Innovation for sustainable fashion supply chain

Innovation is an overused buzzword

How do you define innovations in fashion? In an industry obsessed with trends, this buzzword is often thrown at the newest, shiniest, and most exciting companies on the market. There is no shortage of bold ideas promising to revolutionize the industry, but hype and great marketing can only get start-ups so far. To stand the test of time, truly innovative companies need the added element of impact.

“At the simplest level, innovation is a new and more effective way of solving a problem or creating value that hasn’t existed before. Fashion has no shortage of problems, from overconsumption and overproduction to opaque supply chains, unfair wages, clothing waste, and the need for less damaging materials and manufacturing.

This is an industry that needs real innovation, but too often what’s described as innovative fails to make a meaningful impact on the biggest challenges.

Textile processing is responsible for 53% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is due in part because of the large amount of water that needs to be heated up to very high temperatures to process — pretreat, colour and finish — fibres, fabrics and garments. While there are ample opportunities to reduce GHG emissions by switching to renewable energy and implementing process efficiency improvements, to reach net-zero by 2050, disruptive innovation is required.

The Apparel Impact Institute focuses on implementing incremental solutions through their Clean by Design Programme. A recent case study from a facility who had implemented the Clean by Design Programme showed up to 10% CO2 reduction (10% includes 4% reduction in natural gas, 5.8% in electricity, 5% in coal and 8% in steam use) can be achieved1. An advantage of this approach is that the projects are low risk, meaning the workflows of the textile mills are not disrupted and the performance of these technologies has already been proven.

A significant amount of effort from all supply chain stakeholders has been put into phasing out harmful chemistry. Many brands have implemented restricted substances lists (RSLs) defined by organisations like ZDHC and AFIRM and chemical manufacturers have developed chemistries that are non-hazardous and less harmful. Certifications from organisations such as Bluesign and OEKO-TEX help verify the content of these products and are often a requirement of brands. Alongside this compliance with REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) legislation (European Union’s legislation on chemicals) is required in order to be able to sell products in Europe. However, there is still a long way to go to phase out all harmful chemicals as innovations need to also meet the necessary performance requirements. In order to achieve a real step change, the industry needs disruptive innovations.

MACHINERY INNOVATION

To effectively minimize the environmental impact associated with the processing stage of the fashion supply chain, a pivotal solution lies in the adoption of innovative processes that prioritize lower energy, water, and chemical requirements compared to conventional methods. This approach is exemplified by the graphs below, which highlight the average and maximal potential impact savings, in terms of Global Warming Potential (GWP)2, Energy, Water and Chemicals usage, attainable through the shift from conventional wet processing technologies to mostly dry pretreatment and coloration innovations.

The results3 are obtained from an internal analysis that gathered savings data on the impact of different Fashion for Good innovators compared to conventional pretreatment and coloration methods for various fabric types (such as cotton, polyester, and polycotton). The calculations include wash off (removal of excess dyes, chemicals, or other impurities from the fabric through washing) and drying data whenever available. However, it’s important to note that the figures reported do not include the finishing step.

In addition, the above figures show that pretreatment innovations have a higher impact reduction potential than coloration innovations. This is because pretreatment innovations are able to reduce subsequent washing steps that traditionally need to be performed after pretreatment almost entirely while coloration innovations can only partly reduce the washing activities originally required after the coloration process.

The figure below illustrates some of these disruptive machinery innovations, including some of the innovative companies working in this space.

TECHNOLOGIES & INNOVATIONS

PLASMA/LASER

Plasma, the fourth state of matter, is formed when gas is ionized and becomes more reactive. When this ionized form of gas is applied to a substrate aka surface or fabric, it is able to alter its properties i.e. activating its surface, removing impurities, depositing a coating. It is a waterless technology, has low energy consumption and is effluent free.

MTIX has developed a multiplexed laser surface enhancement (MLSE?) system for textiles. The MLSE? system creates a unique quantum mechanical energy milieu with laser plasma that enables durable technical functionalities, finishes and pretreatments on all fabric types in a high volume and continuous process.

Multiplexed Laser Surface Enhancement (MLSE?)

MLSE? is a unique technology that has the ability to treat both natural and synthetic textiles for a wide variety of functionalities; These include dyeability and printing enhancements, hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, fire retardancy and anti-microbial properties.

The use of water, harmful chemicals and energy is significantly reduced in comparison to conventional textile treatment methods.

The MLSE? process is instantaneous in the reaction zone, due to rapid reaction synthesis for any required functional properties.

Process

Eco-friendly process with minimal byproduct.

MLSE? is dry process, carried out at atmospheric pressure using safe, inert gases (Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon & Carbon Dioxide) and proprietary precursors.

Expert independent analysis of the unique MLSE? process suggests that the following reductions will be achieved:

• Use of hazardous resource (irritant/corrosive and bio-accumulative) eliminated completely.
• Energy consumption reduced by 99.6%
• Greenhouse gas reduction over baseline of 90.9%
• Resource (chemical) use reduced by 94.8%
• Water consumption reduced by >75.5%

The combination of plasma and photonic energy enables material synthesis in and/or on the surface of a substrate. The MLSE? process has been developed working with major textile manufacturers in the UK, Europe and international customers, working with real time processes for performance enhancement including low temperature dyeing, water and oil repellency, fire retardancy and anti-microbial treatments.

The innovation of MLSE? technology has advanced over several decades, through the development of proprietary multiple energy sources for synthesizing novel materials and functional treatments.

GRINP develops and produces machines using their proprietary atmospheric plasma technology. Their industrial machines can replace traditional pretreatments such as bleaching. The technology is fiber agnostic.

GRINP Sustainable Technology: innovation, performance, sustainability.

GRINP is an Italian innovative company founded in Turin.

We are leader in atmospheric plasma technology thanks to our qualification in designing and manufacturing resource-efficient systems based on proprietary plasma technology: we develop both laboratory and industrial scale machinery.

GRINP Plasma Technology unlocks the development of sustainable processes in several fields:

- textiles, reducing water, chemicals consumption and costs;

- environmental, decontaminating polluted air and water;

- plastics, enhancing surface properties for automotive, packaging, flexible electronics and photovoltaic applications

Our ongoing R&D&I efforts to offer disruptive solutions that cater to customer needs are based on three key concepts: innovation, performance, sustainability.

