As both a Colour Chemist and Textile chemist, I understand the environmental issues associated with dyes and dyeing fabrics.

Some dyes are simply not attracted to fabric, and therefore energy and auxiliary chemicals are used during the dye process to color the substrate. For cellulosic materials such as cotton and rayon, salt facilitates the attraction between the dye and the textile and soda ash fixes the dye permanently onto the textile.

Although salt and soda ash are relatively benign, if enough are used, the salinity and pH of the water changes, which can have an adverse effect on water quality. Rivers polluted by textile dyeing are a travesty.

Environmental challenges are further compounded by those dyes made from hazardous chemicals because residual amounts remain in the effluent after dyeing.

Some chemical companies have developed low impact dyes that work at lower temperatures with less salt, soda ash and water. This is a move in the right direction, but will not transform the industry.

Enter synthetic biology. Last year I wrote about textile dyes made from sugar and yeast.  I continue to see more companies working in this relatively new field, which I believe can transform the industry.

Stella McCartney recently partnered with Colorifix, a start up from the UK, who uses synthetic biology to produce dyes for the textile industry. An organic cotton dress, dyed using the Colorifix process, was recently donated by Stella McCartney to the V&A Fashioned from Nature exhibition.

How does it work?

Experts at Colorifx noticed that mildew and mold could stain materials. From that “aha” moment, Colorifix was born. Dyes made using synthetic biology and the Colorifix process can be broken down into three broad steps.

1. Find a pigment that already exists in nature, for example from a plant or an insect.
2. Remove the pigment and apply it to a microorganism, which can then start to produce it efficiently. Molasses, from beets and other agricultural by-products, provides food allowing the microorganism to flourish.
3. Transfer the pigment from the microorganism onto the fabric.

The 3rd step requires significantly less water, energy and chemicals when compared to conventional dyeing. The Colorifix process only has one step to produce, deposit and fix dye onto the fabric. This alone saves so much water, energy and chemicals.

The process is void of chemicals, takes 2 hours and is effective for synthetic and natural fabrics.

What are the environmental benefits of these dyes?

1. The process uses 10 times less water than traditional dyeing processes
2. Colorifix does not use heavy metals, organic solvents, acids or alkalis during dyeing
3. Colorifix create dyes from renewable resources such as molasses and other waste agriculture.

Impacts to your business?

Questions to consider:

• Is your company looking for more environmentally preferable materials?
• Do you seek out more environmentally-conscious products?

For help with any issue associated with sustainability and chemicals, contact Amanda Cattermole at (415) 412 8406 or Amanda@cattermoleconsulting.com. We can help you develop powerful solutions to protect your company and brand reputation, which will result in safer products manufactured in cleaner supply chains.

Tips and Insights contains information to help you make informed chemical management decisions. Each post highlights a particular topic and includes questions you may want to consider for your business.