From a quiet village in the Taiwanese countryside, a UK start-up is ready to set off a revolution for the worldwide apparel industry – by transforming it into one of minimal environmental impact. The solution lies in a groundbreaking, first-of-its kind digital dyeing technology aimed at one of the dirtiest processes of the industry: fabric dyeing. It’s called Endeavour, a machine made by the company, to be the first digital dyeing system on earth, with hopes to reduce water and energy consumption by much when making textiles cleaner and more sustainable.
Traditional Dyeing: The Expensive, Environmentally Hostile Process
One of the most water-intensive operations in the apparel industry is fabric dyeing. Since it was first developed for the cotton mills in England back in the 1750s, the traditional method of dyeing involves immersing fabric in water heated up to 135°C for hours. This method is not only very water intensive but also produces toxic wastewater, which is quite large in quantity. According to the founder of Alchemie, Dr. Alan Hudd, as much as 30 tons of contaminated wastewater can be produced by dyeing one ton of polyester fabric.
According to the World Resources Institute, globally the apparel industry uses an estimated 5 trillion liters annually just for dyeing purposes, of which it contributes 20% of the world’s industrial water pollution. Significant groundwater is depleted through large-scale consumption in manufacturing hubs that are usually located in Asian regions. On top of all this, the industry emits around 10 percent of global annual carbon emissions according to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Challenge: Revolutionary, Eco-Friendly Dyeing Solution
Alchemie’s digital dyeing solution, Endeavour, is looking to rid the world of the water- and energy-intensive dyeing processes. Unlike traditional methods, Endeavour makes use of a very precise inkjet-like system that consists of 2,800 tiny dispensers spraying dye directly onto and through the fabric. These dispensers drop around 1.2 billion droplets per linear meter of fabric, enabling the dye to penetrate the fabric evenly and consistently.
The saving with this new method can be quite substantial, considering up to 95% in water usage and even 85% in energy in contrast to the traditional dyeing system. Besides, it takes three to five times longer than the traditional system. This means that in such a system, one could produce faster while bringing down the carbon footprint. With Alchemie, a technological innovation, the step of dyeing, drying, and fixing is put into one efficient process to eliminate numerous chemicals used in conventional dyeing and save a great deal of resources in the process.
Testing in Taiwan: Alchemie Real-World Trial of Endeavour
This innovation was originally developed in Cambridge, and it has transferred the testing of Endeavour to Taiwan to test whether it would work in real-world conditions in a factory. The textile sector of Taiwan is very strong and is therefore an ideal place for the pilot project. This is because the startup will test the performance of Endeavour in a hot and wet climate, more so than in the UK, and this is vital in the regions where the majority of the world’s textile production takes place.
To address these local environmental concerns, service manager for Endeavour, Matthew Avis, found that the company should be air-conditioned to be able to operate in the hot and humid climatic condition. Such an adaptation will become an essential requirement as the company plans to penetrate manufacturing units in South Asia and Portugal. By 2025, Alchemie would seek its technology on cotton, excluding the polyester that it now focuses on.
Thriving Movement: Other Companies Are Moving Towards Waterless Dyeing
Alchemie is not the lone player in this journey for more environmentally friendly dyeing processes. There are several companies that are also busy creating waterless dyeing solutions, including China-based NTX and Sweden’s Imogo. NTX is using a heatless technology that decreases the consumption of water by 90% and dyes by 40%. On the other hand, Imogo uses its digital spray application in almost the same way when saving water and energy needs are concerned.
Despite these highly promising technologies, textile sustainability experts such as Professor Kirsi Niinimäki, of Finland’s Aalto University, are still calling for long-term studies on durability and fixing processes in the digital dyeing process. However, she is optimistic that those changes would last and ultimately benefit the industry by eventually reducing the demand for water, energy, and chemicals.
Scaling Up: Challenges in Meeting Global Apparel Demand
While the benefits are of high order, the challenge of scaling for an industry-wide scale-up of an Endeavour will still prove difficult. Indeed, a large number of factory groups are used by most the large fashion companies to have their clothes dyed by Inditex in huge volumes and hundreds of those Endeavours need to keep running at full speed in order to make those very large amounts. So, not only does Alchemie have to make suitable plans for its deployment in development of its technology.
Presently, Alchemie has the focus on optimizing the performance of Endeavour in variable climatic conditions and plans for its deployment to more locations across South Asia and Europe. With interest in sustainable manufacturing practice growing, the company believes that its technology will eventually become the industry standard for reducing the environmental impact of textile manufacturing on the whole world.
Towards a Greener Fashion Industry
Alchemie’s innovation forms part of a larger movement towards sustainability in the fashion industry as companies all over the world are looking to minimize their ecological footprint. The most promising avenue for this would be the digital dyeing technologies represented by Endeavour. These technologies have solutions that can help save resources and maintain quality and efficiency necessary for large-scale commercial production.
If Alchemie and other similar start-ups in the field succeed in their quest to scale their technology, the apparel industry may witness a radical change toward becoming greener, and on a larger scale, that aligns with the aim of combating climate change worldwide and conserving resources naturally.