DIGITAL SPRAY DYEING & FINISHING

Nozzles spray the exact amount of dyestuff and finishing chemistry required directly onto the fabric. The process is digitally controlled and therefore highly efficient. As a result, it uses very little water and much less dyestuff and chemistry than traditional processes. This process is not the same as digital printing, as digital printing focuses on creating artworks on the surface of a fabric while spray dyeing mostly focuses on dyeing fabrics in solid colors with deep penetration. As a result, the nozzle openings in digital printers are significantly smaller than those used in spray dyeing. This means that digital printing often needs expensive specialty inks while spray dyeing can work with traditional dyes.

Alchemie has developed a digitally enabled spray/jetting technology which in combination with their proprietary airflow technology is able to deeply penetrate the fiber. Their dyeing machine is called Endeavour and their finishing machine is called Novara. In addition to these two machines, Alchemie has developed a proprietary fixation process consisting of infrared radiation/heat which fixes the dyes to the fabric. Their high precision means they can dye to shape as well as simple patterns. The technology is compatible with traditional dyes and chemistry and can be used on polyester and cotton fabrics.

Textile dyeing and finishing processes are some of the most polluting manufacturing processes on the planet and are responsible for over 3% of global CO2 emissions and over 20% of global water pollution.

At current consumption growth rates, textile dyeing could be responsible for 10% of global CO2 emissions by 2050.

To address this urgent issue we have developed breakthrough digital dyeing and finishing technologies that deliver a dramatic reduction in energy consumption and eliminate contaminated wastewater emissions.

Our mission is to transform the textile industry with clean-tech digital manufacturing solutions that eliminate the environmental impact of these polluting processes.

The key benefits of our digital approach to textile dyeing and finishing are

Reduction of energy consumption by > 85%

Elimination of waste water emissions

Significant cost reductions of > 50%

Digital manufacturing agility to address the ~25% materials waste in the supply chain

We are delivering next-generation textile production processes that will be radically more efficient, less costly and more sustainable with our advanced digital manufacturing technologies.

imogo has developed a digitally enabled spray dyeing and finishing technology, which is used in their Dye-max (dyeing) and F-max (finishing) machines respectively. They use the capillary forces in the materials and the fiber's natural absorption to get deep penetration. Both machines are compatible with traditional dyes and chemistry and they are currently focusing on cellulosic. Fixation is done by traditional methods such as cold batching.

Necessary transitions in the textile industry

The textile industry stands before a necessary transition to more sustainable production processes. It is not a question about if this is going to happen. More relevant is the question, what will replace the current established process technology and how quick will new solutions be available and accepted.?

Around the globe, initiatives and innovations are developed with the goal to be part of transforming parts of the textiles value chain in a more sustainable direction. We applaud all these brave entrepreneurs, scientists and companies for their contributions to developing the industry into a truly responsible and sustainable part of the solution to solving some of the greatest challenges of this century, global warming and access to clean water.

There is generally an awareness about the urgency in implementing the findings from the work to provide new and innovative solutions. Nevertheless there is oftentimes a hesitance to be the pioneer in adopting and advocating new technology due to the risks involved. Government regulations and consumer pressure is necessary to drive brands and producers to adopting new technology.

imogo’s products and solutions are always developed with sustainability in mind. Furthermore, they are developed to be cost efficient and to provide favourable returns of investment even for companies that are not yet committed to investing in sustainability. It is the firm conviction of imogo that environmentally sustainable solutions must also make business sense in a more traditional meaning to be truly successful, and to realize the full potential of the innovation. Therefore imogo commits to providing products that can stand on their own merits both from a sustainability and a business perspective.

imogo is dedicated to promoting sustainable technology and take pride in the fact that our solutions answer perfectly to no less than six of the UN’s 17 sustainability goals.?

SUPERCRITICAL C02 DYEING

In conventional dyeing water is used as a solvent, but in supercritical CO2 (scCO2) dyeing, scCO2 replaces water as the solvent. In a supercritical state, CO2 gets the dual advantages of having solubility like a liquid and flow properties like a gas. Due to its gaseous properties the scCO2 can circulate in the dyeing vessel and deposit the dyes onto the textile yarn or fabric. When dyeing is complete, the high pressure vessel containing the scCO2 is depressurized. As a result, the CO2 reverts to its gaseous state and the dye, which cannot stay dissolved in a normal gas, drops to the bottom of the dyeing vessel. Both can be recovered and it is a closed loop waterless dyeing process. As a result, there is no water effluent and the process uses less energy and chemicals.

eCO2 Dye has developed a dyeing technology using scCO2. The equipment is designed to dye a variety of yarns and threads on conventional cones or packages using scCO2. Traditional dyes which are compatible with scCO2 have been identified. The process uses existing CO2 which is recycled after each dyeing process cycle. Pretreatment (e.g scouring) and dye removal from waste textiles with supercritical CO2 is in research and development (R&D). The technology can be used to dye polyester and wool yarns

.Applied Separations and eCO2Dye have developed a waterless textile dyeing process and equipment for dyeing. The process uses carbon dioxide as the solvent for dyeing as opposed to water as the medium in conventional dyeing.

In addition to the supercritical fluid systems for waterless textile dyeing, the Applied Separations / eCO2dye team has also developed additional technology to support your dyeing operations:

? 60 - 90 minute dyeing cycle depending on color

? Selection of disperse dyes that work well in our process. Create a palette of colors with these dyes.

? Color database for your use

? Use color match capability

? Dyed polyester meets AATCC tests

Deven Supercriticals has developed a dyeing and finishing technology using scCO2. Rather than only introducing the dye in the dyeing vessel, they precoat the fabric with dyes and chemicals before it enters the dyeing vessel, using the scCO2 to improve their solubility in scCO2 with it before it enters the dyeing vessel. This makes their technology compatible with traditional dyes and can be used to dye polyester, cotton and cotton-polyester blends.

Deven Supercriticals is an innovation driven company dedicated to state of the art Supercritical Fluid (SCF) technology, leading for more than 2 decades.

We excel in Pilot to Commercial scale plants, turnkey projects for SCF applications like: Sustainable Textile dyeing; Extraction of Natural products like spices, herbs, fragrances; Sustainable Leather processing; Micronization; Precision cleaning; Sterilization etc. We have supplied 26 SCF plants, including exports to Hungary, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Pakistan. We are part of global initiative like ‘Fashion for Good’ making fashion more sustainable & greener for the planet.

