From the Sector

 Patagonia’s Clean Color Collection is a new capsule collection that Patagonia has just released in the last days of April. The products in the collection have been colored with dyes made from natural sources, including, along with other supply sources, EarthColors by Archroma, a range of dyes synthesized from agricultural waste.
Many of Patagonia’s synthetic dyes use less water, energy and CO2 when compared with conventional processes, however Patagonia is always looking for ways to do less environmental harm. The company, who already collaborates with Archroma for the Patagonia Denim collection based on Archroma’s Advanced Denim, therefore contacted Archroma to have a closer look at Archroma’s EarthColors dyes. The selected EarthColors dyes are the gorgeous Palmetto Green and Citrus Brown colors made respectively from non-edible palmetto green parts and bitter orange peels left over from agriculture industry or pharmaceutical extraction.

EarthColors is a line of plant-based dyes, sourced from up to 100 percent renewable resources. The colors change and fade over time, which is part of what makes these dyes unique.
“We are so proud that, once again, Patagonia has chosen Archroma’s eco-advanced dyeing technologies for their newest sustainable clothing endeavor,” comments Paul Cowell, Head of Brand Marketing in Archroma’s Brand & Performance Textile Specialties business. “We at Archroma are committed to challenge the status quo in the deep belief that we can make our industry sustainable. Because it’s our nature! Trail blazers like Patagonia bring us invaluable support in accelerating sustainable concepts in the textile value chain. Together we are showing the apparel industry the way to go, one collection at a time.”

An exciting new development, resulting from a Swiss collaboration between textile manufacturer Schoeller and auxiliaries and dyes specialists at Textilcolor. ecodye is a new auxiliary concept used, in particular, in polyester dyeing processes. The technology accelerates the dyeing process and contributes to cutting costs, while at the same time helping to preserve the environment with a low level of demand on resources.
Less time, less water, less energy – the new ecodye auxiliary concept allows eco-friendly and cost-saving dyeing processes for polyester yarns and piece goods. It shortens the heating phase, thus accelerating process time by more than 30 percent. At the same time, it reduces energy consumption by 20 percent and the water requirement by 25 percent, as the goods can be cleaned in the cooling dye bath.
In addition, ecodye improves the dyeing levelness in polyester textiles. Spots and dye agglomeration are almost completely avoided, and the precipitation on the goods that arises as a result of polyester oligomers are no longer evident. ecodye provides good shade stability and avoids reproduction problems from batch to batch, thus reducing the rate of double staining and increasing the capacity utilization and productivity of the dyeing mill on a long-term basis.

Following a successful launch phase, ecodye has already been able to provide numerous positive test results. The technology is being used by polyester-processing customers in categories including outdoor, sportswear and technical knitted fabrics, primarily in Europe, South and Middle America, Turkey, Bangladesh and China.