In line with consumer demands, fashion brands and other retailers are increasingly focused on reducing their environmental impact, and enhancing their sustainability throughout their supply chains.   

In Australia, a dearth of local manufacturing has added to this challenge, with brands often having less control over the production process than in other regions.

For textile manufacturers, a significant step in reducing their eco-footprint is changing the dyeing and finishing process of clothes and other apparel. This, due to the vast amounts of water which are required as part of this process.

20 per cent of the world’s water pollution.

To tackle this issue, Xefco, an Australian textile and coating technology company, has partnered with Deakin University to develop a waterless manufacturing process for colouring clothes. 

The organisation, in conjunction with a team of Deakin University scientists, including Professor Alessandra Sutti and Dr. Frank Chen from the Institute for Frontier Materials, is looking into how this technology can be established, implemented and eventually commercialised, without a drop of water being used. 

The research is funded through a $50 million grant from the Australian Federal Government’s Trailblazer Universities Program and, with other industry and university support, has a project value of $380 million.   

And while the research will explore the colouration of various materials, including waterproof items like outdoor jackets, Xefco CEO Tom Hussey emphasised the water-intensive nature of dyeing jeans: which can consume up to 75 litres per pair.

He told Inside Retail that dyeing and finishing of textiles accounted for a significant share of a textile manufacturer’s environmental footprint.

Hussey added that these ‘wet processes’ for dyeing and finishing require the addition of chemicals to huge volumes of water, which are eventually discharged as waste. This contributes to about 20 per cent of the world’s water pollution.

Colouring clothes also involves significant energy usage, primarily derived from fossil fuels, which also make up about three per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions. As such, Hussey stressed the need for the fashion and manufacturing industries to transition toward a more sustainable solution.

“By creating a water-free process for dyeing and finishing, we can eliminate this water pollution. This is also a more efficient process, which would reduce energy consumption for these manufacturers,” he said.

Pushing the limits of innovation

Regarding how its waterless colouration technology works, Xefco – in conjunction with Deakin University – has developed a plasma coating device, called Ausora, which generates plasma at atmospheric pressure using electricity and argon gas rather than water. 

Through this, durable colours and functional finishes can be applied to clothing fabrics without the need for water.

Hussey said that this technology has evolved from a proof-of-concept to a larger-scale prototype over the years, and is currently in the pilot stage.

He also stressed the importance of reducing water consumption, given the strain it has on freshwater resources.

“When you look at countries where a lot of fabrics are produced, like Bangladesh, it has a major effect in terms of the available freshwater supply for that community,” Hussey said.

“You’re taking water away from farms and people and – when you’re discharging water with pollutants and toxic chemicals – it damages the rest of the water supply as well.”

Hussey added that the next step would be developing processes so the Ausora technology can be scaled up for commercial production.

This, in turn, would hopefully reduce the fashion industry’s footprint, and lead to more efficient and sustainable clothing manufacturing.

“Together, Deakin and Xefco will push the limits of innovation and see what is possible,” he said.

Producing locally

According to Hussey, there’s growing awareness among manufacturers, retailers and consumers around the water-intensive nature of textile production.

As part of this, he said that regulations around supply chain footprint disclosure would be implemented over the next few years. 

Regarding Xefco’s long-term goals, he said that the organisation is committed to scaling up this technology once it is finalised. 

However, this is a significant undertaking.

“Something in the realm of $600 billion metres of fabric are produced each year, so there’s quite a job to do [to help change this process],” he said.

He also noted that dyeing fabrics in Australia is difficult to achieve in part due to the wastewater generated.

Therefore, the implementation of this technology could potentially encourage more local manufacturing.