Our innovations are granted with international patents on various aspects of SCF Technology:

1) “Process for Dyeing of Textile Materials using Supercritical Fluid": an improved, sustainable, single step Dyeing as well as Finishing technology for man-made, natural & blended textiles. Allows use of traditional dyes, improves dye utilization, easy scale-up & less than half dyeing time than prior-art SC CO2 processes. Avoids reduction clearing, two bath dyeing for blends. Much less use of auxiliary chemicals, No salt, reducing the water, energy load resulting in minimum environmental impact.

2) “System for Continuous Feeding & Discharging of Solid Material to & from a Vessel Operating under High Pressure”: makes SCF Extraction batch into continuous process to (i) reduce loss of Solvent during depressurization of Extractors between batches (ii) minimizes non-productive time of De-pressurization, Feed Change & Re-pressurization (iii) Avoids loss of extraction efficiency due to depletion of the effective height of feed bed in batch process.

3) “A Control Valve having a Hollow Piston for Controlling Flow of Fluid”: suitable for high pressure drop & dirty service applications; requiring low force for achieving leak-tight shutoff; also enabling smooth, non-jerky operation over entire stroke length for normal to precision control of fluid flow.

DyeCoo has developed a waterless and process chemical-free supercritical CO2 dyeing solution. Their technology uses reclaimed CO2 as the dyeing medium in a closed loop process. The Fabric or yarn is loaded together with pure dye into the dye vessel where the liquid C02 is released. When pressurised, this CO2 becomes supercritical (sc-CO2). Thanks to the high permeability, the dyes are transported easily and deeply into fibres, creating vibrant colours. Their technology is applicable to both synthetic fabrics and yarns with a primary focus on polyester.

ZERO WATER

DyeCoo uses patented and industrial proven technology based on CO?, instead of water. So how does it work? The technology uses reclaimed CO? as the dyeing medium in a closed loop process. When pressurized, CO? becomes supercritical (SC-CO?). In this state CO? has a very high solvent power, allowing the dye to dissolve easily. Thanks to the high permeability, the dyes are transported easily and deeply into fibres, creating vibrant colours.

WE WORK WITH PURE DYES

CO? dyeing does not need added process chemicals to dissolve dyes. Our technology uses 100% pure dyes and with more than 98% uptake, we don’t waste any of it.

ZERO WASTE WATER

No process chemicals, no water, no waste water and therefore no waste water treatment is necessary. The CO? we use is reclaimed from existing industrial processes, recycling 95% of it in a closed loop system.

AVAILABLE ON INDUSTRIAL SCALE

We can proudly say that we deliver great results on an industrial scale, which is not to be taken for granted when implementing a completely new technology. In fact, DyeCoo is the only company that has been able to scale up CO?-based textile processing technology to a proven industrial scale, winning industrial and commercial endorsements from both textile mills and end users.

ENERGY EFFICIENT

CO? dyeing is a dry process, eliminating the need to evaporate water. The addition of efficient colour absorption and short batch cycles makes our technology very energy efficient.

LOWER PROCESS COSTS

Short batch cycles, efficient dye use, no waste water treatment all contribute to significantly reduced operating costs.

VIBRANT COLORS

We use 100% pure dyestuff giving beautiful, vibrant colours. The dye is distributed evenly over the fabric and the technology allows for easy colour correction. The dyestuff penetrates deep into the fibres creating intense colours with excellent quality characteristics.

GEOGRAPHICAL FREEDOM

Dyeing without water equals geographical freedom, becoming completely independent from clean water availability. We can dye fabric in the middle of the Sahara. This opens up new opportunities for the textile industry, allowing production to occur closer to market, shorten lead times and disconnect from Earth’s most valuable resource … water.

ULTRASONIC DYEING AND FINISHING

Ultrasonic waves are acoustic waves that create thousands of microscopic bubbles in a formulation which, when burst, release large amounts of energy. The pressure from the bursting of these tiny bubbles generates powerful jet-streams that are used to physically inject the fabric with the desired chemicals. This process means less water and chemistry is needed as well as fewer additional chemistries like binders.

Sonovia has developed a compact ultrasonic finishing machine and process that embeds Sonovia’s customized chemistries for finishing applications directly into the fabric. To date, Sonovia has developed antimicrobial and viral finishes as well as DWR, their technology is fabric agnostic.

Indidye uses sound waves to bind their proprietary natural plant based dyes to cellulosic fibres. The dyes are extracted with a water based extraction process and then applied using the ultrasonic technology.

FOAM DYEING

Large foam bubbles carry dyestuff and when the bubbles burst, the pressure deposits the dye on the fabric/yarn. This results in lower water and chemistry usage and as a result it is a more efficient process than traditional dyeing.

Indigo Mill Designs has invented a novel way of applying indigo to cotton yarns, called IndigoZERO?. The dye is applied to the fibre using a foam system that minimises the uptake of water.

IndigoZERO? – is a process of dyeing indigo without a dye bath and without wastewater discharge. Crocking and wash fastness is actually much improved. The dry yarn without sizing has less color rub off. IndigoZERO? allows production of yarn without rinse water discharge to the environment, but yet wash fastness can be improved. This is very important for knitted indigo yarns. There is no use of any reducer (hydrosulfite). The dye is received pre-reduced. This leuco condition has to be maintained until the dyeing is completed. No need to reduce the indigo with chemicals at all as it is already in leuco form. The same can be sourced from various suppliers including Dystar, Archroma, Bluconnection etc sell it. Besides, there is another option of creating this pre-reduced indigo. A machine by Smart Indigo (Sedo Engineering) company can create pre-reduced indigo on site. The only issue is that the pre-reduced has to be pure and has to be protected from oxygen during shipping, storage, dyeing etc. Oxygen has to be excluded at all points. It’s a difficult process and many people told me it is impossible before we built the machine, but we finally figured out the way to do that.

At the beginning of the project, we picked out a place in the TTU lab to wash the yarn after dying. But when we started the machine in test mode at Gaston Systems Inc. in Stanley, North Carolina, we noticed that the wet yarn did not rub off on our hands as easily as conventionally dyed indigo. It turned out that we didn’t have to use a rinsing process. If we are looking at 6 billion yards of denim production globally – we can save about 4 gallons per yard of denim produced or about 24 billion gallons of water globally. That can be a huge impact on the sustainability credentials of denim!

