Lots of water, energy and chemicals are needed to pretreat, dye and finish our clothes.

Levi Strauss and Co. just launched its updated Lifecycle Assessment of a Jean. It takes 3,661 liters of water to produce just one pair of jeans.

The denim industry is valued at 60 billion dollars and growing. Whether the trend is bleached, dark or worn, wash cycles that use water and chemicals are needed to achieve the visual aesthetics that feed this massive industry.

Progress has been made to reduce the amount of water, chemicals and energy required to process jeans. Below are three techniques gaining significant ground that serve as examples of reducing water and replacing hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives, which is an alternatives assessment.

Ozone Gas

Ozone gas decolorizes denim very effectively. Ozone is generated on site in closed-system machines from Ozone Denim Systems that prevent the gas coming in contact with workers. Ozone replaces bleach, some detergents, reduces the amount of water by 60%, and has no negative impact on the strength of the denim.

Ozone has two main uses; to lighten or bleach the indigo shade and to create high contrast between the indigo background color and the white abrasion patterns. Traditionally, this excess indigo is removed by washing and rinsing the garments several times.

Lasers

Lasers create “worn patterns,” customized patterns, logos, holes and a number of other innovative visual effects. The company that owns the patents and software, Revolaze, works closely with laser manufacturers to produce a variety of different machines.

Lasers work completely in the absence of water, therefore reducing the need for hazardous chemicals such as potassium permanganate and bleach.

Sand Paper

Sand paper and other abrasive materials are used to create visual worn looks and holes on denim. Several leading brands have banned the much more hazardous “sand blasting,” where fine particles are blasted at high pressure directly onto the garment because workers are prone to respiratory disease such as silicosis.

Impact to your business

Questions to Consider:

• Do you have a department or person that spots new innovations?
• Are you developing alternatives to chemicals of concern?

For help with any issue associated with 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 that result in safer products manufactured in cleaner supply chains.

Tips and Insights contains information to help you make informed chemicals management decisions. Each post highlights a particular topic and includes questions for you to consider .