In order to tackle the pollution and water use of conventional dyeing, chemical company Archroma has developed EarthColors, a palette of dyes made from upcycled agricultural by-products. This alternative to oil-based dyes can be used in the dyeing of cellulose-based fibres. Archroma’s EarthColors received a Platinum Level Cradle2Cradle material health certificate and is also compliant with industry standards like Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemical (ZDHC), bluesign® and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). EarthColors dyes have already been used in collections released by Patagonia, Esprit and Ternua, among others brands.
Biodiversity benefits
Archoma reports its EarthColors innovation is able to reduce water consumption by up to 86%, CO2 emissions by up to 50%, and chemical usage by up to 54%, depending on the dyeing technique. Such reductions can alleviate the overexploitation of natural resources, the contribution to climate change, and the generation of pollution associated with conventional oil-based dyeing processes.
This page is part of a deep dive into biodiversity and fashion, where we delve deeper into safeguarding biodiversity by circulating clothes, eliminating pollution, and regeneratively growing natural fibres.