Gaston Systems has been working on indigo dyeing with foam for more than 10 years. The support we received from Gaston Systems, Walmart Foundation, the state of Texas, and VF Corporation, enabled the necessary research. Any low wet pick up method of dyeing with indigo, including foam, faces the critical challenge of maintaining leuco conditions. Gaston Systems knows more about foam application that anyone in the world. Our discoveries, and the patent applications that resulted would not have been possible without their support. It is amazing what can be accomplished with determination and support.

We envision three forms of the machine. The two machines starting in production are essentially slasher dye machines but without dye baths. We will support Gaston Systems in offering this machine at ITMA. It will have greater annual capacity than conventional slasher dyers. The second form of the machine is like the one owned by the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute. We need to refine the design of this machine. It will produce cones of indigo dyed yarn that can be used for knits or wovens. This machine would be for research and product development, hopefully in multiple settings around the world.

We are evaluating the feasibility of a third form of the machine which would dye one section beam (400 to 600 yarns) at a time. Potentially this design could reduce yarn waste and improve minimum order quantities. Certainly, it would find application for knit yarns and high specialized denim.

This is the first advantage of Indigo Zero – SUSTAINABILITY

I talked to many dyers and they are today not thinking about water cost. However, in the near future water is going to be a big cost. Imagine how much water will be saved and how much cost savings it will translate into. Imagine a denim plant that did not have to have a water treatment plant. The elimination of reducer and the elimination of rinsing water are the keys to improved sustainability for indigo dyeing. We are planning to combine IndigoZERO? with natural indigo and other sustainable technologies, like laser and ozone, to create a completely new way to make denim and jeans.

This is the second advantage of IndigoZERO? – COST SAVINGS.

Because of higher speeds, reduced chemical needs, and reduced water costs, the payback on IndigoZERO? is very fast. Two important global denim mills are soon going to find out the advantages this machine offers. Both the machines are meant for insertion into a big range replacing conventional dye boxes. Both these companies are visionaries and can see the future and embrace the possibilities of this technology and both are moving forward even though there is always a risk in new technology.

We would like to change the design of the research machine so that it runs from one cone to another. So an undyed cone turns into a dyed cone directly.

This machine delivers the third benefit of Indigo Zero – SPEED TO MARKET.

We can spin the yarn in the first half of the day, dye inthe second half of the day and weave it the next day and the jeans can be made in 48 hours right from conception . This might be possible in a existing setups but at a large cost . But with this small machine configuration for Indigo Zero, we can accomplish Sustainability, Reduce Cost and have Speed to Market. Return on investment is improved because the speed and cost of product development is greatly improved.

DOPE DYEING

A method of colouring man made fibres by incorporation of the colourant in the spinning composition before extrusion into filaments or fibres. While this is not a new technology, it has the potential to drastically reduce resource consumption in the colouration process.

We aRe SpinDye orchestrates the dope dyeing of polyester yarns for fashion brands. Brands get a quality, compliance & traceability We aRe SpinDye?-certificate for all products they take off. This certificate also states Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)-based impact savings compared with traditional dyeing processes.

The We aRe SpinDye?-coloring method focuses on the coloration of the recycled material before it is extruded to fiber and spun into yarn.

By melting color pigments and the recycled polyester mass together, homogenously colored yarns are created, without the use of water. It is this exact step which enables us to reduce the use of water in the entire textile production chain, by 75%. See the illustration of our process.

Recycled 100%

We aRe SpinDye? works exclusively with recycled polyester made from post-consumer water bottles, or wasted clothing, which allows us to have a truly circular production method.

An important fact to note is that multiple fabrics can be made from one single source of yarn, which means exceptional resource efficiency and very little waste.

By selecting the We aRe SpinDye?-production method, fashion houses or sport/outdoor brands will keep waste, chemicals, and water usage to an absolute minimum, thereby creating end products which contain game changing sustainability components, which are second to none.

GRAVURE PRINTING

Gravure is different from other printing processes as it prints from depressed, ink-filled cells that are produced on the surface of a cylinder that is copper plated. The ink in these cells is transferred onto the fabric. The process is digitally controlled to engrave the roller and therefore highly efficient. Traditionally the gravure roller requires a transfer of the artwork onto a paper or film which is then transferred onto the material substrate. It is a mostly waterless process that uses less energy than conventional dyeing.

NTX: Cooltrans provides a digitally enabled gravure printing method for both artworks and block colours. Their technology is faster and more precise than other printing technologies and they use proprietary inks (material restricted substance list (MRSL), ZDHC and RSL compliant) that are manufactured in house. Alongside this, for solid colour applications, their technology transfers from gravure to the material without paper or film. It can be used on all fibre types except polyolefins.

NTX?, offering innovative textile solutions, announced that NTX? Cooltrans? is ready for production and Adidas is the first major customer. The revolutionary waterless colouration technology for the textile industry’s effort to decarbonize and reduce excessive water consumption was obtained as a result of merging innovations in chemistry and machinery to deliver precise and accurate colouration of nearly any fabric material. The technology does not require heat, reducing water use by up to 90% and dye use by up to 40%. It also offers uncompromised colour fastness and functional performance while preserving the hand feel.

Adidas, the first major customer of NTX?, has confirmed that the products produced with NTX? Cooltrans? will be included in the upcoming 2022 Fall and Winter collection for the first time. Adidas announced its ‘Own the Game’ strategy and decarbonisation commitments on March 10, 2021, and identified waterless technologies as a key enabler in achieving these ambitious goals. NTX? Cooltrans? has been selected as the first such technology to be integrated at scale within the Adidas supply chain.

NTX? Cooltrans? completely transforms the way dyeing works

Fashion industry consumes around 80 billion cubic meters of water per year while around 2.7 billion people around the world experience water scarcity. NTX? Chairman and Co-Founder, Kalvin Chong stated that for decades now, the industry has been chasing the elusive goal to reduce the startling amount of water and energy required in the textile dyeing process and that they have finally turned the corner. Chong said; “The really exciting thing is the cost-competitive aspect of implementing NTX? Cooltrans? into the value chain for our brand partners. The savings associated with lower energy requirements and water usage allow us to bring this game-changing innovation to ecology conscious consumers around the globe without impacting the manufacturing costs of the final products”. The company also highlighted that the dramatic improvements NTX? Cooltrans? brings to the industry are not limited to energy and resource usage.

