Congratulations to our sister company. MBDC’s Jay Bolus is quoted in an intriguing story about new efforts by manufacturers to experiment with waterless dyeing techniques. Here’s an excerpt–
‘ Most athletic clothes are made of polyester, which requires 100 to 150 liters of water per kilogram of fabric to saturate with color, according to an industry analysis. The polyester apparel industry as a whole consumes 2.4 trillion gallons of water a year, which according to Nike, is enough to fill 3.7 million competition swimming pools.
Adidas isn’t shy in proclaiming its waterlessly-dyed clothes. Photo credit: Adidas
The new technique works by putting CO2 under extreme pressure of 1,100 pounds per square inch, which turns the CO2 supercritical, meaning it has the properties of both a liquid and a gas, according to Jay Bolus, the vice president of technical operations for MBDC, a sustainable-design firm.
When the CO2 cools again, other benefits become evident: The clothes dry quickly, so no additional heat is needed to dry them, and the carbon dioxide returns to its gaseous state, so 95 percent of it can be recycled and used again.
In water-based dyeing, several chemicals added in order to help the clothes accept the dye also end up tainting the wastewater. DyeCoo claims that its process requires no additives beyond CO2. “At the end of it you have almost zero waste,” Bolus said. ‘
You can find the complete story at this link.