Specialty chemicals company Archroma and finishing technology firm Jeanologia’s new collaboration takes sustainable dyeing and finishing to a new level. The two pioneers in their spaces combined innovations to produce Pad-Ox G2 Cold, a room-temperature dyeing process that drastically reduces water usage.
Originally used for woven fabrics when it launched in 2019, Archroma’s Pad-Ox dyeing process combines the oxidation and fixation steps, making it possible to shorten the dyeing process and reduce water, waste water, cotton waste and energy. The company, however, has since worked with partners to improve the process, in particular for applications such as chinos and other casual wear.
To maximize the positive impact of Pad-Ox, Archroma is using its Diresul range of low-sulfide sulfur dyes and plant-based EarthColors dyes, a portion of which have received the Cradle-to-Cradle Product Innovation Institute’s Platinum Level Material Health Certification.
The benefits of Pad-Ox are compounded by Jeanologia’s innovative G2 Dynamic technology, which uses ozone to prepare fabric for finishing treatments including laser. Developed in 2008, the technology was recently featured in “sanitization boxes,” which the company developed to clean plastic face shields for emergency workers on the front lines of the pandemic.
Now, the technology works with Pad-Ox at room temperature to improve fabric fastness—the resistance of fabric to change color—while significantly reducing water and chemical usage. The resulting garments are softer and have greater color durability to repetitive washing and solidity against rubbing than other wash-out processes.
Jean Pierre Inchauspe, business director of G2 Dynamic at Jeanologia, said the partnership is “another step to change traditional, more polluting and water consuming processes in the textile industry for new ones using technology.” Companies that adopt this new process will “be more competitive, increase productivity and offer a product that is completely sustainable with high quality,” he added.
Pad-Ox G2 Cold implementation requires the insertion of small machinery into the existing finishing range process.
The solution complements both companies’ aggressive sustainability targets, including Archroma’s plans to cut water intensity to 16.6 cubic meters per ton of production by 2023. Similarly, Jeanologia has also pledged to dehydrate and detoxify the denim industry by 2025 with its Mission Zero plan.