According to the European Parliament in 2021, approximately 20% of global clean water pollution is generated by textile production (dyeing and finishing treatments in particular). Garment factories in countries like China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Thailand routinely discharge large volumes of untreated effluent into surrounding land and water bodies, contaminating the ground, surface water and soil. Chemicals including unfixed dyes, metals, salts and additives come together in the wastewater to form a chemical soup of unknown toxicity, in which new hazardous substances and breakdown products can occur. This effluent poses a significant risk to human health and the environment both locally and regionally, since pollutants can travel far from the original source. 

Dyecoo offers waterless and process chemical-free textile dyeing solutions. DyeCoo uses patented and industrial proven technology based on CO₂ instead of water. The technology uses reclaimed CO₂ as the dyeing medium in a closed loop process. 

At high pressure, CO₂ turns into a supercritical fluid, a phase between a liquid and a gas, which has a strong affinity for synthetic fibres. In this state CO₂ has a very high solvent power, allowing the dye to dissolve easily. Thanks to the high permeability, the dyes are transported easily and deeply into fibres, creating vibrant colours.

CO₂ dyeing doesn’t need added process chemicals to dissolve the dyestuff. The technology uses 100% pure dyes with more than 98% uptake. In addition, since it is a dry process that requires no water, no wastewater is produced and no subsequent treatment is necessary. In summary, short batch cycles, efficient dye use, no wastewater treatment all contribute to significantly reduced operating costs. The CO₂ is reclaimed from existing industrial processes and recycled in a closed loop system. 

Waterless dyeing decouples natural resource use and the associated environmental and human health impacts from economic growth. Independent from clean water availability, the geographical freedom afforded by this technology brings new opportunities for the fashion & textile industry, including production closer to market, shorter lead times and no compromise between sustainability and profitability. In addition, manufacturers can get a head start on legislation that restricts the use of hazardous process chemicals.