Shoppers looking for their next great outfit make their selections on the basis of colour, cut, style, and price. They may not know that dyeing clothes requires massive amounts of water, energy, and chemicals. Those chemicals are released in wastewater from dye houses and textile mills. Reports of rivers with unnatural hues have inspired government crackdowns and sustainability pledges from international apparel brands. But changing this $3 tr industry will require innovation that can be scaled up and adopted without cost or disruption for manufacturers.
It takes about three years’ worth of drinking water to make your favourite cotton Tshirt using conventional manufacturing practices. That’s roughly 713 gallons (2,700 liters).The fashion industry’s dependence on water is nothing new: From growing cotton to manufacturing textiles, water is an essential component throughout the fashion supply chain. Each year, the textile industry produces about 80 bn garments, leaving a rather large water footprint behind. Mills can use up to 200 tonne of water per tonne of dyed fabric, which in turn only produces about 1,400 pieces of clothing. Add everything together and roughly 17 to 20 per cent of industrial water pollution is owed to fabric dyes and treatments.
All told, about 200 L of water is used to produce 1 kg of fabric. A review of wastewater treatment steps found that textile effluent contains high concentrations of dyes and chemicals, including chromium, arsenic, copper, and zinc. Dyes and chemicals released into waterways also block sunlight and increase biological oxygen demand. According to Greenpeace, the most frequently used additives in the dyeing and finishing process are dangerous to human health, marine life, and the environment. In India as well, the government is taking steps to reel in the textile industry to save precious water resources. In India, a trend is huge investment in wastewater treatment for liquid discharge. It’s now common for factories to reuse 90 per cent of their water.
cotton is a more water- and heat-intensive process. The surface of cotton fibres is negatively charged and doesn’t readily react with negatively charged dye compounds. Even with an assist from salts and alkali added to the dye solution, cotton takes up only about 75 per cent of the dye. To ensure colorfastness, dyed fabric or yarn is washed over and over again in hot water, creating large amounts of wastewater.
But today, we cannot imagine a garment being produced without value addition through wet or dry process. Garment wet processing is majorly power-driven, resource-consuming, as well as uses of toxic chemicals whose residues are released into the environment, contributing significantly to the acceleration of environmental degradation that became a hallmark of industrial development.
Energy consumption and water usage in the textile industry are extremely high and occur at each stage of manufacturing. It is also the most polluting industry in the world. In regards to water use, the impacts include the over-use of water and the release of chemical pollution in waste water. Again, the impacts vary according to the fibre type. Cotton is one of the most water-intensive agricultural crops whereas bamboo, a regenerated cellulose fibre, uses very little water to grow.
In the past decade, there have been NGO movements across different parts of the world- and especially in the producing countries to control these discharges of hazardous chemicals from textile factories. Govt. is also clamping down on polluting factories and implementing stringent laws for wastewater discharge, which includes Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD), The Greenpeace Detox campaign and Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Programme by Signatory Brands, which is pushing the apparel supply chain to ensure that hazardous chemicals are not discharged.
In support of efforts in recent years to reverse the impacts of this degradation on quality of life and the balance within Earth’s ecosystem, the textile industry once again has a significant role to play. Enlightened manufacturers are redesigning processes and products to reduce their environmental impact. In the process, they are reducing energy usage and replacing fossil fuels with renewable and alternative energy resources when possible or practicable. They are reducing water usage as well as waste and emissions volumes, and reclaiming and recycling materials that would otherwise be disposed of and giving them renewed purpose. They are choosing earth- and people-friendly process chemicals to replace more toxic ones. There are new technologies, which use air to help the dye penetrate the fibre and use no water at all. These enlightened measures not only restore the ecological balance and safeguard human health, but also often benefit a company’s fiscal health.
At the same time chemical and technology manufacturers or textile related organisation are also taking actions in developing new eco-concepts and products for the garment wet processing industry. Energy efficiencies and renewable and alternative energy sources can also help textile manufacturers reduce their environmental impact.
The manufacturing industry is under pressure. Price competition is fierce, and profits are shrinking thanks to volatile raw material costs and rising wages. Despite public commitments by apparel brands to become more sustainable, suppliers say their customers will not buy anything that could raise the cost of a finished garment by as little as a penny. Textile dyeing has effects on a local and global scale. It is considered by many in the industry a necessary evil, it’s harrowing effects are increasingly avoidable.
Some recent developments for greener or sustainable processing and dyeing
Embed dye within the fibres
Companies like ColorZen and AirDye are introducing new ways to dye fabric and alleviate some of the accompanying water waste. While AirDye was developed for synthetic fabrics in particular and uses air to transfer dye to the fabric, ColorZen modifies cotton’s molecular structure, allowing dye to settle in the fabric without the need for toxic fixing agents and massive water discharge. Both processes embed dye within the fibres instead of merely coating them, resulting in brighter, crisper colours ideal for spring cleaning and the colour coding that comes with it.
With conventional cotton dyeing, salt is used to negate the charge on the surface of the cotton. ColorZen technology uses a quaternary ammonium compound to permanently attach a positively charged amino site on the cellulose molecule. That makes for a natural attraction between dye and fibre.
ColorZen treats raw cotton fibre right from the field after the seeds are removed. After treatment, cotton is spun into yarn at customer facilities.
ColorZen’s pretreatment makes the dyeing process faster while using 90 per cent less water, 75 per cent less energy, and 90 per cent fewer auxiliary chemicals. It also cuts out almost half the dye compared with processes that call for salts in the dye bath.
AirDye, a new method created by Colorep for dyeing textiles takes water almost out of the equation, using 90 per cent less water, but also reducing the emissions and energy used by 85 per cent, since extreme heat is needed to dry the textiles after they are soaked in dye (and most fabrics then require a postrinse and yet another dry cycle). AirDye’s process begins with using all synthetic fibres for its material, which can be made from recycled PET bottles. Using dispersed dyes that are applied to a paper carrier, AirDye uses heat to transfer the dyes from the paper to the surface of the textiles, colouring it at the molecular level. All paper used is recycled, and dyes are inert, meaning that they can go back to their original State and be reused.
Spray technology for dyeing, finishing, and coating
Single-sided application methods have long been used in the textile industry; their benefits include reduced wet pick-up, chemical use, and energy consumption for drying. Reducing wet pick-up can reduce migration of chemicals during steaming or drying, resulting in more efficient dye fixation or optimum placement of finishes or coatings. Application technologies introduced over the last quarter-century to reduce wet pick-up include spray, foam, and kiss roll. Recently, Baldwin Technology, Inc., has introduced a new spray technology that avoids problems with nozzle clogging and uneven application, while reducing WEC use.
Commercial operating experience
Launched in 2015, the Baldwin Spray Applicator is now installed at major textile finishing facilities worldwide, for use with knits, wovens, and nonwovens. This new technology has reduced water and chemistry use by up to 50 per cent, total changeover time by up to 85 per cent, and chemistry waste by up to 99 per cent.
The Spray Applicator’s individual nozzle control and automatic volume adjustment ensure precise and uniform finishing under various process conditions and production capacities. The Spray Applicator applies the exact amount of chemistry needed based on fabric width, weight, and textile characteristics. Fully automatic flushing reduces changeover times to less than 5 minutes, compared with 15 to 30 minutes for traditional application methods. The Spray Applicator can handle a wide range of low-viscosity chemistries, single- and dual-sided applications, and various textile characteristics, as well as wet-on-wet applications, which are made without contamination from other chemistry sources. The Spray Applicator’s mist containment cover prevents aerosols from escaping into the work environment.
Cationization for salt-free dyeing
Cationization is the permanent chemical modification of cotton to produce cationic (positively charged) dyeing sites in place of existing hydroxyl ( OH) sites. The cationic charge enables the cotton to easily attract anionic dyes (Direct, fibre reactive, pigment dispersion, and acid) without the need for salt. Up to 100 per cent dye utilization is possible, accompanied by reductions in the use of energy, water, and steam, resulting in overall cost savings.
Commercial Operating Experience
This technology has been available for many years and is being used commercially in a number of mills for dyeing yarns, knits, wovens, and garments. However, implementation of cationization at the mill level remains relatively low, for various reasons:
- Low fixation of cationic agents by exhaust methods can increase chemical and processing costs. The cationization process is much more efficient with a cold pad batch pretreatment?
- Cationic cotton requires some modification of existing dyeing procedures
- Production of seconds may be high until a mill has had substantial experience with the cationization process and dyeing of cationic cotton?
Cationization is a versatile chemistry, allowing variations in processing time, temperature, and caustic level. It can be used with many processes and combinations of processes, including exhaust, cold pad batch, pad steam, and pad-dry-cure, and it can be applied to fibre, yarn, or fabric. The efficiency of the reaction and the resulting degree of cationization are directly related to the amount of cationic agent applied, the substrate, and the process used. For safety reasons, the cationic agent should be applied by a method that avoids worker exposure. Through this technology, the use of chemicals and dyestuffs can potentially be reduced by as much as 50 per cent. Recent research has improved prediction of cationization treatment and dyeing formulas, has identified ways to improve levelness, and has developed processes for bleaching heavily cationized greige fibre. Research continues on evaluating new cationization chemistries and their potential applications.
Enzyme treatment
Enzymes have found a major role in the processing of cotton textiles, from desizing, scouring, and bleaching to special effects and wet finishing. Industry experience with enzymes has grown rapidly in the past 15 to 20 years, promoted by ongoing research and development.
Commercial operating experience
Enzyme technology is being used widely, in most mills and in various applications. The technology is being applied to all textile forms and in most types of processing equipment, both continuous and batch. Mills have reported savings in water, time, chemicals, and energy, as well as in achievement of special product effects.
The most widespread use of enzymes is in desizing, but scouring with enzymes is gaining favour. Because enzyme scouring will not remove all of the natural oils and waxes removed by a conventional scour, it leaves the fabric somewhat yellow, but this is acceptable for fabric that will be dyed in medium to heavy shades. Furthermore, enzyme-scoured fabrics usually have a better hand. Certain enzyme technology can also be used as a catalyst for the bleaching process. Operating at lower temperatures and a more neutral pH, this bleaching technology can be used on delicate fabrics or to reduce energy and water use.
Enzyme technology is being used to some extent in finishing, especially for removal of surface fibres from denim dyed with indigo, to mimic the look of stonewashing, or to destroy the indigo dye, for a bleaching effect. Use of enzymatic treatment in place of stonewashing can reduce solid effluent.
Enzymes are also used on knit fabrics and yarns in a process referred to as “biopolishing,” to remove short fibres that contribute to surface fuzz, which affects the appearance of garments and contributes to a perception of colour loss. Biopolishing may reduce fabric strength and weight but will improve the appearance of a garment through repeated home laundering cycles. Bio-polishing may require a separate bath; however, a carefully selected compatible enzyme can be included in the dyebath, saving additional water, time, and energy.
Dye Produced from Cotton By-products
Most textile dyes are synthetic, usually oil-based. Archroma has developed a line of sustainable dyes, called EarthColors that are made from natural waste, including almond shells, bitter orange residues, rosemary waste, and beet residues. This collection now includes a dye made from cotton by products — for the first time, cotton can be used to dye cotton. Cotton by-products are an abundant resource; a 480-lb bale of cotton can produce 150 to 200 lb of by-product.
