Dye-effluent water released in to the environment because of processes used within the fashion industry is a major issue that has not only an environmental but human impact. Many of the dye and dye-effluent water, which is released in to local water sources, can be toxic to life-forms, causing harm to the humans which rely on, and are based near the water(Puzyn and Mostrag-Szlichtyng, 2012) . Many of the dyes used can resist degradation for many years, for example the dye Hydrolysed Reactive Blue has a half-life of 46 years show casing that the impacts that many dyes have on the environment will be prevalent for years to come (Puzyn and Mostrag-Szlichtyng, 2012). The issues of dumping untreated wastewater from dye houses within China and India are enormous as it may be assumed that this water contamination can be strongly linked to water related illnesses within these areas (Kaye, 2013) (Colorzen, 2017).

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‘In India, 450,000 children die annually from diseases contracted by drinking contaminated water. That is the equivalent to 34 school bus crashes a day.’  (Colorzen, 2017: Online).

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This shocking statistic further highlights the impact this issue has on the lives of those living near dye houses and the fashion industries need to better the methods its uses to dye garments.

Another issue within the dyeing process is that if the garment does not achieve the correct colour the first time it will have to be re-done. Not only does this increase the cost of producing the garment by around 100%-130% but it also increases the environmental cost of the garment with an increase in the water and energy required to dye the garment (Blackburn, 2012).  Furthermore, further dying of the garment will only add to the dye-containing effluent released into local water sources, adding greatly to the issue (Blackburn, 2012). In order to greatly reduce the environmental impact that the dyeing process has it appears essential to ensure that the dyeing is correct the first time as the environmental cost is too great for the process to be carried out many times unnecessarily(Blackburn, 2012).

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‘Half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from waterborne diseases’ (Colorzen, 2017: Online).

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Yet again this is a disturbing fact that highlights the human cost the fashion industry enables by carrying out the dyeing process unnecessarily, therefore releasing a greater amount of damaging chemicals in to local water sources (Blackburn, 2012)(Puzyn and Mostrag-Szlichtyng, 2012).

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This blog will look into methods in which the dye industry can look to make the dyeing process more sustainable to not only better the environment but also the lives of those living near the dye houses. Upon reflection of the information above it is clear the fashion industry cannot carry on with its current dyeing methods and these will have to be reviewed for a sustainable future.