Taiwan-based JSRTEX, a leading textile innovator in Asia, has completed its first sustainable dye run using the ground-breaking EndeavourTM waterless dyeing system from UK textile industry disruptor Alchemie Technology.
Alchemie’s Endeavour machine, which JSRTEX has purchased to dye polyester, uses 95 per cent less water and 85 per cent less energy compared to traditional methods. With textile dyeing being the biggest cause of pollution in clothing manufacture, the successful sustainable dye run at JSRTEX is a pivotal moment for the outdoor and fashion industry and a first in Asia.
The Alchemie Endeavour system will address the biggest issues facing the dyeing and finishing industry today: water scarcity, carbon reduction, water pollution, and soaring energy costs. It is predicted that carbon emissions from dyeing and finishing textiles will rise threefold to more than two Gigatonnes of CO2 annually by 2050, making it one of the most polluting industries on the planet.
Alchemie Endeavour, developed in one of the world’s high technology clusters in Cambridge, UK, will form the centrepiece of a demonstration hub and showroom in Asia. Brands and manufacturers are welcome to request an invitation to come and see the sustainable dyeing process in action at JSRTEX’s plant in Taiwan.
Taiwan is a rising star in the global textile market, witnessing significant growth in recent years. It has transformed from mass production to more innovative integrated product chains. The country is the world’s seventh largest textile exporter and home to over 4,300 textile manufacturing businesses.
The use of waterless dyeing technology is the first step in JSRTEX’s wider sustainable vision, named PurelineTM, which will bring together the world’s most revolutionary textile manufacturing solutions, from fibre to textile finishing, to create an integrated eco-friendly supply chain.
The PurelineTM concept aims to reduce the carbon footprint and water consumption of each stage of textile manufacturing from the initial fibre to the dyeing and finishing of the final textile.
Alchemie’s technology will play a major part in Pureline, which will also include its Novara digital finishing system - which uses up to 85 per cent less energy, up to 95 per cent less water, and up to 50 per cent less chemistry to apply functional finishes to fabric.
Alan Hudd, founder of Alchemie Technology, said: “Having an Endeavour demonstration hub in Taiwan, and our partnership with JSRTEX, is another key milestone on our journey towards transforming the textile industry, as we aim to stop 500 million tonnes of CO2 emissions being produced by the outdoor and fashion industry by 2030.”
Steve Lin, Chairman of JSRTEX, said: “Sustainability is at the heart of our vision for our business. Taiwan is the epicentre of advanced textile manufacturing technologies in Asia, and we are proud to be playing our part in setting new sustainability benchmarks and working with pioneering brands to accelerate the change to a cleaner dyeing and finishing industry."