In addition to sustainability, Earth Colors offers traceability. Archroma has implemented near- field communication (NFC) chips in hang tags as a tracking method for full transparency in the supply chain. NFC chips can track information for each garment, such as the textile mill, dye batch number, garment maker, and bio-waste provider.
Commercial operating experience
Archroma’s Earth Colors dyestuffs are upto 100 per cent petroleum-free and are bioeliminable. The cotton by-products (burs, stems, and leaves) are ground into very fine particles, and caustic soda is added to the heated grounds, forming a paste that becomes the basis of the dye. Almost 100 per cent of the cotton plant by- product is used to create the dye, and no harmful chemical waste is produced. The Earth Colors cotton dye can be used to dye woven and knit fabrics and yarns. The range of shades is limited by the natural colour of gin waste, but different shades of brown dye can be produced depending on the concentration of dye used.
Environmentally Sustainable Reactive Dyes
Several chemical and dyestuff manufacturers have developed new dye technologies that save water, time, and energy by reducing the amount of water used per kilogram of cotton fabric, the number of baths, and the temperature of the baths. Three such technologies are the Avitera SE dyes from Huntsman Textile Effects, the Bezaktiv GO dyes from CHT, and the Cadira Reactive dyes from DyStar.
Commercial operating experience
The Avitera SE dyes from Huntsman are polyreactive dyes that ensure rapid and very high exhaustion for cotton. More of the dye is absorbed by the cotton fabric, and the fixation rate is 93 per cent, making it easier to remove unfixed dye at lower washing-off temperatures (about 60°C). As a result, mills can increase productivity without additional capital investment, saving water and energy by using fewer baths and lower temperatures.
The Bezaktiv GO dyes from CHT introduce a new technology, part of CHT/ Bezema’s 4Success programme, that enables reactive dyeing with even lower temperatures during exhaust dyeing and rinsing. For most dyeing applications, 40°C dye baths and rinse baths are sufficient, with a fixation rate as high as 90 per cent and liquor ratios as low as 4:1. As a result, considerably fewer rinse baths are required, saving water and energy.
The Cadira Reactive dye concept from DyStar considerably reduces water use, waste, and energy consumption by using select Leva x and Remazol dyes with high fixation yield and good wash- off properties. The Cadira process uses an optimized dyeing process, with improved dye fixation at 50°C, and the soaping agent Sera Fast C-RD, which allows the use of a soap-off rinse bath at only 60°C.
Liquid Ammonia Mercerization
Mercerization of cotton enhances fabric sheen, hand, and drape, reduces shrinkage, and improves wrinkle resistance, elasticity, tensile strength, dimensional stability, and colour retention by transforming the crystal structure of cellulose and causing the fibres to swell. In the traditional mercerization process, cotton yarn or fabric is treated with sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), which converts the native type I cellulose to type II. When liquid ammonia is used instead of sodium hydroxide, cellulose is converted to type III. The fibres swell less but more evenly than with sodium hydroxide, resulting in a softer hand, better wrinkle resistance, and greater tensile strength.
Liquid ammonia mercerization is commonly used with woven fabrics but is a new process for knits. During the process, the fabric passes through a liquid ammonia bath for several seconds. It then passes through steam-heated cylinders, where the ammonia is evaporated and collected for re-use. Finally, the fabric is rinsed or steamed to remove any remaining ammonia.
Commercial operating experience
As an alternative to sodium hydroxide, liquid ammonia provides similar benefits in fabric feel, appearance, and characteristics. It reduces the need for additional softeners, resins, or other finishing chemicals and additional processing steps, thus providing cost savings. Most of the liquid ammonia used can be recycled, and because the process takes place within a closed system, no ammonia is released into the work environment.
Digital Textile Printing
Another way is digital printing on textiles, including cotton and other cellulosic fabrics like rayon. Printing textiles with pigments rather than dyes uses very little water and produces much less waste than traditional methods. Digital printing is one example from a growing list of new, more sustainable fabric-colouring technologies from both major suppliers and smaller chemical and biotech startups. Digital printing on polyester uses a two-step dye sublimation process that is almost waterless. The pattern is first printed on transfer paper; heat then turns the colour into a cloud of gas, which bonds with the softened polyester. The use of digital textile printing is growing rapidly, thanks in large part to demand from fastfashion purveyors. retailers such as H&M or Zara demand short runs of styles to appear in stores in as little as two weeks, rather than the traditional design schedule of huge runs delivered after several months.
Indigo Dyes From Plants
Stony Creek is developing varieties of leguminous indigo plants that can provide a high-yield, high-profit crop for Tennessee farmers looking for an alternative to tobacco. The company is selling all the dye it can make; its goal is to expand the US indigo production to 6,000 hectares in the next five years. That could displace 2.8 per cent of global synthetic indigo production.
The indigo molecule itself is exactly the same as the synthetic version, with one small difference, “Synthetic indigo has a tighter crystal formation that makes it more difficult to reduce. Dye houses can reduce natural indigo in bacterial fermentation vatsor use more common reducing systems.
Colorifix
Other start-ups have also turned to biology—in particular, engineered microbes—to reduce the use of chemicals in textile dyes. UK-based Colorifix and the French firm Pili say microbes can produce high-performance; renewable dyes suitable for mainstream textiles. All that is required to scale up are fermentation tanks and sugar.
The idea for Colorifix came out of a biological sensor programme in Nepal and Bangladesh. David Nugent and his colleagues were in the region to test drinking water wells for arsenic. They asked local village governments what other substances in their water concerned them. The team was already using colour made by microorganisms to act as a sensor for water contaminants. Soon it became clear the researchers could engineer them to produce natural colours, including anthocyanins and carotenoids.
But microbes that produce stable colours can be adopted by dye houses with very little change to their normal processes. First the microbes go into a solution like a regular dye and get embedded in the textile fibre. Then they are given nutrients that cause them to grow. When heat is applied, the organisms’ membranes burst. That causes the colour to chemically attach to the fibre with help from metal ions and salts in the microbes’ cytoplasm.
The process works like a very efficient reactive dye that requires only a single finish wash. It claims a water savings of 90 per cent and an energy savings of 20 per cent over standard processes. Colorifix is setting-up pilot operations in Italy and France; partner dye houses first have to get a certification to work with genetically modified microbes.
To provide the present industry insightful to our readers, we have asked following questions to different segments of this industry and their expert comments are covered in next few pages:
- Environmental hazards of the garment wet processing have been a major concern for the industry for last few years. What as a chemical manufacturer or a technology manufacturer or a job worker you are doing for sustainable production?
- What are the latest trends and developments in garment wet processing and finishing?
- Where does the Indian garment wet processing industry lacks? What are the solutions for it?
Last two years were not very good for the industry due to a lot of macro-economic changes done by the govt. All these changes have affected the industry very badly.
Slowly the industry is coming back on track. Especially, the dyeing and processing unit are changing and adapting latest technologies to cater international buyers demand.
In 2011 we had very bad situation when high court ordered dyeing units in Tirupur to go for zero liquid discharge resulting in closure of several units. With the collective strength, the industry came out of it and gained its position back in world market. In 2011 the industry’s turnover here was 14,000 cr, which reached to Rs. 46,000 cr by 2017. For a sustainable production, Tirupur processing units (Dyeing units) Effluent treatment Plants have achieved Zero Liquid discharge (ZLD) and is being appreciated by all including foreign delegates who visited the plants. Even the delegation from Bangladesh garment industry visited the plant few years back and mentioned that they had not seen such facilities even in the developed world and wished to follow the same system. We wish to add that the technology being followed by the plants are invented on their own by trial and error method and we are all proud of that achievement. By this, entire treatment systems become ecofriendly. Now, Tirupur has sustainable factories, environmental protection laws, and zero liquid discharge. Also it is a green industry as we have 1,600 green power sources in factories.
When it comes to new fabric finishes, it’s a design driven industry. Lot of new are varieties invented and brought in. Lot of new finishing techniques invented and implemented. Buyers are demanding a lot of new finishes and as per their demand Tirupur is adapting the same to stay ahead in global market.
We lack at the infrastructure and other support from the govt. front when compared to Veitnam, China and Bangladesh. Govt. in Bangladesh is helping them by having FTA’s with various countries giving an advantage over us.
In today’s modern world technology is open secret. That much of economic support is lacking but technological partnership is not with any company. Tirupur is going for automation now and adopting latest zero liquid discharge technologies now. It being the only such cluster worldwide, is giving tough competition to others in the world.
Orient Craft Ltd. has one of the largest laundry in the country established in the year 2005, established in a collaboration with Freshtex Germany till 2006 and since 2007 it’s known as Orient Craft Ltd, Special Finishes Division. We have a well facilitated infrastructure and a well-equipped development centre with all Lab facilities to provide excellent product range and quality to all our international brands.
We are equipped with 10 no. of Transfer on washer 380 kg capacity each Front loading washing M/C especially designed for denim garment washing and 4 no. of Smartex M/C Front loading with capacity 340 kg each for washing delicate garments and 17 no. of Belly washing M/C top loading with a capacity of 220 kg each for garment dyeing. Our complete M/C capacity is 7600 kg. We have a capacity of processing 25,000 units / day inclusive of denim processing & garment dyeing and with a effluent treatment plant with a capacity of 1500 KLD connected with CETP authorized by HSIDC.
Our latest Machine is Ozone M/C from Spain, where we are developing all sustainable washes to reduce huge quantity of water and chemicals in comparison to the conventional method. Where we are saving approximately 60 per cent of water. We are promoting all brands with our latest developments in sustainable wash to create a sustainable range of product which is the future and environment friendly to contribute and help save our planet.
In future, we are planning to switch over with more no. of Ozone M/C to reduce water and chemicals to 75 per cent of our current capacity which would be a huge saving in terms of water from earth and promoting chemical free washing as a future plan. Apart from this we are planning to introduce E-Flow M/C, which works in the principle of mist inside the washing drum where we could do all washing process as well as garment dyeing and with the addition of E-Flow M/c we could switch over to reach 80 per cent gain in saving water and chemicals, which could be a great initiative towards our contribution to conserve our planet. Also we are associated with DETOX Campaign & we have already uploaded our data on ZDHC portal last year.
Environmental hazards of the garment wet processing have been a major concern for the industry. As a company we are planning to modify our ETP to ZLD, where we will be able to re-cycle 70 per cent of water to reuse it which could be a big bonus in saving water from the environment. We have also applied for installing an online ETP monitoring system. Apart from this we are converting our Boilers to PNG (Natural gas) from HSD boiler. We are planning to switch over all our washing and dyeing technique to Ozone and E- flow M/c to achieve sustainable products.
The only challenge to achieve sustainable products; One there is a huge capital investment. With the variety of customers we have the expectation is very vast and it varies from brand to brand, season to season. We are in fashion business which keeps on changing and there are times where the investments on new machinery cannot be recovered as what is in fashion today becomes obsolete tomorrow.
Nowadays, every brand is talking about sustainability in the existing washes, even the fabric what we are using now is Organic, recycle and Refibre and even the mills are working on providing us Green products which is either low consumption of energy or use of some percentage of recycle material or polyester from ocean plastic waste.