The introduction of NTX? Cooltrans? completely transforms the way dyeing works and opens up a whole new spectrum of materials for fashion brands to work with. The colouration process with NTX? Cooltrans? no longer works like the millennia-old hot temperature dye baths that require the mixing of cloth to achieve the desired output. NTX? Cooltrans? eliminates the tension and strain put on the materials and offers an ideal solution for use with finer, lighter and more delicate materials.

Facilities with NTX? Cooltrans? technology are quieter

The new dyeing environment also brings a welcome change to on-the-ground personnel involved in the colouration process and the surrounding community. The new NTX? Cooltrans? technology ready plants are compliant or exceed the rigorous guidelines restricting substances in chemical formulations which are used in the raw material and product manufacturing processes set forth by mRSL and ZDHC. These new facilities, completely different from traditional dyeing facilities. They are quieter, require less energy and eliminate the need for dangerous chemicals, making the facilities much safer and comfortable places to work in.

The entirety of NTX? production plants exclusively implement NTX? Cooltrans? technology. The company further stated that existing NTX? Cooltrans? production capacity in China (online since December 2020), and Cambodia (November 2021) will be expanded with the addition of a plant in Indonesia and several Vietnam facilities in 2022. The company also signalled its intention to continue to invest in R&D and production facilities to help meet the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action commitment – launched at COP24 in Katowice, Poland in December 2018, and renewed at COP26 in Glasgow, UK, in November 2021 – aimed at halving emissions over the next decade.

DIGITAL PRINTING

Digital textile printing is an inkjet-based printing method which enables printers to print high-quality designs from a digital data file onto different fabrics. The ink is deposited in the form of minuscule droplets by the digitally controlled printing heads. It is a mostly waterless process and reduced energy use as no dye bath is needed.

Kornit is an established digital printing technology company. They are classified as an innovator/innovative company as they have developed a single step printing solution which combines fixation, dry softening and full curing. It is fabric agnostic.

Kornit Digital direct-to-garment product, alongside further details of its corporate presence at FESPA will be designed around two focus themes: in the direct-to-garment printing area, Kornit will demonstrate how the company’s HD technology expands digital printing’s competitiveness against screen printing, both in terms of cost per print and in terms of print quality. The key solution in this area will be the Kornit Avalanche HD. The system will be driven by the ColorGate Textile Production Server and will be connected to a web-to-print ordering workflow.

In the direct-to-fabric section the company will show an end-to-end production workflow, based on the Kornit Allegro single-step printing system equipped with Neon inks. The setup will be complemented by a Zünd digital cutting system, and a sewing stage, producing finished pieces from the fully cured fabrics coming from the Allegro. The 3D visualization and CAD stage will be handled by Assyst GmbH and their Vidya product.

Omer Kulka, Kornit’s Vice President of Marketing and Product Strategy, comments: “FESPA is one of the largest events for us this year, and we are pleased to be able to announce an array of innovative technologies and products. All our developments are geared towards making digital textile printing more competitive, profitable and straightforward. That way, we are giving garment decorators, textile producers and web-to-print players the tools that are required in today’s demanding markets. And the best thing is, at FESPA we are going to show them in a workflow setup which is representative of today’s actual production facilities.”

The Avalanche HD6 is a high-productivity direct-to-garment printing system which is especially popular with online printers and global production networks. The Avalanche HD6 is equipped with Kornit’s HD print engine and NeoPigmentTM Rapid ink, leading to significant reductions in ink consumption – and therefore cost per print. The Avalanche HD6 will reduce the ink consumption by approximately 45% compared to previous, non-recirculating versions of the Avalanche. Another major benefit of the HD technology is the refined hand feel and quality of the printed product

.ColorGATE Textile Production Server for Kornit (TPS)

Responding to the industry demand for better color control and accuracy; Kornit partners with ColorGATE, a leading brand for industrial raster image processors (RIPs). The ColorGATE Textile Productionserver (TPS) has been tailored to the Kornit settings and added to the Kornit offering. This way Kornit users will gain both an outstanding print output and an optimized workflow experience. Besides a general improvement in print quality; applications include color matching between digital and screen printing and color consistency between repeat orders. Technical support and training will be delivered by Kornit, with the ColorGATE support available at the back end. After extensive development and testing, the ColorGATE TPS for Kornit will be released during FESPA.

Kornit Allegro with Neon inks

Kornit’s Allegro roll-to-roll digital textile printer is based on a unique concept. It uses Kornit’s NeoPigmentTM printing technology that completely eliminates pre- and post-treatment processes for both natural and synthetic fabrics.

Unlike typical digital technologies; the Kornit Allegro offers an innovative solution that eliminates the need for multiple steps of pre-press and post press treatments; thereby saving on energy, water, space, and labor. The Allegro eliminates the entry barrier to the digital fabric printing market; which is currently addressable only by manufacturers with industrial grade printing facilities.

During FESPA Berlin, Kornit will demonstrate the live production of tailor-made textile accessories. Visitors will be able to see the Allegro printing with Kornit’s new Neon inks. The new Pink and Yellow inks enable new applications with brighter colors and extended gamut; allowing Allegro users to penetrate new market segments and to increase system utilization. The new inks will be commercially available from FESPA onwards.

OZONE

Ozone, which is an alternative form of oxygen and a strong oxidizing agent, can be used to clean / bleach the garment, it’s most effective when used inside a washing machine to prevent the gas escaping and to allow for its correct neutralization. At the end of the process, any remaining ozone is converted back into oxygen. Ozone pretreatment and finishing reduces water, chemistry and energy consumption and as a result there is also less effluent. Ozone is often used for finishing jeans and also has enhanced performance benefits such as achieving the right shade of blue faster and with lower costs.

LASER

Laser technology is most commonly used as an alternative to manual scraping in denim production; it can also be used to create vintage effects, whiskers, patterns, patches, and even intentional holes and tears in a (denim) garment. Used in combination with other technologies such as ozone, it can replace traditional processes like sandblasting and bleaching which are hazardous to workers’ health.

Tonello and Jeanologia

Tonello and Jeanologia are both established players selling multiple industrial dyeing and finishing technologies with a strong focus on sustainability and denim. They both have ozone and laser technologies as well as several other more efficient washing and finishing processes that have enhanced performance benefits as well as environmental savings.

Tonello is the global leader of garment finishing technologies that, since 1981, has been contributing to the success that made in Italy has enjoyed all over the world.

Thanks to its cutting-edge machines and its one-of-a-kind service, it acts side by side with its customers creating a link between the stylists and the companies working, dyeing and finishing the garments.

