Upon researching the dyeing industry and the current issues it is facing it appears essential that a more sustainable method of dyeing is found and utilised in order to relieve the processes strain on people and the environment.

Due to the enormity of the risks surrounding this problem there are businesses already innovating to solve the issue of effluent containing dye being released in to the environment; especially with consideration to water utilised as a water source by people in villages surrounding dye-houses.

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End State...

To reduce the amount of dye effluent water released in to the municipal water supply and local water sources through introducing technology to dye cotton in a more sustainable manner. Through doing this it is also hoped the number of illnesses caused as a result of dye effluent water will also decline leading to a safer and more sustainable future.

 

Potential solutions to achieve this end state...

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- Method to clean waste water - 

This process enables water used within the dying process to be cleaned and re-used in a loop within the process (euronews Knowledge, 2017).  

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-Change the treatment of the clothes  and the actual dyeing process - 

Through changing the treatment of the clothes prior to dyeing and changing aspects of the dyeing process itself chemicals within wastewater can be avoided. (Colorzen, 2017)

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-Solution Dye - 

Changing the stage of the process in which dye is added to avoid the need for 'wet' dyeing, again helping the wastewater issue. However this solution has been ruled out as an option to achieve this end-state as further research presented that this is a method for the dyeing of polyester whereas the end-state is solely concerning cotton (WRAP, 2017).

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Timeframe –

Due to the fact that much of this technology is either new or in the testing stage it is likely that it could be years before it is rolled out on an industry wide scale. However, as earlier mentioned research suggests that there is demand for ethically produced clothes therefore adoption of the technology may speed up as a result of the demand. 70% of those 16-24 believe retailers should be more considerate to the environment, again suggesting there are benefits to be gained from business introducing this new technology rapidly (Sender, 2017).

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Scope –

This blog will focus on offering alternative methods and solutions to the dyeing of cotton. It is essential that the dyeing process of cotton is altered to be more sustainable at it is the most popular naturally grown fibre, therefore it can be assumed it is the most frequently dyed (Howell, 2017). In addition to this there are also many other problems commonly associated with cotton farming such as issues surrounding pesticides (EJF, 2007). Therefore, if the cotton manufacturing process can be bettered through altering the dyeing process it is a positive step in a safer direction for the cotton industry as a whole (EJF, 2007).

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