The latest trends in garment wet processing finishing are: Laser M/C replacing all conventional method of Dry processing, such as Hand sanding, Whisker and replacing PP Spray; and introduction of Ozone M/C, E-Flow M/C and E-soft M/C to replace all conventional washing and dyeing technique.
As far as the Indian garment wet processing industry is concerned, Wash houses in India is a very unorganised sector, The Laundry which are associated with garment exports mostly follow the Compliance norms but then there are players who are fulfilling the huge demand of local market in denim and garment wash which does not follow compliance. It is difficult to make them understand about the importance of compliance and the damage they do to the environment by not using the ETP or use sustainable products as they have a very tough price challenge to meet. The only solution is to educate them and create areas where they can use a centralized ETP plants so that the waste can be properly managed. Even if it costs more this will be an effort to save the dyeing rivers of India where all the pollution goes in mostly unchecked…Initiative needs to be taken, People needs to be educated and then strict norms needs to be implemented with strict fines and even closures of such units to help check and streamline the problems.
Indian garment wet processing industry lacks at various aspects as: No proper Effluent treatment plant installed in most of the laundries; Following conventional method of washing and dyeing; Selection of cheap quality chemicals, hazardous to human and environment; Conventional boiler using cheap source of fuel such as coal. Solutions for it includes: Converting ETP to ZLD; Replacing conventional washing M/c to Low Liquor ratio washing M/C and converting wash process to Ozone wash, e-flow and e- soft M/C with latest technology of washing & dyeing; Using more Probiotic chemicals which are Bio-degradable and Eco-friendly; Converting Conventional Boiler to Natural gas.
So looking at the current scenario in apparel industry regarding processing of garments and the discharge of hazardous waste we’ve completely upgraded our unit to minimise the impact on environment, we converted out boilers to run in natural gas, upgraded our washers to the stateof- the-art front loading washers which perform on low liquor ratio as low as 1:2 and further to reduce water and energy consumption we’ve opted for the latest drizzle jet spray systems which further reduces the liquor ratio to 1:1, as you know were also the leading manufacturers of industrial garment processing industries were setting a bench mark by our unit and convincing our clients to do so and opt for latest equipment to minimise the impact on nature.
We’ve also opted for lasers and ozone systems and successfully are able to convert our 10 per cent of production to be waterless. We’re pleased to announce that by end of 2019 our unit will be converted to zero liquid discharge so we can truly call ourselves a green unit.
Pollution is one of the major issues textiles industry is facing today. It has become very difficult to operate a factory in Delhi region. For our segment especially, due to bad market scenario, business is really down. In terms of trend these days in denims damage effect, towel wash, helium wash, wrinkle and stone washes are in good demand. Besides, faded effects, wrinkles and normal basic denims are something ever green.
Our production capacity is 40,000, and we are catering to both exports and domestic markets. To safeguard the environment we are have proper water treatment plant (ETP) and don’t use any harmful chemical that affects our mother nature. We are only using enzymes and very less bleach/chlorine at our plant and never use acids.
In India there are lots of restrictions from the govt. side. Last two years have been a major turmoil for the industry as after implementation of demonetization and GST, the apparel industry got affected for some time, but now slowly it is coming out of situation. The market at both domestic and export front have started giving signs of improvement now. Our governments both at Central and State level together should take initiative for the betterment of the textile industry in this region.
Skylar Fashion & Creation (Old name S & S Fashions) is situated at Narol, Ahmedabad. We are a part of this industry since 2011. We have already installed Lazer machines for denim design creations and plan to make our unit one of the best laundry in Ahmedabad.
Environmental Hazards of garment wet processing are a major concern because of several illegal washing units which are running without any legal permission and without proper ETP (Effluent treatment Plant). We as responsible citizens of India have taken all required Government permissions and Sanction for running of washing laundry. We have a proper ETP and all our waste water is treated in The ETP and then discharged to CETP (Central Effluent Treatment Plant). There are very few units in Ahmedabad industry like ours having an ETP facility. Thus making our products costlier and we face financial crunch in our working funds as compared to Illegal units. Thus for law abiding citizens lie ourselves, strict actions should be taken against all illegal units.
The latest trends in garment wet processing and finishing are Lazer Machines which are used for designing which do not need water in the process. This will cause huge water savings and thus lesser water pollution. Our laundry is the first laundry in Ahmedabad for installing this machine in 2011.
The Indian garment wet processing industry lacks in government action against illegal units, by shutting them down, and also, there is no ‘Laundry Companies Association’ for handling issues relating to our industry, to which we can go to with our problems. Most of the laundry units are run by Illiterate persons, who do not have enough knowledge of the science, and also, Effluent treatment and thus discharge their effluent to Common pipelines for Residential areas. Moreover, due to no expenses on safety, housekeeping and running of ETP, Illegal units provide cheaper rates to customers, which we legal units have to compete with, causing us heavy losses.
We have three units, two in Delhi and one in Sonipat with capacity of 13-14 thousand garments per day. We have seven front door, low liquor ratio machines and one laser machine. Depending on the customer demand we may plan to expand this further. Right now market scenario is not so good and demand is also down but post Diwali it is expected to improve. Due to the slow market demand customers stopped giving new orders for some time but now as their stocks are running out they’ll be placing new orders. We have started getting positive signs from the industry. If the things improve we may plan to add more machines with low liquor ratio.
Environmental hazards of the garment wet processing have been a major concern for the industry for last few years. So, as a company we are also taking care of it at our end. We may plan to go for eflow machine which results in minimal water usage in future. We have plans for going for ZLD also. At our Sonipat plant we are in a cluster, where we have common ETP. In Delhi we are already using PNG and if the line gets commissioned in Sonipat also then we may start using PNG there as well.
In terms of trends, these days’ wrinkles and damaging effects are in good demand. But demand varies from customer to customer as some want high fashion effects on garments and some want simpler. When we compare our industry with other neighbouring countries, we are a little unorganised. Though infrastructure wise we are ahead as we have latest technologies at our units. But issue is that there are smaller units here which are unable to cater huge customer demand. In Bangladesh there are no. of units having capacity of doing over one lakh garments per day.
We are having two processing units: One in Sahibabad and other in Tronica City with per day production capacities of 20,000 trousers and 12-15 thousand denims respectively. The Tronica plant was started in January this year only so the set-up is completely new having all low liquor ratio washing machine of 1:3 to 1:4 for processing denim garments. Soon, we are planning to install Ozone Technology at our Tronica plant. Environmental Hazards of garment wet processing are a major concern for the industry. So, we as a company have also taken steps in this regard and doing zero liquid discharge at this plant. Besides, at our Sahibabad plant also we are having ETP. Also, most of the chemicals which are possible we are replacing those with green chemicals which are less hazardous for the environment.
We are into doing denims for men in domestic market. There is nothing new in terms of trend and finishes. However, these days damaging and towel wash are in demand. Nothing revolutionary is getting developed, but we are improving on existing process in terms of look. Altogether we are enhancing the existing process. Quality standards are improved for same process. Besides, we have recently introduced conveyerised dryer at our plant.
As our Indian garment wet processing industry is concerned, it needs to be more competitive. It has to upgrade the units in terms of technologies. Most of the process houses are not having enough capital to go for latest technologies. Though govt. has introduced various subsides but at ground level it is not implemented properly as we are unable to get the subsidies instantly.
Major issue we are facing is unclear policies of govt. regarding environmental policies are not clear hence we are not sure which technology to invest in. The policies should be same for everyone as few companies in same zone are having ETP and few not. It should be equal for everyone.
Now, we are facing ground water extraction issue. We don’t have water supply from MCD so we are forced to extract ground water only. Now, they are asking us to stop extracting the water. Policies of Central Govt. and water authorities are not clear. Govt. is asking the industry players to adopt a pond. We do not understand whether we should look for a pond or focus on our business. How will we find those ponds? It’s an unnecessary harassment for the industry. The govt. should provide us proper water supply. Our applications are pending with ground water authority since ages.
Creative Dyeing and Printing Mills was started in 1987. We are a 31 year old printing and dyeing mill based out of Faridabad, Haryana. One of the largest printing and dyeing unit in Delhi/ NCR with a production capacity of 100,000 mtr per day catering to the needs of the top exporters across India. We work for brands such as GAP, A & F, Marks and Spencer, H&M, Mothercare, Zara to name a few.
Our infrastructure consists of the latest technology in pre-treatment, printing, dyeing and finishing needs. Creative is an ever evolving unit and we try to bring the best to our customer through upgrading our technologies and infrastructure regularly. Recently we have replaced the traditional jigger machines with continuous bleaching range (CBR) imported from Germany which has a capacity to bleach 60,000 mtr of fabric in 20 hours reducing our lead time and giving faster deliveries to the customers.
In printing we have upgraded our printing machines with 2 MHM machines imported from Austria. The combinations of laser engraver with these machines have brought our designs very close to digital printing. Lately, we have added foil printing machines benefitting the exporters tremendously as they are able to give varieties of designs with different colours of foil to the end buyer.
In order to fulfil exporters’ small quantities and to save lead time in sampling, future plans are to invest in digital machines that help us achieve accuracy in design, reduced man power and cost by dipping damages.
The biggest concern for the wet processing industry today is water crisis and air pollution. Wet processing is a crucial stage in a dyeing and printing mill and therefore very important. Our investment in Cold Pad Batch Machine (CP Machine) for continuous dyeing and Continuous Bleaching Range (CBR) in pre-treatment process has not only reduced water consumption but has also helped us reduce electricity consumption and man power requirement as well which is another major concern for India in years to come over all industrial sectors.
Creative is one of the first mills to have installed online monitoring system in chimney which helps us to control the air emission and the minute by minute readings are submitted to the Central Pollution Board. Currently, we are working on installing a similar online monitoring system for water as well.
In the month of November 2018 the Honourable Supreme Court had ordered a complete shutdown of all the industries using imported coal, bio gas as well as diesel and petrol as fuel to curb air pollution in Delhi/ NCR region. Such an unforeseen event hampers work and deliveries for our customers. However, creative dyeing and printing mill was one of the few mills operating on PNG boilers and Thermopack during this downtime clearly indicating our increased credibility and commitment amongst our patrons.
There are various new trends in the garment wet processing and finishing units. The trends are challenging as well as opening new doors for innovated products in the market. The experiments in various construction and counts in fabric where the blends of cotton and viscose fabrics are being mixed together and new fabrics are being introduced in the market.
Buyers are looking for rotary printing which gives looks that of a digitally printed fabric as digital prints are very expensive. Investments in latest rotary machines and lazer engravers are making this possible.
Trials are being conducted for Dry Dyeing Process in cotton fabrics which at present are becoming a reality in polyester dyeing. If this becomes a reality in the years to come then it will reduce water consumption and lead time for the industry.
Today, India is the 2nd largest fibre producer in the world with the production of 100 lakh tonnes each year which accounts for nearly 18 per cent (by value) of total exports in the country. The textile and apparels sector is the 2nd largest employment provider in the country employing nearly 61 mn people directly and 68 mn people indirectly. Despite these remarkable figures the garment wet processing industry lacks the support from the government.
Technology innovation: The innovation in processing industry has been a slow process and installing this innovation in machinery and infrastructure is a recent trend. However, these latest machines are costly and if the government gives any subsidy to the industry the options of new machinery installation will become easier.