With more than 9000 machines sold worldwide, Tonello is considered the reference point for the garment finishing industry

Jeanologia was born in 1994 with the mission of transforming the textile industry, developing technologies and eco-efficient production models. We are built upon ethical and moral principles, focused on high-performance while being environmentally friendly.

Your technological partner always close at hand

We give you all the support you need to implement our transformational technologies and end-to-end digital solutions. Focused on achieving a more efficient, sustainable, and automated denim industry.

We accompany your laundry in moving from a traditional labor-intensive production model to a technological, automated, and cost-efficient model. And all of this, without sacrificing the AUTHENTIC JEANS LOOK and at the same time reducing costs and accelerating time-to-market.

WHAT IS MISSION ZERO?

100% elimination of waste and pollution in every single pair of jeans around the world by 2025

It means to eliminate the 100% jeans waste from the fabric to the final garment, minimizing the usage of water and chemicals to a close to zero target.

It is known that the textile industry is responsible for 20% of global water pollution, cause of 10% CO2 emissions. Furthermore, 15% of textile production is never used and ends up in landfills or incinerated. Within textiles, jeans are one of the most sold garments and with the biggest environmental impact throughout its production. That is why it is important to immediately bring together the efforts of all those involved to change jeans production processes.

We are ready to transform they way jeans are made, eliminating waste that harms people and the planet.

PILLARS OF MISSION ZERO

? Dehydration & Detoxification.

? The Rebels; a Legacy of New Generation.

? Share for Good, Jeans as example for the industry.

THE ICON OF NEW GENERATION

Jeans will become an example for the rest of Textile Industry.

Historically, Blue jeans have always had a strong significance. They are a symbol of youth, rebellion, and high commitment.

Unfortunately, their popularity and high acceptance have also brought about some undesirable consequences like excessive usage of water, chemicals, energy, or carbon footprint.

Today Jeans must become the iconic garment of the new generations, of the NEW REBEL that wants to protect the environment and planet.

DO YOU ACCEPT

THE CHALLENGE?

WE believe all denim manufacturers, Jeanswear companies, and people in our industry must share this vision by the new generations of youngsters.

WE must be all onboard and LEAD BY THE EXAMPLE.

CHALLENGES OF SCALING DISRUPTIVE MACHINERY INNOVATION

The impact savings mentioned above raise the question as to why more textile mills have not switched to mostly dry processes yet. Some of the challenges of this transition are:

MISALIGNED INCENTIVES AND UNEQUAL POWER RELATIONS

Although brands have the greatest incentive and the most pressure to drive towards sustainability, efforts are often limited, and the industry expects the upstream supply chain to account for the costs and risks. This results in a misalignment of incentives for major innovation along the supply chain.

HIGH INITIAL INVESTMENT

Investing in new processing technologies is expensive. Alongside this, the investment often falls to the manufacturers who do not always have committed offtake from brands.

Increasingly, brands and manufacturers sign letters of intent (LOI), which include a commitment from the brand that they will purchase a certain number of products made using the new technology. Other recent collaborations include an innovator, manufacturer and brand partners jointly investing in a novel machine through a joint venture (JV) structure. The machine is installed at the manufacturer who is part of the JV. That said, while initial capex for some technologies are high, payback times can be as short as 1 to 2 years as variable costs, from water, energy, and chemistry, are reduced4.

PERFORMANCE

As with all new technologies, there are risks around the technology’s ability to meet minimum performance requirements for different applications at scale. In addition, mostly dry technologies can impact the handfeel of materials differently than wet technologies. Therefore it is important that the technologies are optimized to achieve the same handfeel as the industry is accustomed to after wet processing.

DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION — CHEMISTRY

Although great progress has been made when it comes to innovation in sustainable chemistry there are still a number of hazardous chemicals which can be found on ZDHC’s RSL and MRSL lists to which no similar performing, less harmful alternative has yet been found. As such, disruptive innovation in this space mostly focuses on finding competitive alternatives that could either replace a specific chemical in a solution or by replacing a solution with a new formulation. Examples of this could include formulations that are bio-based or based on a non-harmful chemistry like silicone.

The figure below shows an overview of the disruptive technologies and innovators.

TECHNOLOGIES AND INNOVATIONS

CATIONIC TREATMENT

Chemistry innovations in pretreatment are more limited than in dyeing and finishing. An example of an incremental innovation in this space is cationic treatment. With this treatment, cotton is modified to have a permanent cationic, or positive charge, making the cotton “friendlier” to dye and so increases its dye uptake. Cationic treatments have the opportunity to enhance the dyeability of cotton but require advanced effluent treatment as they can cause eutrophication.

Nano Dye

Nano dye has a salt-free cationic treatment that potentially does not result in high eutrophication. Salt is commonly used in the pretreatment process which then ends up in the effluent water, impacting the local environment. Nano Dye’s technology is a drop-in solution that changes the charge of a cotton molecule to the opposite charge of the dye to enhance dye uptake. It is used with cotton, other cellulosic fibres and blends.

ENZYME TREATMENT

Conventional scouring is harsh on fabrics and the environment. Enzymes can be used to modify the fabric to become more receptive to dyes through processes such as bioscouring, they can be used in both pretreatment and finishing1. It is a more sustainable solution that allows savings in water, time and energy as well as a reduction in the usage of harmful chemicals which improves worker safety.

Novozymes

Novozymes produces and develops biological solutions for textiles including enzymatic scouring, also known as biopreparation or bioscouring.

Fermentech Labs

Fermentech Labs processes agricultural waste in a novel SSF bioreactor through which the cellulosic parts are pretreated & processed by proprietary microbes to produce enzymes such as cellulase, amylase and pectinase for applications like bio-polishing, desizing and bio-scouring.

NATURAL DYES & TREATMENTS

Natural dyes and pigments, from sources like algae and plants, have existed for centuries but have historically been overlooked by the fashion industry due to inferior performance, limited colour palette and higher prices than synthetic dyes. However, new disruptive cultivation, extraction and application processes have the potential to overcome these barriers and enable the (re)implementation of natural dyes at scale. Using natural dyes and pigments enables a shift away from synthetic chemistry and in some instances the feedstock used ie: plants, algae or waste means the dyes and pigments have the potential to be carbon negative.

What is the difference between a dye and a pigment?

Dyes are water soluble – like salt in water – and so can penetrate into a material and be held within it by chemical forces.

