Behind every colorful cloth, there is a dark secret of environmental devastation.
According to BBC, a US-based nonprofit research center, World Resources Institute data made a shocking revelation that the apparel industry every year uses an estimated five trillion liters of water only to dye cloths, while the United Nations Environment Program found that the industry is responsible for 20% of the world’s industrial water pollution.
The industry is responsible for the massive carbon footprint, as it contributes around 10% of annual global emissions.
In the rural areas of Taiwan, a UK-based startup, Alchemie Technology, is aiming to revolutionize the clothing industry with a groundbreaking digital dying process that could reduce the carbon footprint of the industry.
Alchemie founder Dr Alan Hudd told BBC, “Traditionally in dyeing fabric, you're steeping the fabric in water at 135 degrees Celsius for up to four hours or so, gallons and tons of water. For example, to dye one ton of polyester, you're generating 30 tons of toxic wastewater.”
“That is the same process that was developed 175 years ago in the northwest of England, in the Lancashire cotton mills and the Yorkshire cotton mills, and we exported it,” he further added.
Moreover, Alchemie says that their new machine called Endeavour could solve this issue as it can compress fabric dyeing, drying, and fixing to a shorter and water-saving process.
Endeavour uses a technology similar to inkjet printing to apply dye quickly and accurately on fabric.
As per the company, the 2,800 dispensers of the machine fire roughly 1.2 billion droplets per linear meter of fabric.
Alchemie claims that the machine will reduce water consumption by 95%, energy consumption by up to 85%, and world works three to five times faster than the traditional method.