Research & Development for water treatment: Water is the heart of garment wet processing industry. Modernization and development in recycling this precious source has been lacking all these years. Nonetheless the latest development in this area in the form of water treatment plants and water recycling units is a gigantic investment in itself in more than one way. Even if we keep the cost of investment aside, the land required for this particular plant is more than the space required by the machinery to be installed. The government needs to focus on this sector and formulate solutions with industrial areas where these projects run in a cluster with a common effluent treatment plant run by a Central Government body making Zero Liquid Discharge a reality for future.
Shreeji prints Pvt. Ltd. Located in Pandesara, Surat. It is wellequipped with all modern machinery, having textile processing production capacity of 2.5 lacs mtr/day. We do processing of 100 per cent polyester, cotton, viscose and its blends. We have facility of direct disperse on polyester, reactive on cellulose and sublimation on polyester digital printing fabric.
We have recently added Direct Disperse on Polyester – Digital printing machines, Reactive on Cellulose digital printing machines, Sublimation transfer printing machines, Modern Rotary and Flatbed printing machines, Laser Rotary engraving machine for better accuracy in print quality. Our future plan is to achieve sustainable growth and total customer confidence with at most care of environment and ecology. Also to do fabric wet processing and garment manufacturing under one roof.
Environmental hazards of the garment wet processing have been a major concern for the industry. So, as a company we have taken various initiatives for sustainable production like Minimum usages of water, energy and chemicals, Use of biodegradable product for fabric processing, Re-circulation or reuse of water and energy, Proper treatment of effluent waste water, Compliance with REACH registration and follows the norms for RSL, Use of eco-friendly products – APEO / NPEO Free, OEKO TEX Compliance product, Check MSDS and TDS before using the raw materials of dyes and chemicals.
The latest trends in garment wet processing and finishing are digitally printed fabric and garment, wider width fabric for conceptual garment preparation, requirement of re-cycled fabric. The Indian garment wet processing industry lacks at various points today. Usage of old aged technology for processing consumes lot of water, energy and chemicals. Insufficient knowledge at application level about usages of technology. Solutions for it could include use of odern machinery and techniques for sustainable growth and technical knowledge upgradation at operation level in wet processing.
Kishmish Crafts was established in 1990 as a small embroidery unit and soon switched over to a garment dyeing and washing unit with a current capacity of 5,000 kg per shift. It is a complied unit located in Greater Faridabad and is approved by 35 international and national brands including Timberland, Marc O’Polo, Superdry, United Colors of Benetton, Napapijri etc. Kishmish Crafts believes that quality comes with efficiency and effectiveness. It is not only satisfying customer needs by providing high quality products but is also fulfilling its social responsibility with great effectiveness.
The organisation will be shifted to IMT Faridabad by December, 2019. The new unit will be a Capital intensive unit with a capacity of 7,500 kgs per shift. The high technology machines planned to be installed are having a very low liquor ratio of 1:3 which will result in saving of water, electricity and colour chemicals.
Latest trends in garment wet processing industry include: Cold pigment, burnout, spray effect are some of the most trending processes in the industry. Kishmish Crafts in addition to these mentioned processes is also into Softner wash with automisation process and ozone wash for waterless wash look.
As environmental hazards have been a major concern for the industry, Kishmish crafts has taken following steps to solve them: Using dyes approved by Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS); Using High Exhaust colour chemicals which will leave minimal residue in ETP; We are also planning installation of machines with liquor ratio of 1:3 which will result in 70 per cent water saving, 70 per cent chemical and steam saving, 40 per cent electricity saving, 20 per cent colour chemical saving, Using PNG instead of Indonesian coal as a fuel to reduce air pollution.
There are several challenges faced by the industry nowadays. There is a serious need of impactful government schemes or aids as the industry lacks in latest technology and finance. Also switching over to PNG as a fuel will only be economically viable when there is some kind of subsidy given. The industry is facing a tough competition from Bangladesh and China and to remain in the competition the government aid is becoming need of the hour. Majority units under the industry are a part of unorganised sector as a result many of them does not adhere to the compliance norms. Also there is a shortage of qualified skilled workforce in the industry.
Growing public awareness about environment issues has been forcing the textile industry, throughout the entire value chain, to move towards more environmentally friendly practices. Building on its robust scientific competences, the Rudolf Group is deeply committed to the safe management of chemicals throughout their life cycle, while promoting their role in improving quality of live and contributing to sustainable development. As early as in 1997, RUDOLF introduced the Environmental Management System according to international standards and, since then, it has worked on being compliant with some of the most reputable safety standards such as OEKO-TEX®, Bluesign®, GOTS, ZDHC and more. Furthermore, by investing heavily in latest production technologies, the company is able to manufacture active substances with purity grades of more than 99.9 per cent.
Last but not least, through its BU dedicated to fashion and garment processing, HUB 1922, RUDOLF studies and markets solutions that are more efficient (fewer steps, fewer resources, less waste), easier to use (stable under various ambient conditions) and eco-friendly.
For Indian operations Rudolf Gmbh has a joint venture with Atul Ltd. – Rudolf Atul Chemicals Ltd. (RACL).
Next to the strong push for conscious washing solutions which nowadays are finally a ticket-to-play, there is a renewed interest for quality which also has some important links with product sustainability. Interesting enough, the notion of “quality” has changed over the years and has moved from sturdy workwear to the product’s ability to retain its characteristics and structural properties.
It goes somehow against the whole denim philosophy, but, jeans are increasingly bought for what they look like at the time of purchase and their look is expected to evolve as little as possible. Obviously, long-lasting jeans and jeans that require less domestic washing are in perfect synch with responsible consumption, which is the best way towards a sustainable industry. HUB 1922 is intensively working on garment finishing that redefines the notion of product quality and that has massive positive impact on the post-retail product life cycle.
In order to remain competitive with the level of innovation and product integrity delivered by other manufacturing countries, Indian garment finishers need to eagerly embrace latest technology and chemistry. That requires a certain level of investment and a careful analysis of cost of goods, which could be tough in a moment when many small facilities have slowed down due to the slow acceptance of GST. However, there is a number of latest advancements in the field of responsible chemistry that allow small to medium size enterprises to embed a significant amount of conscious innovation (in terms of aesthetics and/or function) in garments while limiting the premium cost.
There are several standard bodies dedicated to chemical listing so we have to comply with all of them. Eventually chemical should not have all those banned items; we have to mark using the raw material suppliers as regulations. Secondly, finished product is under rigorous check, so nothing is generated till the product is finished. These are additional regulations mandated by some brands, so we have to comply accordingly. As a wet processing solution provider, Resil has always demonstrated commitment towards manufacturing and supply of products which are GOTS, OEKOTEX, and REACH compliant and those that are manufactured in a facility certified by Integrated Management System. Our products and solutions are tested and approved by leading brands and are published in their vendor portal as safe to use.
Environmental hazards of the garment wet processing have been a major concern for the industry for last few years. Like you see ETPs being set-up in Tirupur so in couple of years probably you will see more clusters going for common effluent treatment plants in other parts of the country as well. For wet processing and finishing, value addition happens on finishing chemistry. Continuing process, major focus is on reducing water and chemicals in wet processing. The textile wet processing industry is becoming more flexible in adopting modern technologies and best practices to compete against global players and equal opportunity players. New innovations are happening due to which liquor ratio has come down from 1:10 to 1:2. Lots of technologies are getting developed where they are not using water but some spray. Water usage is becoming low. So, chemicals are designed and they are applied with very low water application. We need to design chemical formulation which can stand strong.
There are a lot of new developments like segmenting new functional finishes. We have done green tea finishing. Invented on heating and cooling fabrics. Then improved cleaner properties of moisture management, lint management etc. We are also working on process with lower temperature. This will result in it becoming faster with low energy consumption.
Further reduction in chemical consumption and its discharge can be achieved through the use of concentrated products with high affinity and better exhaustion rate with low liquor processing machines. The process can be combined with speciality chemicals for reduced energy and time consumption. Large players utilise strategic processing techniques thereby delivering products of high quality with better operational excellence.
In Indian garment wet processing industry; people are moving towards converting to advanced machines. But it’s slow as less water consumption, energy consumption technologies require huge capital investment and ROI. We all should work together as an industry. We need very large units to cater the growing huge customers demand as smaller-medium markets in India are unable to do so.
Scale of operation is big issue. Small and medium players are unable to deliver to large players. So, you need large processing industry. They should have textile parks to give cost advantage to big units. It has happened in Tirupur but not in Delhi or Bangalore. Govt. should make clusters so they get bigger share and deliver it together. That is required. If you can’t compete in price it becomes very difficult to scale up.
Environmental Hazards is part of “Sustainability” which covers water, energy, chemical & waste as critical areas of concerns. In India “Sustainability” is long way to go, sustainability is a future trend to acquire possibilities in local as well a global trade. Sustainability is not a jargon for survival. It is a conduct of your own life. To understand in better way no scientific or logical reasoning is needed, it goes beyond balance sheet of any business, empathy may be the right word.
To achieve this mark, chemistry & technology has to work in tandem. In garment wet processing industry, combining process in “pre-wash cycle (DZ+ ENZY)” and “post wash cycle (Neutralisation & Soaping)” within between dry processes will save on water & energy. Atlantic hold chemistry to produce such products, these products are commercially viable with proven track record. Active engagement & Usage of processes will make significant makeover of garment wet processing. We have concept of one bath bleaching to add flavour to the excitement.
Automation & digitization will influence the textile manufacturing & wet processing. In the entire value chain of textile, apparel gets first to automatism. New machines which meant to reduce time & energy pave their way. This new skill set will make difficult for those who works with conventional methods. It may threat the existing industry for their survival. Plasma technology, Lazer technology & Nano-mist form of chemicals application enter on production floor which may increase cost but adds value to supply chain. So we have be cognizant to understand new arrival in wet processing & work towards it.
In textile chain end at garment manufacturing & washing, it lacks total support of government attentions & policies, treatment of being obsolete industry is hurting, finally it ends up in poor infrastructure & facilities, it is sadden that we have to strive hard to get the respect & recognition as a value added industry.
In wet processing, lack of education is visible, right from top management to floor labours, so here knowledge transfer is key. Wet processing is science & mastering it is an art, it has to learn by proper training & practice. Thus on priority, management should inculcate training programmes at all levels of operations, later has to hand over responsibility to chemicals suppliers who ensure ethical compliance by fulfilling training to workers for optimum use of chemicals. We at Atlantic ensure proper training on product chemistry & ease of its application. It ensures all benefits to realise at end user level.
Sustainability and sustainable manufacturing is need of the hour. There are two aspects to this. The first one is to provide sustainable solutions to textile industry and the second one is about sustainable manufacturing of chemicals in chemical manufacturing companies. A variety of chemicals are used in the textile/ garment industry for different functions. For example, caustic soda is used in huge quantities for pretreatment (scouring and bleaching) and dyeing (for fixation of reactive dyes) of textiles. The use of only caustic soda, for instance, possess many issues. Multiple stages of washing are required to neutralise or remove the caustic from the fabric, which not only add burden on the available water resources, but also adds to the increasing load on effluent treatment plants. There are many more examples of such kind, for example, use of salt in dyeing, multiple washes to remove hydrolysed dye etc. Croda India is dedicated to provide sustainable solutions to textile industry. Recently, we have launched a complete range of enzymatic pretreatment of textiles. With one of our enzymatic range i.e. Lenetol GC333, dyeing of grey cotton fabric treated with Lenetol GC333 can be carried out directly for dark shades with savings of 2 or more baths of water.