Pigments are water insoluble – like sand in water – they must be dispersed in a binder and are applied to the surface of the material.

PLANT BASED DYE

Stony Creek Colors*

Stony Creek Colors creates a pre-reduced plant-based indigo that can replace petrochemical based synthetic indigo dyes. They optimise indigo production in a renewable (and aniline – free) closed loop process. It can be applied on cotton, cellulosics, wool and silk.

ever dye has developed a novel dyeing process that includes a proprietary pretreatment in combination with natural pigments, that allows for dyeing at room temperature. The liquid pretreatment charges the surface of cellulosic fabrics/yarns negatively, enabling positively charged pigments that have been created out of minerals, nanocellulose extracted from vegetal waste and a positively charged proprietary organic molecule.

Ever Dye’s ambition is to depollute the textile industry by offering a more ecological, faster and energy efficient dyeing process. The start-up offers a recyclable and reusable dye that uses a bio-sourced pigment and avoids petrochemical products.

“I congratulate Ever Dye which, thanks to its green chemistry innovation, will eliminate the use of petrochemicals and reduce the energy impact of the traditional dyeing process,” says Nathalie Dufour, founder and CEO of ANDAM. She is also pleased with the new amount of the endowment: 70,000 euros.

Ilan Palacci, co-founder of Ever Dye, emphasizes the profound transformation of manufacturing processes that the textile industry is undergoing today, “from the material to the garment, all the steps have to be reinvented,” he adds. “This recognition from ANDAM as well as the support we will receive will allow us to aim further and bigger in our future developments.”

ANDAM’s 2022 Innovation Award finalist group included Eva Engines, Fairbrics and Fairly Made. All three will receive privileged access to committee members and the entire ANDAM ecosystem.

The ANDAM Innovation Award was established in 2017 and is aimed at French and international entrepreneurs and start-ups wishing to develop their project in France. It covers the fields of fashion design, production and distribution.

AN Herbals*

AN Herbals has developed a patented technology for extraction of powdered dyes from pharmaceutical (ayurvedic)/forest/food waste that allows dyeing of fabrics to be done without the use of any synthetic auxiliaries.

ALGAE-BASED PIGMENT

Living Ink*

Living Ink transforms waste microalgae material into a bio-based carbon black that can replace petroleum derived carbon black. The pigment is jet black and UV stable. It can be used for screen printing on cotton, cellulosics, blends, leather and polyester. Dope dyeing applications are in Research & Development (R&D).

Algaeing*

Algaeing uses microalgae to manufacture dyes and inks in a closed system that can be used with existing production machinery. It can be used to dye and print all types of fibre.

What is the difference between microalgae and macroalgae?

Algae can be used as an input to create fibres and chemistries. It has received a lot of attention lately as products derived from algae have the potential to be carbon negative. Algae can be divided into two types; microalgae and macroalgae, the differences are explained below.

WOODWASTE-BASED PIGMENT

Nature Coatings*

Nature Coatings transforms Forest Steward Council (FSC) certified wood waste into high performing and cost competitive black pigments. Their pigments are a direct replacement for petroleum-based carbon black pigments. The pigments and 100% bio-based dispersions can be used for screen printing on cotton, cellulosics, blends, leather and polyester. Dope dyeing applications are in R&D.

MICROBIAL PIGMENTS

Microbial pigments are either naturally occurring in organisms or artificially grown in genetically modified organisms (GMO). Once the naturally occurring microbe is identified or a genetically modified microbe strain has been engineered, the microbes get multiplied via fermentation by feeding them sugars and other feedstock. After this process the pigments are extracted to be used in traditional dyeing processes. Microbial pigments can replace synthetic pigments, and thereby reduce GHG emissions as well as the amount of potentially harmful chemistry used.

Colorifix*

Colorfix uses microbial pigment technology to produce, deposit, and fix colour onto textiles. They genetically modify microbes to produce a wide range of naturally-occurring pigments and ferment them using renewable feedstocks. Instead of extracting the dye from bacteria through an expensive downstream processing step, Colorifix utilises the fermented broth of the bacteria as the dye liquor. This innovative technology allows for dyeing various types of fibres and fibre blends.

Huue*

Huue uses microbial pigment technology to produce dyes and pigments, with indigo dye as its first product. After extracting the pigment from the bacteria and processing it, the bio-based dye can be used as a drop-in replacement for synthetic Indigo, with high purity and with the same performance. The pigments can be used to dye cotton fibres and any other substrates typically dyed with indigo.

Pili Bio*

Pili Bio uses microbial pigment technology to develop and produce bio based dyes and pigments. Their first commercially available product is indigo powder. In order to offer the same high-performance as fossil-based products, PILI combines fermentation and chemistry to produce drop-in dyestuff products with a biobased content ranging from 60% to 100%.

KBCols Sciences*

KBCols Sciences use microbial pigment technology, using non-GMO naturally occurring coloured microbes sourced from the soil, water and air, to extract different natural colours that can be applied in textiles and other applications. The pigments can be used to colour most natural and synthetic fibres.

ALTERNATIVE DYES/PIGMENTS

There are many alternative more sustainable dyes and pigments on the market or in development. These include pigments made from captured carbon and recycled dyes made from old textiles.

PIGMENTS FROM CARBON CAPTURE AND UTILISATION:

Turning carbon emissions from industrial pollutants into industrial grade products. Using captured carbon as a feedstock means a shift away from synthetic chemistry as well as a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Graviky Labs*

Graviky’s first product AIR-INK? is a range of inks and pigments made from end-of-use carbon emissions. The black pigment can be used for different printing processes such as screen, sublimation and digital. Graviky has tested AIR-INK on different surfaces such as paper, polyester and textiles. Dope dyeing applications are in R&D.

Farbenpunkt

Farbenpunkt developed the patented PERACTO technology for dyeing and printing. The dyestuff is processed to a very small size with an average diameter of below 500 nanometers. These very small dye particles easily penetrate textile substrates colorising the surface and subsurface completely. The bond is both mechanical and chemical, effective on various textile materials and blends.

RECYCLED DYES

Recycled dyes can be generated in two ways. Firstly, by transforming textile waste into a finely crystallised powder and utilising it for dyeing purposes. Alternatively, dyes can be chemically recovered from pre- or post-consumer waste and then used to redye different fabrics. Employing textile waste as a feedstock not only decreases the reliance on synthetic chemistry but also enables a more circular process, promoting sustainability and reducing waste.

