and involved social media influencers and marketing to spread to word, and in January announced that Chakaka Primary School in Malawi would “win” the 1 million litres that it has saved over the year.
“Tejidos believes in sustainability 360 degrees. We are doing zero water, zero contamination, but there was something missing, we were missing the social part. So we decided that if we are saving water, why don’t we give this water to people in need?”
The campaign is linked to the Jose & Ana Royo Foundation, the textile company’s non-profit organisation that supports worker’s children through school, and collaborates with charities Caritas, the Association Against Cancer and Asindown (Valencia). It has already given Unicef the pecuniary equivalent of the money it saved in 2018. “We do actually save more than 1 million litres, and we always want to give a minimum of 50% of the water we save to the people.”
Dream big
For Mr Royo, for the technology to have any impact, it must be adopted by the rest of the world.
“It’s my dream that one day everyone will have this machine. Why? I have two children, and I want them to live in a better world. If it’s only used in Valencia it won’t make enough difference, but if people in Pakistan, China and around the world use the technology then we will be able to change the damage we are doing with indigo. Even though they are my competitors and they are often much bigger than me so I might suffer, it’s good for the world, so it’s important.”