The second aspect is the sustainable manufacturing of chemicals in manufacturing companies. As an ethical and responsible business, we are aware of our impact on the environment and continue to minimise it by constantly looking at what we can do across our operations, particularly our manufacturing sites. Our aim is to continue to: Reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by improving energy efficiency and increasing energy usage from non-fossil fuel sources, Reduce our waste to landfill; and Reduce our impact on the world’s depleting water resources.
As an example of our continuing commitment towards reducing carbon emission, in the past five years we have invested in multiple energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Various projects implemented in recent years across our manufacturing sites and sales offices globally are related to wind turbine, photovoltaic solar panels, thermal solar panels, landfill gas, ground source heating and bio-gas system.
Natural ingredients are at the heart of our products, with around 70 per cent of our raw materials coming from renewable natural sources. Highlights of our Product Stewardship activities include: 66.1 per cent of the raw materials we used were from renewable sources, 12 manufacturing sites have RSPO sustainable palm oil certification, Greater engagement with suppliers on social and ethical issues. In 2017, total water usage across all croda sites was 8,011,330 m3 compared to 13,239,672 m3 in 2007. This reduction in water can fill 2090 Olympic swimming pools.
Certainly, Sustainable processing of textiles, water conservation, less effluent and faster processing are some the few burning issues in the Indian textile and garment industry. Few parts of the country, like Tirupur, water scarcity has posed a big problem for textile industry as textile processing is water intensive. I think even fashion brands have also realised this and brands like H&M, Arrow jeans co. and many more are selling garments with the tag stating the garment is manufactured with recycled and reused fibres. This is one of the new trends which I have seen recently that brands are claiming that their garments are made from reused and recycled fibres. This would help the whole textile supply chain, from fibre to final garment stage including the processing of textiles/garment with environment friendly chemicals like those produced by Croda, to be environment friendly.
With increased fashion, hygiene and safety awareness amongst consumers, there is an increasing demand for functional garments. Examples can be quoted in this regard, quick dry fabric, anti-odour fabric, anti-bacterial fabric, UV protective fabric, wrinkle resistant fabric and many more. As a chemical manufacturing company, it thus becomes important for us to provide affordable customer solutions using environment friendly products through constant innovation. Croda textile business is backed by a team of scientist working day and long to provide different textile effects.
The Indian textile/garment industry lacks in their will power to change and modernise for different reasons and constraints. Today, textile/ garment sector is very competitive in terms of cost. Industry is also reluctant to make heavy investments as fashion changes every season. Modernisation of textile industry, I believe will play a great role in the textile industry in years to come. Modernisation may include efficient machinery, efficient processes, innovations etc. In-order for textile industry to be up-to-date, industry will have to open-up, realise the advantages of new technologies and invest. Onus also lies on technology manufacturers to constantly do research and development to provide affordable technologies.
Our company is always looking for solution as how we can produce garments and textile in a more sustainable way. Archroma’s ONE WAY, helps mills and brand owners to develop innovative textile solutions that are both more ecologically and economically sustainable. Our ultimate aim is to provide a fast, measurable and reliable approach to the selection of chemical product and process solutions. To help customers meet their sustainability targets in a fast and reliable manner, the ONE WAY methodology takes a highly systematic approach to the selection of chemicals and production processes.
Archroma’s Brand & Performance Textile Specialties is developing products and processes that are safer and gentler for the consumer and for the environment. Our experience demonstrates that sustainability can generate innovation, performance and considerable cost savings for our customers. We work in collaboration with others to deliver more sustainable solutions. Our expertise is critical in designing products and processes that then create enhanced value. In terms of ecology we have very strict checking of all the products which we manufacture including raw material, which if having any banned substance, will be out. Also we are looking at always innovating products which are more bio degradable.
When it comes to latest trends and developments, water saving and releasing less water methods are happening at the moment. Based at the brand demand we are looking at better feel, better touch and functionalities with respect of moisture repellence, water repellence and breathable fabric.
India, 30 years back was having high processing services across the world. We had around 18 per cent market share. Though in yarn we still have 18-20 per cent share but in processing we have fallen down drastically. On account of full value chain is not here in India. Also water and the kind of scalar operation we did to work out, we are at 5 per cent of the global processing. Garment industry is there but processing industry has not developed. The countries which are having full value chain like Bangladesh and Veitnam are developing better than China. They have knitting, weaving, processing then taking it to garmenting stage.
There are a lot of issues, which the Indian industry is facing and a lot of initiatives need to be taken at the govt.’s side. First of all they should provide loans to the companies on low interest rate. Besides, our lead time is more as reducing down it requires lot of working capital so it has to be evolved. They should work a lot to improve infrastructure, shipment time, and other backstage issues.
Also at the processing front we don’t have good facilities when it comes to CETPs. As a result bigger units are doing better at their own but smaller ones are finding it difficult to survive as they have to abide by the govt.’s norms in terms of environment saving and their own customers demand. Govt. should form clusters to provide them all required facilities together.
This widespread problem of water pollution is jeopardizing our environment. More than 80 per cent of sewage in developing countries is discharged untreated, polluting rivers, lakes and coastal areas. Garment wet processing adds value to garment by improving aesthetics, comfort and functional properties at cost of huge water consumption based on traditional washing methods.
As a sustainability leader, DyStar developed a range of auxiliaries for optimization of chemical and water usage in laundry industry. Together with new nano bubble technology, a variety of finishing effects can be achieved saving large quantities of water, chemicals and energy. We closely work with various brands and process houses to promote and create awareness in market about sustainability through our econfidence programme.
G-Star Raw has launched most sustainable range of denim Jeans and jackets in collaboration with DyStar’s Cadira® denim process and has been nominated for this year edition of the #Beazley Designs of the year. C&A has also launched their most sustainable denim which is Cradle to Cradle certified Gold Jeans. Further our products are certified by global compliance bodies such as ZDHC, REACH, Bluesign®, APEO Free, Cradle-2-Cradle, GOTS, SAC, Oekotex ®, Screen chemistry. Besides, Nanobubble technology – Air, water and chemicals are introduced into eflow machines, creating a mixture of nano-bubbles and moist air. Dystar has e-Flow Technology product range.
Following are the latest trends and developments in garment wet processing and finishing: Fabric to Garment stage Color Denim washdown Effect: RFD fabrics are dyed with advanced technology dyes which helps to shorten the washing cycle and gives all required wash effects similar to denim at garment stage. This results in more economical washes i.e. low water consumption, less usage of chemicals, less time and retaining fabric strength with getting colour denim wash down look. E.g. Lava and Lava antique dyes.
Pumic Stone wash effect: Demerits of Pumice stones in denim washing are well-known to all. For instance, wear and tear of the fabric, environmental disposition of waste of the grit produced by the stones, high labour cost, high amount of water wash cycle to get rid of the stones completely and reduced life cycle of expensive laundry machines. To overcome all problems Dystar has range of special enzymes which eliminate all issues. E.g: Lava Cell NRM concSpl 01 and lava cell NEF.
Sustainable basic and fashionable garment: No one will purchase sustainable garment without fashion. By understanding market demand, DyStar has introduced e-Flow technology product range, which helps to reduce water, energy, labour and chemicals and have similar effects, which was possible by traditional washing methods.
Alternative for permanganate spray application: 70 per cent denim wear has localized decolouration effect by spray application and produced conventionally by Potassium permanganate. But Potassium permanganate is toxic when high concentration of manganese gets released through the effluent into an ecosystem and has potential environmental risks. Dystar has launched Laser booster which increases the effect of laser machines to get almost similar localized Permanganate effect by saving time, energy and prevent hazards to environment. E.g. Lava Con LAC.
Besides, there are several aspects where the Indian garment wet processing industry lacks. These include:
Textile Diploma or Graduates: After completing textile academic studies very few opt for garment wet processing jobs, as a result there are less qualified technicians in laundry segment and the industry is dependent on so called masters. Dystar conducts workshops in various colleges and process houses and helps them to make develop collections.
Speed to market: Garment dyeing industry needs quick service to meet latest colour trends within controlled parameters. Dystar CSI colour communication process helps to bridge the gap by providing 3,700 readymade colours in Color Wallette® which contains certified standards with recipes.
Inferior dyes and auxiliaries: Local or inferior quality dyes and auxiliaries used in garment wet processing affects quality and also impacts the environment. Poor quality chemicals impact consistency and reproducibility thereby delaying shipments which has an adverse effect on business. As a sustainable leader, Dystar Dyes and Auxiliaries are compliant to all global certifications and regulations.
Technology upgradation: Old-style garment machineries are not efficient enough to meet the international standards, plus it consumes high amounts of water and energy. One pair of jeans requires 70 liters of water with conventional washing recipes. Latest machines need only one glass of water to produce rinse wash effect on pair of jeans. DyStar has specially developed e-Flow technology product range which helps to reduce water, energy, labour and chemicals usage.
Unorganized sector: Garment wet processing industry is a highly unorganized sector with small sized capacities such as 1000 – 2000 garments per day. These small units release their effluents into municipal drains causing environmental problems. This can be overcome by moving the garment processing into textile park with proper ETP arrangement.
Environmental hazards of garment processing started with wetting agents APEO based, usage of chlorine in denims & Acid wash, PP spray, usage of nano silicones, functional finishes. Silver nano in Antimicrobials and bromine based fire retardants are the very common hazards. Discharges of processed water also a hazard to both ground water and water streams and Reservoirs. Larger liquor volume resulting very high discharges Lint from man-made fibres; it is indeed a challenge to aquatic species as health issues.
Manufacturer are advised to upgrade the wetting & washing off agents to meet compliances. Fixing agents must meet formaldehyde norms as per Japan law 112 with modification 50 PPM for adult and 20 PPM to Kids. Chlorine content in the final fabric has got norm to pass the garment but invariably discharges are affecting the life of aquatic species as well humans. Sand blast is totally gone from denim industry. Due to brand initiation which was a human hazard (Bio accumulative), PP spray, still a continuing practices need to look for alternates, in fact PP neutralizers are now available in ECO friendly variants. Catalytic reduction of MCT leads to banned amines in reactive dyes. Silicones are major pollutant ETP personnel using multiple filters to have control based on the major usage. Other initiations are happening on Antimicrobials & Block isocynate usage, as wash last extender and Organo tin free fire retardants.
Lava dyeing to have white discharge on PP spray on reactive grounds Pigment dyeing in garment with dipping Yarn dyed garments & denim over dyeing. Further, Indian Industry lacking Implementation of new machineries as huge cost involved, better export trade policy, duty drawback is a setback to all garment exporters. Recent developments include low liquor machines such as Tonello, Tolkar, Smartex, Yelmak (1:4 MLR); Ozone machines and Novel designs E flow machines with 1:0.8 MLR.