Officina +39 : Recycrom*

Recycrom is a range of dyestuff produced by transforming used clothing, fibrous materials, and textile scraps composed of cellulosic fibres into a highly refined powder suitable for dyeing. This dyestuff has the ability to colour various cellulosic and natural fibres, as well as polyamide.

DyeRecycle

DyeRecycle technology is a non-destructive separation technology of textile waste components: fibres & dyes, allowing their independent recycling back to the supply chain. The process selectively extracts dyes from waste fibres, and transfers the dyes to a new fabric. The liquid used for the process is recycled and reused, making the process fully circular by design.

PFC-FREE DW(O)R FINISH

One of the biggest priorities of the fashion industry (and other industries) is finding PFC-free high performing durable water (and oil) repellency DW(O)R treatments. Instead of PFCs other synthetic chemistries (e.g. silicone) or bio-based solutions (e.g. waxes, wood, etc.) can be used. PFCs need to be phased out as they have proven to be toxic and harmful to both humans and the environment, so shifting to these alternative solutions has multiple environmental benefits.

OSM Shield: ZERO*

OSM Shield’s ZERO chemistry solution is a non-Perfluoroalkyls Substances (PFAS) high performance durable water and oil repellency technology which is free from all PFAS compounds and associated toxins. This chemistry technology will be available in a standard emulsion and can be applied using traditional application methods on all fibre types, but the focus is on cotton and polyester.

Dryfiber*

Dryfiber provides a completely fluorine-free, and hence also PFC-free DW(O)R textile finish. The solution is silicon-based and can be applied through traditional finishing processes. The current focus is on synthetic fabrics.

PFC-free waterproof membrane:

A microporous membrane is a very thin layer containing many tiny pores (thousand times smaller than a drop of rain). These membranes have waterproof and breathable properties; while they do not let water come through from the outside, they do allow water vapour, emitted through perspiration, to evacuate. Innovation lies within the production technology to provide high performance without using PFCs.

Dimpora*

Dimpora creates more sustainable, highly breathable and waterproof membranes. Based on polymers, the technology is PFC free and uses no Dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent. The company is further developing recyclable, bio-based and biodegradable membranes to close the loop for high performance gear.

Lamoral

Lamoral develops fluorine-free and >50% bio-based A-Line DWR and other finishes. They use an emulsion polymerisation of a plant-based polyalkyl, anchoring the polymers onto the fibre. The non-bio-based content is based on acrylates in a water-based emulsion. Their DWR is called and holds the OEKO-TEX 100 certification and is ZDHC listed.

Beyond Surface Technology (BST)

BST develops products that reduce the impact of textile chemical finishes on the environment. The finishes are bio-based as e.g. microalgaes or plant seeds and branded miDori. Their DWR is called and holds the GOTS 5.0 certification and is ZDHC listed. Their raw materials are carefully sourced.

What is the difference between a DW(O)R finish and a waterproof membrane?

Both technologies are used in increasing the protective properties of garments, mostly focusing on shielding from water but also from dirt and oil. The technologies can be combined for optimal performance.

HEAVY METAL FREE ANTIMICROBIAL TREATMENTS

Creating antimicrobial finishes with the use of antimicrobial polymeric materials (e.g. chitosan) derived from bio-based sustainable sources (e.g. flax or wood, crab or shrimp shell waste from seafood industry).

Nordshield*

Nordshield creates antibacterial, antiviral, anti mould and insect repellent finishes based on waste from the forestry industry. Nordshield forms a physical barrier on surfaces treated with their finish and therefore prevents microbial growth at the sources. The finish can be applied to cotton, viscose and blends.

CHALLENGES OF SCALING DISRUPTIVE CHEMISTRY INNOVATIONS

PERFORMANCE

Finding innovations in chemistry with the same performance characteristics as traditional chemistry is challenging. If the performance of the more sustainable chemistry does not meet that of its traditional counterpart, it will in most cases not be adopted on a large scale.

SUPPLY CHAIN

The supply chain for the chemical formulations currently available is well established and allows for large scale production, while the supply chain of more innovative formulations is less developed and does often not yet allow for large scale production Therefore, although performance on a pilot scale has been proven, it can sometimes still be timely and challenging to scale these new technologies. This can cause difficulties when working with brands and manufacturers as they need large quantities (in the thousands of tonnes) for mass adoption. One potential solution to this is for innovators to collaborate with established chemical manufacturers or toll blenders with large production capacities and expertise in scaling.

EXTERNALITIES AND PRICING

Given the low prices of most commodities used in this industry and the industry’s focus on economics, many sustainable alternatives struggle to present attractive business cases due to their higher costs. Tighter regulation could enable the industry to take into account the significant environmental externalities of current production processes.

STICKINESS

Chemistries can be viewed as drop-in solutions which makes them easier to incorporate into the supply chain than for instance new machinery, this enhances their scalability. However, it also means that a supplier can easily switch to a competing chemistry even after integrating the original chemistry from an innovator. Therefore, the stickiness of chemistry solutions, both traditional and innovative, is believed to be low. This is troublesome for long-term security and survival, especially for innovators.

IMPACT MEASUREMENT

Current LCA (life cycle assessment) frameworks do not capture the full benefits of sustainable chemistry as they are focused on the consumption of e.g. carbon and water. However, the biggest advantage of more sustainable chemistries is that they are reducing toxicity and harmful chemistry, which is not captured in LCAs. Additionally, chemistry solutions often lead to downstream savings which are often not accounted for during LCA studies. Therefore, it is more difficult for chemistry innovators to effectively communicate about their impact and use impact as a factor to convince customers to adopt their technology. However, new upcoming regulations banning certain chemical compounds may help to overcome this challenge.

INCREMENTAL SOLUTIONS VS. DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION

Brands/manufacturers might feel they have to choose between investing in either incremental or disruptive technologies. Once they have gone down the route of incremental changes, this may form a barrier to invest money in disruptive technologies. Investments in new innovations have the potential to generate higher savings in environmental impact, however it comes with a greater risk. As a result, the direction taken by the brands/manufacturers depends on their strategic priorities and internal risk appetite.

References

www.just-style.com

www.textiletechnology.net

https://fashionforgood.com/

www.imogo.com

https://www.eco2dye.com

https://www.suprauno.com/

https://dyecoo.com/

https://spindye.com/we-are-spindye-coloring-process/

https://www.ntx.global/

www.kornit.com