A More Eco-Friendly Dyeing Process

Fjallraven Re-Kanken

Aiming to do the least possible damage to the environment, Swedish company SpinDye developed a new method of dyeing synthetic fibers — one that requires hardly any water, and produces little waste, with the use of chemicals reduced to a minimum. While not the first company to cut water out of the dyeing process, SpinDye hopes theirs is the most resource-efficient, sustainable, and one that results in colorfast textiles.

A conventional dyeing process uses 100 to 150 liters of water to dye a kilogram of textiles. Due to insufficient controls in popular manufacturing countries like China or Bangladesh, much of the toxic waste water ends up in rivers, lakes, and even groundwater. For SpinDye, this is unacceptable.

The company’s new dyeing process works for all synthetics including polyester, nylon and viscose. A brand first decides what color they want for their product. This pigment is then added to a batch of melted raw synthetics, melting together dye pellets with un-colored material. This melted and already dyed material is then spun into thread and woven into fabric. The fabric is shipped to the brand’s manufacturing plant, where the final product is made.

Since the dye and raw material become one early on, the durability and color fastness of the fabric are far superior to traditional textiles. Also, since all the fabric is made from one single source of yarn and thread, there is very little waste. Brands will also save time and money fronm the ability to skip the often protracted process of color verification/comparison from batch to batch.

Fjällräven is one of the first to work with SpinDye in order to create their Re-Kånken pack. Hopefully many more outdoor brands will hop on board.

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