The hazards of garment wet processing industry can be classified into three categories: Water and energy consuming; Use of hazardous chemicals which are detrimental to Environment; and Causing health problems to the people working in industry and the end users.
Industrial biotechnology companies have played important role by being proactive in addressing the above challenges with our product and process to replace and reduce usage the hazard chemicals and provide alternative solutions. Right now, the latest trend is this garment wet processing and finishing industry is focused on sustainable processing and each category stated by below:
• Desizing: Amylase which work at low temperatures
• Biopolishing: Cellulase which work at ambient Conditions i.e. Low Temperatures (30oC) and Neutral pH will help to reduce use of alkali and acids and avoid rinses to bring back the pH to neutral
• Neutral Cellulose can be used to combined biopolishing with dyeing process in garment which will help us to reduce the process time, water and steam
• Denim Washing: Neutral Cellulase can be used to replace Pumice Stone which is posing as major challenge for denim washing plants with respect to disposal of sludge formation
• Denim Fading: We have enzymes Laccase and Arly Esterase which can reduce the usage of Bleach for fading of indigo and Sulphur Black in Denims
When it comes to current status of the Indian garment wet processing industry, the norms from Stare Pollutions Control Board are quite updated to reduce the impact of this industry on environment. The challenge is the lack on the control they must implement these norms.
We believe there is gap between the latest developments in the industry and the information available with govt. organization. Having a right platform to update the government about the various developments to make garment wet processing more sustainable is need of the hour. The cost of ecofriendly process in garment processing is dearer compared to the conventional process to support the garment processor brands should offset this by providing incentives to them.
We at Rossari ensure sustainability as a prime in the value chain through green chemistry and is in fact something which makes business sense for us and offers a competitive edge for the company that emphasizes on innovation and R&D. We have adapted to measures like eco-friendly processing, making such measure financially sound and paying. Minimization of waste generation, adapting to the substitutes which are bio-degradable, conforming to standards and legislations and getting accredited with eco-labels are some of the steps we are upto.
We at Rossari ensure that our all operations comply with applicable health, safety and environmental laws and regulations. We undertake pollution prevention practices to minimize environment impact and consumption of the natural resources. We ensure that our products meet all international standard laws or certifications. We also ensure that we have complete visibility into global supply chains so we can prove not only our own compliance, but also that of our suppliers. Keeping equipment functioning is an essential part of running a manufacturing facility. Finally our suggestion would be ‘Live in the present, but don’t ignore the future for every action, has an equal and opposite reaction.
Climate change is one of the major concerns of 21st century. Tremendous efforts are being made to tackle the climate change issue of the globe. Being one of the major polluting industries of the world, apparel and textile industry has caught the central attention. In recent time many innovative concepts are developed for processing. Foam finish, plasma treatment, super critical CO2 dyeing, Solvent dyeing, Nano technology these are some of the latest trends which industry is following. Besides, innovative in concepts these offers utility like water, time saving without compromising in application. Such technology has provided opportunity to go for sustainable path.
Everything from health and safety to waste management is surrounded in red tape. In India many process house feel that regulations are essential, but it will be a massive burden for them. While it is undeniably good news for the local environment and employee, sustainability and environmental regulations is an expensive affair. While many regulations may be beneficial to consumers, each regulation adds an additional burden to the process house that must comply with the requirements.
The first step we take to counter this issue is try and educate our distributors and customers of the hazards these chemicals possess for the environment through newsletters, technical bulletins and annual workshops in each zone. We make sure that we provide proper certifications along with our products to make the further processing for their buyers easier. Extensive R&D goes into finding eco-friendly alternatives to the existing hazardous conventional chemicals and make sure the information reaches to our customers. Apart from that, we encourage our customers to follow the regulations in their process house for the betterment of our environment. Ensuring sustainability throughout processing is a collective effort and we surely are doing what’s best for the environment.
Today, customer as well end users are more proactive while buying the garments/ apparels, they are aware that what kind of process and treatment has been done with the garments which they are going to purchase.
Also, because of revolution of internet, all the information reached to the people in no time, they know what brand is involved in ethical or unethical practices in his business. Whichever brand wants to grow and sustain in future, have to consider all the environmental parameters while using the chemicals in textile processing in finishing. Nowadays, lot of process for doing wet processing are in running. Likewise: Go Green – This is the machine where we can do treatment in washing, and no water/ chemical gets discharged; G2 machine- people are using this machine to avoid hypo chloride in the process; Low liquor washing machine – By these machines, we can save lot of water while doing wet processing, can work with 1:4 MLR; Ozone Machine- We can do ozone fading with mechanically, no hypo required, no neutralization requiredjust to one rinse.
There are certain points where the Indian garment wet processing industry lacks. These include: Lack of awareness- Lot of people still don’t know what will happen if they discharge water / waste water in an open area.
Lack of equipment – Still lot of [people are not able to buy latest machine because of proper availability and cost factor.
Facility – Lot of small scale industrialist are working here and getting no facility, infrastructure support from the government.
Government should make centralize ETP for all the small scattered wet processing units who cannot afford to make ETP facility. They should do some kind of encouragement or provide subsidy for having an ETP. Also govt. has put some strict norms/ regulation to control the industries who are not following environment policy, ETP, ZLD, ZHC. As a socially responsible citizen, we should not buy products of the brand that are not abiding by the environment policy.
We have brought a technological changeover in dyeing of garments in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Since so many years they were dyeing the garments in two step process. First they will dye the garments with direct dyes then they will give a topping of pigments on the garments to get a good discharge effect using various methods like PP spray or any mild oxidative spray.
We at Shree Pushkar Chemicals and Fertilisers have introduced Dyecol DR series reactive dyes. You just dye the garments using Dyecol DR dyes at 60oC. Then do the PP Spray (Potassium Permanganate spray) on the garments. You get very good whitish effect on the dyed garments.
Dyecol DR Reactive Dyes (High end Sustainable Reactive Dyes) is a compact range for deep & extra deep shades with cost effectiveness & excellent overall fastness & performance, very deep shades attainable, dischargeable dyes range cover all gamut, Dyeing Temperature 60 deg. & also dyeing with Room Temperature (40 deg.) with easy washing off, With low amount of dye, Highly economical, Good Leveling & diffusion properties, Short liquor ratio dyeing possible, Meet today’s quality & Fastness requirement, New stateof- the-art on tone buildup, High tutorial strength, Top productivity & High reproducibility.
Our company is one of the leading reactive dyes manufacturer who believes in sustainability so new Reactive dyes from Dyecol range are said to use less water and energy, and decrease processing skills in comparison to conventional dyes, in a bid to tackle environmental and sustainability issues of the textile wet processing industry. The dyes are in highly concentrated and crude form.
Dyecol SS Reactive Dyes; (The new generation sustainable dyes) are used for cotton fibre and yarn dyeing, knitted and woven fabrics dyeing. It is widely accepted by the Indian and international market. It is specially designed for exhaust dyeing. It is suitable for light, medium, dark & heavy dark shades.
The Indian garment wet processing industry lacks at various fronts. Main is the lack of skill labour and technology upgradation. We are strong in spinning, weaving and processing but still lack in garment processing to countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam etc.
The European technology of application of Laser, Ozone, Dye Dry etc. are still not implemented in India. There should be regular interaction between our garment processing technicians with European technicians. All over the world more no of women work in garment industries. We should also emphasis more on women empowerment. There should be regular workshops conducted at Tirupur, Ludhiana, Gurgaon, Noida and other upcoming garment sectors. Government should establish Textile Parks at various textile centres in India. SITRA, BTRA, NITRA and ATIRA like organisations have a greater role in finding out the solutions to the problems faced by our garment wet processing industrie.
Washerman Garment Processing House (A unit of Quick Met Pack Pvt. Ltd.) was established in 2008. Ours is a compliant unit nominated by various international and national brands like S.Oliver, C&A, INDITEX, SEDEX etc. We are based in garment hub Noida and it’s our zeal to fulfill the commitment of processing the garments on ASAP basis. Our future plan is to provide various brands services as they are getting their merchandise processed as in it’s their own factory. We want to provide one stop solution for most of the processes bringing about a change to double our processing in six months of time.
Environmental hazards of the garment wet processing have been a major concern for the industry. Major steps for the protection of our environment is transforming complete plant on natural gas so as to eradicate use of Fossil Fuels and reducing down Carbon Footprints.
Latest trends in garment wet processing is to reduce down the use of energy like waterless processing with the use of various high precision machines and integrating / fusion of two different processes in one machine making it more profitable to use and reducing down the space used for two different processes. With the use of different waves and frequencies to dry up the garments reducing power consumption to almost 40 per cent.
Today, Indian garment wet industry lacks in terms of an effort by government for providing a geographical location suitable for wet processing with properly maintained Common Effluent Treatment Plants / ZLD’s run by government for hassle free working, encouraging more processing units to make them stand at par with Bangladesh, China etc.
Towards the search for sustainable industrial enterprises, recent studies indicated that there are many cleaner (sustainable) production opportunities which lead to waste reduction as well as increased raw material use efficiency in textile wet processing industry. The relevant reduction/conservation strategies, process modifications, chemical substitutions and reclamation/reuse techniques, which reduce the wastes (Air, water and solid/hazardous) originating from preparation, dyeing, printing, finishing, and other sources in textile mills were reported.
We, at RavChem, appreciate the government step in reducing the pollutant emitting substances release to the environment so many eco-friendly manufacturing techniques are being used by companies that manufacture finishing chemicals for garment/textiles.
As a chemical supplier, it is our endeavour to continuously explore companies who have adapted Green Method of production, and are able to develop chemical products which are free from APEO & NPO content. Companies like GARMON; Italy (KEMIN) certifies all its chemicals as Green Chemicals and thus, we are using their products ensure eco-friendly chemicals that we supply in the market. RavChem is able to maintain a long and smooth association with all our customers, and our customers have faith in us that the chemicals that we supply is always free from “Harmful Content,” for which we ensure periodic tests from reputed third party testing institutes like SGS, Intertek, etc. We take pride in informing that we ensure all compliances are being followed hence our customers, reliability is high on us.
As far as latest trends and developments in garment wet processing and finishing are concerned, earlier, techniques and processes were based on manual operations, with low level of precision, reproducibility and scalability. Whereas today, techniques and processes based on automation and data management, allows highest levels of productivity, efficiency, reproducibility and scalability.
Digitalisation is helping to reduce cost of experimenting sampling and production, and new sampling machines, provides the actual visual look before the customer actually puts lots of money and energy in developing a new finish through trial at laundry units.
Such technology is being rapidly spread, and pioneers of such technology for denim is from a company, Jeanologia, Spain, which manufactures machines for denim finishing including, Laser Machines, Ozone Machines, H2 Zero Machines, etc. These machines use very little water in processing denims. This illustrates sustainable technology are trendsetters at present scenario.
RavChem partners to this company as sales and service associates, for North India. RavChem also partners MACTEC, ITALY, who uses latest Conveyor Ovens & Dryers (for Denim Industry) – MARGERITA, etc., that ensures “Less touch of fabric manually, through which denim can be cured not only in less time, but also the look and feel of denim remains intact as its minimum touched till final development.
