The denim industry has spoken. Archroma announced Monday that the production of its new aniline-free Denisol Pure Indigo has been accelerated “due to the high demand encountered on the market.”
The Swiss color and specialty chemical company debuted the alternative indigo last year.
Denisol Pure Indigo allows a cleaner way to produce the iconic indigo blue color associated with denim. The new dye makes it possible to produced indigo-dyed denim without high levels of aniline impurities, which testing has linked to cancer, skin allergies and genetic defects. Aniline is also toxic to aquatic life.
Compared with conventional indigo dyeing, Archroma said an optimized process with Denisol Indigo 30 can offer up to 60 percent less sodium hydrosulfite, and up to 50 percent less sodium hydroxide.
“Denisol Pure Indigo is result of our efforts to challenge accepted technologies in order to find a better way to advance sustainability, and it is therefore extremely exciting to see that brands, retailers and manufacturers are eager to offer a more sustainable denim to consumers,” said Alexander Wessels, Archroma CEO.
Denisol Pure Indigo is produced in Archroma’s facility in Pakistan. The plant made headlines in 2012 for being what Archroma believed to be the industry’s first zero liquid discharge plant. The indigo was at Absolute Denim mill in Thailand.
“We owe the successful launch of Denisol Pure Indigo to the shared vision of the textile value chain to preserve our planet and its people, after all—it’s our nature,” Wessels added.
