Natural dyeing process delivers environmental benefits
While the global textile and fashion industry is of great economic importance, it is also a major polluter. The sector uses about a quarter of the world’s chemicals by volume, and is responsible for producing between 5 % and 10 % of all global carbon emissions. The dyeing process alone uses some 5 trillion litres of water every year. Toxic chemicals often leach into water supplies, a significant problem especially in developing countries where regulations are often far less restrictive.
Microbe-based dyes
Colorifix was established to help textile dyeing factories save on raw materials and reduce their carbon footprint by moving towards naturally sourced high-performance colours. The concept, which came from a University of Cambridge spin-off, centres around using microbes to produce colour. “We know how to engineer biology to make colour,” explains Colorifix project coordinator Jim Ajioka, co-founder of Colorifix and lecturer in Molecular Parasitology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. “Microbes will naturally make, secrete and fix pigments onto surfaces. What we did was to figure out a way of doing this in a scalable way.” This business idea gained further impetus after Ajioka and his colleagues worked on a water quality project in Nepal and Bangladesh. This highlighted the extent of the damage being caused by pollution coming from dyeing factories.
Demonstrator dye factory
The EU-funded Colorifix project enabled Ajioka and his colleagues to demonstrate both the viability and benefits of their microbial dye concept. “Having the technology is not enough,” he says. “You need to be able to show industry that your innovation is cost-effective and above all scalable.” For this, a demonstrator dye house was built. Bioreactors and fermenters were established at a site in Cambridge, and were designed to be robust enough to work in what is a fairly dirty environment. “Having all this hardware in one site meant we could ferment product and pump this directly into dyeing machines,” explains Ajioka. “We were able to treat everything, from cloth to garments and yarn, and show how this technology can fit into the current dyeing industry.” The microbial-based process uses zero petrochemicals and produces no toxic waste. “We were able to show that we can reduce the CO2 footprint from dyeing cotton by at least 31 %, and save at least 49 % on water,” adds Ajioka.
Integrating textile technology
The demonstrator has been a critical step forward in Colorifix gaining acceptance in the fashion and textile sectors. “This is quite a traditional industry,” he remarks. “But once they saw what was possible, things began to make sense.” Indeed, the success of the demonstrator has resulted in a great deal of positive exposure. “We have been contacted by more brands than we can currently accommodate,” notes Ajioka. “We were also involved with the designer Stella McCartney for an exhibition in the V&A on fashion inspired by nature, and this also brought us recognition.” Moving forward, the major challenge will be to integrate the Colorifix technology exactly where it is needed. Textile supply chains are incredibly complicated – many brands don’t even know where their textiles are dyed. “We have identified certain mills with integrated dye factories, and these have been helping us to integrate our technology into their operations,” says Ajioka. “We are also collaborating with the likes of brands such as H&M, to identify other appropriate dye houses and mills to work with.”
Keywords
Colorifix, textile, fashion, pollution, microbe, dyeing, chemical, toxic, dyes