Today, the Indian garment wet processing industry lacks the cleaner production techniques in wet processing industry. Cleaner production can be achieved in many different ways. The most important are: Changing attitudes and finding a new approach to the relationship between industry and the environment; Applying expertise and know-how by improving efficiency, adopting better management; Techniques, changing housekeeping practices, and revising policies, procedures and institutions as necessary; Improving technology or simply rethinking an industrial process or product in terms of cleaner production may produce the required results without importing new technology.
Ecology, society and economy are three pillars of sustainability. As textile industry is largely contributing to all these three aspects, every textile manufacturer and allied partners in the value chain such as chemical manufactures, machine manufacturers and technology providers have a vital role to play towards minimizing hazardous impacts of entire textile manufacturing processes on environment, and society.
As a renowned strategic textile solution providing company, we at Aeon, always adhere to the international standards of avoiding usage of harmful chemicals as raw material in manufacturing of our wide range of chemicals. We have consistently accomplished GOTS Certifications for all our products since last decade. Also recently we have registered our products on ZDHC portal.
Apart from these international standards we are also effectively and efficiently following chemical management system at our manufacturing plant where we scrutinize each raw material with the help of MSDS, TDS and third party testing aids for any occurrence of hazardous chemical and avoiding its inclusion in the manufacturing process. We are also ensuring worker safety at manufacturing plant by providing appropriate PPE and training staff about physical, environmental and health hazards of chemicals.
Fashion never remains the same for long period, and over the years fashion has always been changing and updating. The significance of latest trends in the fashion world, gives an explanation of fashion as a system of artistic change and ethnic belonging. The new trends development depends on the climate, culture, weather and the textile materials. There are different trends of fashion with a wide diversity depending on different type of textile raw materials matching different climate changes.
Garment processing can be done by using different types of chemicals and speciality auxiliaries. Some of the latest trends and developments in garment wet processing can be summarized as below: Permanent crease and wrinkle-free treatments; Denim prepared by Enzyme wash, softener wash, vintage wash, sand wash, caustic wash, stone wash, stain guard wash, peach skin finishing, acid wash, wicking effect; Other functional finishes for garments which includes soil release finish, UV protection, Aroma finishing, Moisture management, Water repellent treatment, Antimicrobial treatments; Laser effects.
The global garment industry is undergoing a very challenging period since the beginning of this century. China and Bangladesh have major share in clothing trade in the international market and we, India are having good opportunities in coming future to excel current readymade garment exports capacities.
However, we must focus on following areas which can be significantly improved in immediate future so as to sustain our valuable share in global textile supply in the form of readymade garments. This include: Advanced machinery and equipment, Lack of operator training, Poor infrastructure, Lower production capacity, Working hours more than eight hours, Fair compensation (wages), On time delivery, Government policies and incentives for business development.
Textile and apparel industry are the second world market and the responsible for 20 per cent of planet polluted water. Inside the industry I´d like to focus on de denim industry, jeans are one of the best-selling garments. Today, the annual production is 5 bn units where the environmental and ethical is too high. If we talk just about the garment finishing this is the current situation: 500 mn m3 of contaminated water poured every year, 1 mn tonne of polluting chemical products and 2 mn workers in harmful jobs. Jeanologia was born with one clear mission create an ethical, sustainable and ecoefficient textile & apparel industry. Partnering with our customers on their transformation journey, offering disruptive technologies and the best in services.
Jeanologia designs & develops technologies (laser and ecosystem) and solutions that: Enhance industrial productivity, Provide Energy Efficiency, Reduce Water Consumption, Eliminate damaging emissions and waste. Jeanologia develops technologies that follow sound principles of ecology, efficiency and ethics bringing substantial change to production methods and always aiming towards increased automation, productivity and social responsibility. The company has two divisions: Jeanologia Eco and Jeanologia Laser.
Jeanologia Laser: Pioneers in the development and application of lasers in textiles. Since the ‘90s, the company has been developing and producing in-house advanced lasers and cutting-edge software for the garment finishing market. With a market share of 85 per cent, Jeanologia is clearly recognized as the global leader in the world of Jeanswear laser finishing.
Jeanologia Eco: At Jeanologia we are highly sensitized to the negative image that has surrounded denim manufacture since its inception. We continue to develop new “clean” technologies that are based on ozone and nano-technology supported by intelligent software, in our drive to bring change to the world.
With the combination of Laser and ecosystem G2 eFlow and H2 Zero, today it is possible to build the most sustainable laundry that we called Laundry 5. Zero. that guarantees “zero” waste and pollution. This pioneering plant allows a saving of 85 per cent on water and chemical usage in the textile industry, contributing considerably to the protection of the environment, at the same time as having a more productive and efficient industry.
The 5.Zero developments producing zero waste, zero manual scrapping, zero potassium permanganate, zero pumice stone, and zero bleach it smooth the path to creating more sustainable Jeans: Further demonstrating that it is possible to make authentic, groundbreaking products, without increasing costs.
The 5. Zero Jeanologia concepts is the digitalization of the jean’s developments. The traditional model was the one being used in the country; production with low value-added and based on manual processes and, the digital one is the one that we have been introducing and attains a high valueadded product, completely sustainable and with less production time.
Jeanologia, backs the textile industry in India in redefining the future of their production and contributing to the consolidation of its digital revolution. The company drives and leads the change in India, the key being the combination of our disruptive technologies, capable of establishing a new operating model that brings the jean industry into the digital era, while reducing environmental impact and optimizing time to market.
Manuj Kanchan, Asia Area Manager at Jeanologia emphasises that “as a technology partner, we support the main brands and laundries in the country on their way to a digital revolution.” It’s worth highlighting that 80 per cent of production using sustainable technology for garment finishing in India is done using Jeanologia technology, a percentage that increases every year.
Kanchan stresses Jeanologia’s backing of the Indian textile industry and reminds us that “We have already been in this market for 14 years, contributing with our technology to a radical transformation of the country’s industry in moving towards sustainability, efficiency and competitiveness, without losing sight of the product or compromising on design. That’s why, he reaffirms, “India is technologically prepared to offer a premium commercial product at a competitive price while respecting the environment and workers’ health.”
Jeanologia has been in India since 2004 promoting a change in the jean industry with direct investment in the country. Currently, more than 80 per cent of the market for sustainable technology for garment finishing in India carries the stamp of the Spanish company.
Ecocert is a global leader in certification of organic farming, cosmetics and textiles. We take human safety and environmental protection as a top priority. We understand the damage to humans and nature that occurs when responsible practices are not adopted. The biggest environmental hazard for garment wet processing is chemical discharge through waste, water and air. Harmful expulsion from chemical units does not only impacts (sans s) local flora and fauna but disturbs local ecosystems as well. A recent case to highlight is one where dogs in Mumbai’s Taloja area were turning blue because of discharge emitted by the factories.
During our audits of wet processing units under the GOTS standard, which is widely accepted for organic textiles, we take several measures to control environmental hazards. Amongst them are: validating the chemicals used, checking the installation and use of ETP, sludge disposal procedure, water discharge procedure, boiler passing certificate, and consent certificate from government for air and water. Certification process ensures only approved chemicals are used, thus minimizing the impact on the environment.
Overall, there is increasing awareness about the impact of wet processing on the environment, so businesses are looking at ways to minimize the impact of production and processing. Organic and recycled textiles are picking up quickly in the market. In India, there are about 1,000 factories that are certified organic. It is promising to see leading brands launching organic product lines. The advantage with recycled fabrics is that they use less water. Recently, we have also seen garments manufactured from recycled PET bottles. Overall, we can say the future belongs to sustainable businesses.
Although the Indian textile market is huge, the majority of our manufacturing units rely on exports. There is huge potential in domestic retail markets as well. The domestic market in India is expected to grow to about $250 by 2019. In an environmental context, lack of awareness about the sustainable manufacturing processes is a major challenge facing India. Such lack of awareness and sometimes commitment from businesses leads to non-adherence to government regulations, causing problems to the environment.
Spreading awareness about sustainable practices is one thing that can guide us to a safer future. We strongly encourage businesses to follow sustainable and eco-friendly practices and follow rules like having ETP and follow COD, BOD, limit pH value etc. At Ecocert, we can help professionals from the textile industry to improve their processes in order to build a more sustainable world by providing expert consultancy to develop and adhere to sustainable practices that include technical and social aspects.
When we started our activity in 1981, the word ‘sustainability’ was just another word and none of our customers was interested in it. But that far-sighted vision reveals today to be the right choice: Saving energy, reducing chemicals and water consumption are now absolute musts. Every processing phase realized with our technologies is documented and certified. Because transparency is a daily work in progress, not just a step in “factory life”. It is actually more of a neverending process, which involves the organization of work and the features of our products.
Sustainability is very trendy in the industry nowadays and there’s no company that is not promoting sustainable products. However, sustainability should be communicated in the right way to attract and influence the main players of the market. Treating the garments in a completely sustainable way is not so simple; we must take care of any aspect that goes from the processes, the technologies, the products used. In addition to this, the result should also be fashionable and original. The next step will be to educate. Consumers are more and more interested in knowing how the garments they are buying are made and produced. All the information should be communicated through labels explaining exactly how the garment was made, the chemicals used, the water consumption… more or less like a food label.
Our latest development is the all-inone system. It was just the end (or maybe the start) of a journey that lasted for years. This technology consists in the combination of all the finishing technologies we developed over the last few years and that combined together gave life to an allaround solution.
Our all-in-one system has become a reality with the arrival of ECO free 2, being added to the already proven NoStone®, Core, and UP. The system saves energy, reducing water and chemical consumption, cutting down processing times and total production costs: Respecting the environment, reducing manual labour and protecting the health of operators. To remain competitive, the Indian garment wet processing industry have to invest a lot in sustainable solutions. This is the only way to keep them updated in a market changing really quickly.
As a technology provider and supplying world class machinery’s, it is also our responsibility to make sure that the garment wet process unit uses less water as much as possible by providing and educating them to use the latest technology or updated machinery’s, which will use half of the water consumption compared to conventional method.
We have a machine in which we can work with 1:2 or 1:3 liquor Ratio. With this kind of machine, customers are benefited in saving water, chemical, power, steam, pneumatic air, washing time and ETP.
The latest trends and developments in garment wet processing and finishing are: Firstly, with latest Ozone machine we can work with two options. a. Ozone in Air and b. Ozone in Water. Basically used for matching the shade variation and to clean the pocket. Also, during washing process, we can clean the water inside the machine by injecting the Ozone. By doing this we can save 3 to 4 bath of water in one washing cycle.
Secondly, Laser machines. With New powerful laser we can get PP effect without using Potassium permanganate and destroy effect without using the grinding machine. This machine contributes a lot to the industry going forward sustainability.
Technology is the buzzword when it comes to wet processing. The older machines use too much water and chemicals to achieve the same result. Moreover fashion is rapidly changing and customers want newer and better finishes, which are not possible with old technology machines.
Actually since beginning of 2005- 2007 in the world of textile and especially in denim manufacturing, there has been movement starting from Europe in researching and offering less polluting and lowering enviroment hazardous chemicals. As all of us know, denim industry has been for many years one of the most polluting production worldwide, indigo with its anilin charge, hydrosulphite with high sulphur content, and finishing processes with huge quantities of carcinogen moleculas like formaldeide have been used and discharged into drain waters and weared by final customers.
