Coloring Cotton with Cotton
April 18, 2017 A collaborative program between Archroma and Cotton Incorporated has resulted in a process to dye cotton with cotton.
Bryan Dill from Archroma US, presented the “Earthcolors” technology at the recent international conference of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists in Wilmington, NC. Archroma has pioneered the concept of using natural wastes and byproducts such as cotton gin wastes, almond shells, plant byproducts and shoots of rosemary to synthesize dyes to color textiles.
The technology originally came from Archroma’s unit in Spain.
Archroma collaborated with Cary, NC-based Cotton Incorporated in using sulfur dyes derived from cotton waste and gin waste to color cotton denims.
Mike Tyndall, vice president for product research at Cotton Incorporated, said this endeavor expands the boundaries of agriculture and utilizes agricultural resources to make dyes that replace petroleum precursors.
According to Archroma, cotton denims dyed with cotton waste will be environmentally and skin friendly and will be entering the market soon. Use of the new dye process will also allow consumers to trace the entire supply chain from the origins of the dyes and the natural raw material used.
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