Entrepreneurs are vying to fix one of fashion’s fossil-fuelled secrets

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

DyeCoo says its process for getting colorants onto fabric doesn’t use any water or bonding chemicals — water is still needed for rinsing, though — and can halve a factory’s typical water use and emissions from textile dyeing. (About 95% of the CO2 can also be recycled between jobs.) Since 2010, the company has been working with garment makers in Taiwan, the Netherlands and Southeast Asia, and its backers include Nike Inc.’s venture arm and Ikea.

DyeCoo is one of several startups exploring new ways to dye textiles. While the fashion industry gets flak for producing cheap clothes, burning unwanted stock, relying on plastic-based materials and shipping goods around the globe, the energy-intensive dyeing process is one of its most intractable challenges.

A recent report from industry group Fashion for Good estimated that, together with fabric pre-treatment and finishing, dyeing is responsible for over half of the industry’s total emissions. As consumers and investors put pressure on apparel companies to cut back on carbon, finding a greener way to add colour could be a big opportunity.

Dyeing clothes is carbon-intensive because of what it involves and where it tends to take place. Most methods call for water hot enough to loosen fabric fibres so that they’ll accept the dye, and/or hot water to scour, bleach or wash fabrics.

This is all part of a textile production stage known as “wet processing,” which also includes producing patterns and finishing fabrics prior to assembly.In the countries where most wet processing takes place — including China, Vietnam and India — coal tends to be the cheapest and most dominant source of energy. Factories rely on it, creating a vicious cycle: Cheap coal allows for cheap textile