Since beginning of 2000 there has been a particular attention in sensibilize industries first and then carry it to brands first and then customers, because as all we know is the final customer deciding and having the last word in buying and shopping. So chemical producers and machinery builders as our corporation Efi-Mezzera started to first develop and then sell processes lowering the electrical consumes but more over reducing the chemival usage during indigo dyeing and finishing.
Efi Mezzera developed a Greener technology for which we are well known as Pioneer of Nitrogen Dyeing in which final customer is able using our machines to decrease 50 per cent energy consumption, 35 per cent chemicals, and almost 45 per cent water during dyeing achieving wonderfull and better shades than before.
As we developed greener technologies chemical manufacturer started as well to develop every year greener chemicals, starting a Green Circle and committing to achieve in few years a greener blue indigo world. As pioneer of sustainable denim chemical manufacturer we must mention Archroma the chemical leader worldwide with whom we are starting now a strong marketing and sales cooperation, with their Advanced Denim sulphur dyeing and the new ANILIN free indigo liquid. So as you see behind lines there is always a strong and passionate team of motivated people that wants to transfer the way to think about fashion and textile researching every day something not just to be greener but one day to be really sustainable.
As garment and finishing production the trends of course are followed by designer needs and requirements so a responsible choice of garments watching labels and hangtags when every common people go shopping is a must in 2018. Actually processes requiring less water are the processes that are getting more impotency, like lazer, Ozone, soft hand feel achieved by mechanical treatment without chemicals, and Nitrogen dyeing are the most traditional now, so having pressure from brands pushing hard in solving as much as possible the related dirty status of denim garments is a real benefit for denim industry, but we must remember that just 10-15 per cent of denim companies nowadays work in a proper lower impact, ethic and greener way, so continuing the battle every day it is our commitment.
As a technology manufacturer I would advise every industry has to provide adequate treatment for its effluent before disposal. These effluents can be treated jointly by industries themselves or under some higher organization. The large-scale industries are expected to have their own treatment plants, whereas the small scale or medium scale industries that have limitations on availability of land, manpower and finance can economically treat its effluent in Common Effluent Treatment Plant.
Also, Reverse Osmosis is the technology option, which can be implemented for zero effluent discharge and recycling of wastewater. X-Rite Pantone an US multinational with nearly 60 years of innovation in colour communication and control, we understand that the colour requirements of each industry and each business are unique. If your measurements don’t match those of your suppliers, you’ll be rejecting materials you perhaps shouldn’t be, not rejecting materials you should be, and wasting a lot of time, effort, and money producing the wrong colour.
The nature of your raw materials, production process, and final product, along with the stringency of your customers’ tolerances for colour all shape your ideal solution. Customized to your business and workflow, our industry-specific solutions will save you time, eliminate waste, and ensure the consistent colour your customers demand.
When it comes to latest trends and developments in garment wet processing and finishing, nowadays various new technologies have been recently developed and now ready to be implemented on a bulk scale. These are some of the revolutionary ways to advance the textile wet processing: Ultrasonic waves, Microwaves, Electrochemical dyeing, Pre-treatments using plasma technology, Waterless dyeing with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (sc CO2), Biotechnological catalytic bleaching, Single stage preparatory process, Foam finishing.
The Indian textile Industry had been plagued by obsolescence, labour problems, raw material vagaries and lack of modernization including that of spindles. The post fabric stage processing technology has also been lagging but is now coming up fast with infusion of textile processing technology. SSI firms perform most of weaving and processing operations. The level of weaving technology is of lower order and knitting units don’t possess capacity to perform dyeing, processing and finishing to international standards.
Wet processing is the main sector in the textile and garment industry, this effects the quality and the product of output. Large amount of chemicals, energy and water is consumed in this process. Water is mainly used as a solvent for chemicals and dyes as it is low priced and easily available.
While doing this process, Water gets polluted with chemicals and dye stuffs and gives an end product as effluent. This effluent is not easy to treat or biodegrade as such it is harmful for animals & humans. Many health problems arise in conventional method of wet processing.
There are many other ways and methods which can improve sustainability of wet processing. In modern times eco-friendly ways like Plasma, Laser, Ultrasonic, Biodigitel Inkjet printing are new innovations and not harmful for humans & animals. The stages of wet processing operations like Desizing, Scouring, Bleaching, Mercerizing, Dyeing, Finishing & printing are Eco-friendly trends on wet processing.
Keeping in mind regarding environmental hazards of garment wet processing, Guruson focuses on the eco-friendly way of production. Our new GSJ magic Series Washing/Dyeing Machines does huge saving of chemical as well as dye and Water with Low Liqour Ratio Machines. Our GSJ magic Series washing/dyeing machines are saving 60 per cent of water, as compared to conventional machines. As we all know that if we focus on saving chemical/dyes and water at present then we will save environment.
Guruson’s new environment, production and pocket friendly “SMART ATOM” machine is in the market, creating Atomized Mist of the chemicals with Pressurized spray on the entire lot of the garments for homogenous effects and better reproducibility with our Inbuilt Smart Program. “SMART ATOM” Spraying System, which is for whole garment surface is now available for batches with Guruson finishing system instead of one by one processing and it is favourable for chemical process –Patassium Pergmnanate-Softeners- Binders and all other Spray finishing process for whole garment surface.
All the chemicals are processed with Nano bubble Reactor and are Inflated to get the Best Spray form. “SMART ATOM’ is a good chemical & time savings spray system.
The garment industry today plays a vital role in meeting the quick challenging demand on the fashion market. The production of short such repeat order relatively, low skill input, low rejects rates, very complicated design, unique wash and value addition etc. So the most garments industry are using simple relatively inexpensive equipment with modest space requirement without effluent production.
Other than machine a wide variety of dyes are used to create unique look on garment. Also garments dyed with direct, reactive, sulpher are relatively used nowadays for getting wash down look. Different process are in row now like quick wash denim, tinted denim, sand blasting denim along with new developments like laser technology, stone wash effect etc.
The garment wet processing sector in our country is highly fragmented and large number of small sized units are scattered across the major garment manufacturing centres. An average size of the units has around 1,000 to 2,000 garments per day capacity for enzyme wash cycle, which is very low as compared to international standards and even neighbouring country like Bangladesh. Large number of laundries are even till date working on ‘’master – driven‘’ process. All the masters who are very well skilled but lack modern technology knowledge and are unaware of such modern process.
So I think govt. should focus on educating this workforce and set-up garments institute with latest machines. This is because apart from product development the production facilities need trained technician to understand the interlinkage between machine – material and chemical etc. There is vast scope of improvement but proper implementation at the end of company owners as well as policy makers in the country is required. That is why nowadays Guruson and other Indian manufacturer are working very hard to meet such requirements and govt. should promote them under make in India concept.
Slowly Indian market is getting aware and taking interest into the sustainable technology but still we are very far from utilizing the technology at proper efficiency as well as awareness and guideline for the same.
Being Sustainable is not option anymore, keeping that in mind we have upgraded our self in terms of technology to make processing more sustainable. We have developed Go Green Technology, Ozone Technology, Jet spray Technology in order to make sustainable production.
Go Green Technology – It’s Nano Particle Technology which works @ 1:0.6 to 1:1 MLR. It is basically waterless process. We can directly spray chemical on garment with the help of this technology and achieve desired result without using water in machine. This technology can be used for different applications like Enzymes Silicon, Cationic, Resin, Water Repellent etc. There is no discharge in this process as we do not use any water in the machine during this process. Water saving is 95 per cent and chemical saving is 60 per cent.
Ozone Technology – Ozone treatment on dry & semi wet garment is being used for denim processing in recent days. We have developed complete automated system to use ozone in very safe manner. We can save almost 50 per cent of water with the help of Ozone machine in Denim Processing. It consist of Ozonator Machine, Oxygen generator, Ozone Generator, Ozone Leak Detector system, Ozone Analyzer, Ozone Destruction System, Chiller.
Jet Spray Technology – With the help of this technology we are able to reduce 25 per cent of water compared to regular front loading washing machine and 75 per cent of water compared to horizontal washing machine. It works on principle of high pressure water jet with filtration. Jet spray is done through re circulation of process water.. So no extra water requires and it helps to improve quality of product due to filtration with jet spray.
As a technology manufacturer it’s our responsibility to save water and energy and keeping this in mind the company last year introduced the Eco dyeing Splash series machine for garment and textile processing. Nowadays, water is the main crisis for everyone and they have been asked to put ZLD i.e. zero liquid discharge water treatment plant, which is going to be very expensive for them. So, the focus is cutting down to the water requirement, which we have been doing with our latest Splash series equipment. Now we are able to cut down the liqour ratio to 1:3 that means 1 kg of garments will take only 3 ltr water, which used to be 1:10 earlier. With this technology you can save up to 70 per cent water every cycle when you are doing washing or dyeing and 60 per cent saving when you are doing enzymes washes. So that is a huge saving for everyone as they will be able to cut down the ZLD cost apart from saving on steam, water, electricity as well as chemicals.
We are also agent of Primus – a leading laundry equipment manufacturer from Europe. Primus equipment can run for 10-15 hrs, and last for 10-12 years. It also has a special wet cleaning solution with which you can do dry cleaning in the same machine. It is multipurpose equipment, which can save a lot of money, and the technology is far better when compared to hydro carbon and perc.
With Primus garment exporter who wants to do washing, cleaning and dry cleaning they can utilise the same equipment and save their factory space. They don’t need to invest 20- 30 lakh rupees on one dry cleaning machine. When it comes to simple washing most of the garment exporters are doing only softening for that it introduced one Resinator which is dry to dry process where you can save 90 per cent water and chemical every cycle.
In terms of technologies India is lagging behind when compared to China, Bangladesh but some of the big units are already expanding and upgrading themselves. Now every processing house have to have ETP plant so they are shifting to new industrial area and also updating their technologies. There are many new units have come up but percentage is very less. Nowadays, if you talk about wet processing in Northern India there are very few exporters into this segment. It’s majorly for the cleaning and for the softening wash. Most of the exporters are outsourcing their dyeing or wet processing job.
Everyone is eager to go for the new technology but at the same time financial aspect is the major hindrance when it comes to investing in the new technology. That is what holding back everyone and there are very few people who want to go for new technology. Trend wise if you see any of the imported equipment most of the garment exporters who can get the benefits of EPCG or ATUFS, they are basically investing in the same. We are very competitive and almost 30 per cent of the amount of the imported equipment. In terms of technology we are almost at par but lack in outer look.
Today, everyone looks for the better or soft feel of the garments, especially when it comes to garment exporters. Every garment needs to go through a softening process. Trend wise for the domestic side its more on enzymes may be 60-70 per cent and the balance is over dyeing. Dry finishes is mainly used in denims and few units have invested in laser technologies.
The domestic garment brands need to upgrade their dyeing and processing machines. They can change the old machines in a phase wise manner, see the results, and get the benefits. Presently, 80 per cent of people are still getting their wet processing work done from outside. The companies who are making 5,000 to 10,000 garments per day and are facing problem in processing, they should go for an inhouse facility. Besides, the industry today needs skilled man power in this segment and for that we need training institutes. As a company we are also thinking to take such initiatives. Currently, there are many exporters who themselves have started such small institutes to train people with job assurance.