Polyestertime - Representatives from across the apparel industry gathered today at the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute of Texas Tech University for the reveal of a disruptive, new foam-dyeing process for producing denim.
Early stage investors, including Wrangler, Lee and the Walmart Foundation were on
hand for the event, hosted by Indigo Mill Designs (IMD).
"Wrangler advanced the commercialization of this technology because we believe it has the potential to dramatically improve the environmental impact of our industry and help us achieve our brand goals for water conservation," said Wrangler brand president, Tom Waldron.
Foam dyeing of yarn is a new technology that is environmentally friendly and cost effective. However, its use was previously limited in denim manufacturing because the indigo dye used to create the traditional blue color reacts to oxygen in the air.
IMD's IndigoZERO™ solution, developed at Texas Tech University, overcomes this limitation,
resulting in net reductions of water and energy usage of more than 90 percent. In
addition, the foam-dyeing process reduces chemical usage while achieving the same
or better dye quality compared to conventional processes.