Archroma Streamlines Cotton Dyeing with Somelos
A new technology reduces the number of processes and natural resources that are traditionally required to dye cotton garments.
Swiss specialty chemicals company Archroma and Somelos, a Portuguese vertically integrated textile group, developed New Dry Dyeing/Ox Finishing, a water-saving dyeing and finishing process that doesn’t generate wastewater.
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The new Dry Dyeing/Ox Finishing process only uses water to prepare the dye and oxidation baths. Archroma Diresul RDT liquid pre-reduced sulfur dyes ensure easy washdown and direct fixation—with no need for pre-washing—delivering shorter processing, cleaner production and high wash fastness. It can be applied to cotton bottoms and shirting.
The new technology is based on Archroma’s Pad-Ox dyeing process, which combines oxidation and fixation into one step, and sustainable finishing processes like ozone and laser treatments. It delivers water savings of up to 97 percent compared to conventional cotton dyeing and finishing.
In comparison, Archroma said conventional cotton dyeing and finishing requires substantial water and chemical inputs and produces a large volume of wastewater. Additionally, long-lasting wash-down effects traditionally require two water-intensive processes: one to achieve the color intensity and another for the washed-down contrast.
J.Crew, Tenue and Bombay Shirt Company are among the brands that use fabrics by Somelos.
Umberto De Vita, Archroma’s director, denim market segment, textile effects division, said the New Dry Dyeing/Ox Finishing process “represents a significant advance in sustainability for the textile industry” and “empowers brands to protect the environment and deliver eco-friendlier products to an eager buying public.”
Resource-intensive processes are a concern in drought-affected, water-poor countries such as Portugal. It’s for this reason that Sofia Vale, Somelos R&D manager, said the company has invested heavily over the years in eco-friendly production methods, a solar energy park for clean energy and a wastewater treatment and recycling facility.
“We are delighted to be working with Archroma as we take another step on our sustainability journey and prioritize water saving with our new and innovative cotton dyeing and finishing process,” she said.
Strategic parentships have been central to Archroma’s latest developments. The company recently teamed with Colourized to scale its QuantumCOLOUR yarn-coloring technology, an alternative to conventional fiber-reactive methods of dyeing cellulosic and synthetic yarns. Archroma completed its acquisition of Huntsman Textiles Effects earlier this year—a move that enhances its performance textile specialties business and adds a division for packaging and paper specialties and coatings.
