There’s been a lot of press talk about ‘new bio-synthetic dyes’ for the textile industry. But much of this news is often recycled, and inaccurate. So, what’s really going on? John Mowbray gives readers an insight into the current state of play.

It’s well known that dyeing denim with indigo is a wasteful process when it comes to the use of water, energy and chemicals. The problematic use of hazardous reducing agents that are needed to make indigo soluble in water, so that it can stick (adsorb) to the cotton fibres, is also well-known.

This has been partially addressed with the introduction of pre-reduced (PR) synthetic indigo dyes from the likes of DyStar, Blue Connection and more recently, Archroma.