February 2020 Issue Apparel February 2020 issue | Page 80

FEATURE
DOW, AN INNOVATIVE
SOLUTIONS PROVIDER, HAS
DEVELOPED ECOFAST™ PURE,
A SUSTAINABLE TECHNIQUE
FOR TEXTILE TREATMENT.
MAKING PRE-TREATMENT
SUSTAINABLE
Cotton fabric requires pre-treatment that prepares
it and makes it appropriate for dyeing. Cotton,
by nature, is a thirsty crop and more than 200
litres of water is required to pre-treat a kilogram
of cotton fabric. To add more flexibility to the pre-
treatment process, Dow, an innovative solutions
provider, has developed ECOFAST™ Pure, a
sustainable technique for textile treatment. This,
when applied to the fabric before the dyeing
process, leads to the production of cationic
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I APPAREL I
February 2020
cotton—cotton in this form attracts dyes better
and faster. This pre-treated cotton exhibits an
increased ability to retain the dye without the
need of fixing chemicals, thus reducing the usage
of toxic chemicals by 90 per cent. This patented
technology decreases the use of dye and water
by 50 per cent for cotton dyeing.
DYEING USING MICROORGANISMS
As we speak, researchers at the University of
California are trying to use genetically modified
E.coli bacteria to produce indican, a water-soluble
compound that yields the indigo dye. Once it is
tested and proven, this dyeing compound will be
able to use enzymatic treatment to dye denim.
Colorifix, another notable company, on the other
hand, uses a synthetic biological approach vis-
à-vis bacteria to colour textiles. These bacteria,
when left on fabric, can use their dye-producing
skills to colour the fabric using a carbon source
solution. The process is natural and constitutes
a habit of the bacteria or microorganism in
question, so external stimulation or solvents are
not required in the dyeing process. This further
lowers the impact of harmful chemicals and
makes the process more natural and eco-friendly.
According to Colorifix, this method uses no
hazardous chemicals and cuts down on water
usage by up to 90 per cent, “depending on
equipment, pigment, and fabric”.
These innovative dyeing processes are
environment-friendly, but for them to become the
call of the day and get absorbed across the textile
value chain, a lot more research, experimentation,
and innovation needs to be done. An important
step in the realm would be to make them
accessible and cost-effective. It is only when
brands, companies, and researchers make these
dyes a part and parcel of the industry that we will
collectively be able to embrace sustainable dyeing
in its entirety.