As we move into the third decade of the 21st Century, there is one main concern that has attained grave prominence in today’s world – environment conservation! There are various things happening around us that could soon lead us to dangers that are unimaginable to the present generation. Rising global population is something that makes it impossible for the Government and planners to spare a thought for the environment and its conservation. Hence, it is up to us, the individual citizens to take up the responsibility of environmental conservation into our own hands and strive to build a safer future for our future generations. In this regard, the textile industry has taken a good initiative in adopting what is called Air Dyeing!
Air Dyeing is a process that completely replaces the traditional dyeing process that was intensely water-dependent. Being a company based in the Coimbatore-Tiruppur region of India, we have heard/seen horror stories of how this traditional dyeing process has choked rivers, caused dangerous diseases in children and even destroyed the flora and fauna of the region.
Air dyeing uses zero water and is a super energy-efficient process that is now slowly being adopted by the textile industry. Air dyeing uses a spray-type technique to impart the colour to the fabric, without any use of water. Therefore there is also no waste water that needs to be disposed off into the environment. It is estimated that up to 45 gallons of water can be saved during the dyeing of just one garment simply by switching over to Air-dyeing technology. Thus it is vital that more and more companies start adopting this technology. Water is one of the most precious resources that needs to be conserved and preserved. The Government can also help by giving incentives for the use of Air-dyed fabric in the manufacture of various garments.
As a retailer, it becomes almost impossible for us to try and force our suppliers to use water-free dyed fabrics on the products that they supply to us, simply due to the market expectation of low-cost garments. We have been searching for quite some time to find a good supplier who can supply air-dyed garments at a reasonable price and there have been some good leads. However, developing our complete supply chain to use only air dyed fabric is still a work-in-progress.
The primary hindrance to this widespread adaptation of waterless dyeing technology, as suggested by Patty and Leigh Anne of OEcoTextiles is the customers and their demand for cheap inexpensive clothing. They have fought the odds and developed eco-friendly textiles that look amazing and stylish! Their prediction that tougher regulations on polluting dyeing units is spot on as you can see in this news article. It can be seen that the manufacturers simply shift to a different state to bypass the regulations and cut costs.
Also check out Swami’s take on the Great Paint Brush Sets That Are Cruelty-Free
Our aim of publishing this article is to bring awareness to you, the customers, on the environmental impact of the clothes that you wear. If the demand for eco-friendly textiles improves, then the supply will naturally increase.