2024-03-25 22:08:21
The denim material has been criticized for being “unfriendly”. The coarse, dense cotton fabric that makes up some of the most popular clothing in the modern world—all kinds of denim pants, skirts, jackets, and whatnot—has been criticized for many years for not keeping up with modern green trends. sustainable industry.
A newly published study claims that a new method could reduce the environmental and social impact of blue denim production. These methods can reduce the environmental impact of fabric dyeing by up to 92% and prevent worker exposure to harmful chemicals, all with only a modest increase in cost, Radio China reported.
The production of blue denim is a multi-billion dollar industry, and the dye currently used is indigo, the only substance that produces the unique color of blue denim. This process emits a lot of carbon dioxide and uses many toxic chemicals, causing environmental pollution and harming the health of workers and local community residents. Indigoside, the colorless precursor of indigo, is a greener denim dye. No toxic chemicals are used when painting with it. However, the application of this method requires technology for the mass production of indigoside.
Recently, a team from the Technical University of Denmark obtained an improved enzyme through engineering modification. This enzyme is found in the Indigofera plant (also known as indigo), from which the substance of the same name is produced. Its extraction from plants, however, allows for a much more environmentally friendly production of the material needed to dye denim. The technical team also demonstrated an economically viable, less harmful process of painting itself. Light is used to convert indiginoside to indigo to dye denim. Sources used include natural light and even household light bulbs. Different sources help dye the denim in the solution. Light dyeing is expected to reduce the environmental impact by 73%, while enzyme dyeing can reduce it by 92%.
The team from Denmark noted that according to market analysis, as many as 4 billion pairs of jeans are sold worldwide annually. These methods can reduce the generation of toxic waste and reduce global annual carbon dioxide emissions by 3.5 million tons. At the same time, reducing the environmental impact will improve the transparency of the supply chain and the sustainability of the textile industry.