Global innovation platform Fashion for Good has launched a digital tool that will enable manufacturing brands and retailers to choose sustainable dyestuff based on competitive performance and environmental metrics.
- The move is meant to accelerate the shift from harmful chemistry to more sustainable options.
- The Dyestuff Library will see 15 selected dyestuff innovations participate in lab and pilot trials over the course of a year. Innovators will go through extensive compliance and toxicity testing to ensure they are safe for commercial use.
Digital Platform: The library, which will accelerate the shift from harmful chemistry to more sustainable options by enabling visibility and access to innovations, is supported by Fashion for Good’s corporate partners along with other supporting stakeholders.
- The corporate partners include Adidas, Inditex, Bonprix and Otto International (members of the Otto group), Bestseller, Target, Patagonia, Paradise Textiles, Welspun and Shahi Exports.
- Testing and validating the performance of these innovative dyes and pigments on various textile substrates will be supported by Fashion for Good’s supply chain partners Paradise Textiles and RDD Textiles, University and labs partners NimkarTek, Institute of Chemical Technology and UNICAMP.
- After completion of the project, Fashion for Good will continue developing the library with additional innovators, materials, fabric constructions, testing methods and innovative colouration machineries to enable innovation implementation in the fashion industry.
The Backdrop: Textile dyes were derived from nature before synthetic dyes, discovered by WH Perkin in 1856, revolutionised the textiles industry.
- Today, 90% of clothing is synthetically dyed, but the toxic effects and ecological impact are extremely harmful to humans and the environment.
- Over the years, a significant amount of effort has gone into phasing out harmful chemistry and there are consistent efforts to develop non-hazardous chemistry.
- Today, many alternative dyes from natural sources such as plants, microorganisms, algae and recycled materials are available, however the lack of clarity on their performance and scale makes it difficult for the industry to switch to these sustainable options.
WHAT THEY SAID:
The shift towards a more sustainable industry happens when we share existing knowledge and give access to innovations with one another. Collaboration, not competition, will allow the industry to truly transform. We are excited for the launch of our Dyestuff Library project, which will make an extensive library for the entire industry to use.
— Katrin Ley
Managing Director
Fashion for Good
The Dyestuff Library is a great initiative to validate lower impact colourants to help reduce the need for some of the chemically intensive synthetic colourants being used today. Paradise Textiles is excited to contribute our technical textile expertise applying and testing these colourants on a wide range of fibres and constructions, and then sharing this knowledge with the wider industry.
— Lewis Shuler
Head of Innovation
Paradise Textiles
We need dyeing innovation that focuses on less wasteful practices, reduces water usage and is less energy consuming. To reach this, it is essential that the fashion industry supports initiatives with an upscaling perspective so new solutions can reach a commercial level – making BESTSELLER very excited about this project. The Dyestuff Library is exactly that kind of initiative and collaboration between brands, suppliers and dyestuff innovators.
— Camilla Skjønning Jørgensen
Innovation Manager
Bestseller
