Making denim eco-friendly

By Abir Chakrabarti, Alkesh Darji, Ketan Patel, Somes Bhaumik 28 January 2020
Among all the textile products, no other product has received such a wide acceptance as denim – especially blue jeans. Blue denim
jeans have been used extensively by people of all ages, classes and genders for well over 100 years. The production chain is optimised
for bulk production and with the capacity to meet this global demand. As a result, the overall environmental issues or impacts of denim
manufacture are significant. It is known that denim manufacturing has a negative environmental impact. Improvements in each step of
denim production offer potentially significant reductions in overall environmental impact as well as cost saving for the industry.

In this research article, the environmental issues caused by impacts of denim manufacturing /processing will be discussed, as well as the
sustainable solutions that have the potential to alleviate this negative impact.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES OF DENIM PROCESSING

Denim is one of the most polluting industries with the textile industry; right from yarn dyeing through to garment washing. Even at post
consumer washing it bleeds which causes the contamination of water.

Indigo dye is part of the numerous marketed organic colourants used to colour denim. Effluents containing indigo dye make water toxic
and unfit for human and animal consumption. They also cause an imbalance in different aquatic ecosystem food chains.

Indigo obtained from plant source (Indigofera tinctoria) has been used for more than a century. Synthetic indigo dye was introduced in
1897. During the 1980s, indigo was combined with sulphur dye to acquire a new look and effects. Later in the 1990s, to widen the denim
colour range (apart from blue), sulphur dye was used separately to obtain colours such as black, brown, olive and burgundy. The use of
synthetic indigo and sulphur dyes pose a serious effluent problem. Indigo is one of the most valued and most globally widespread dyes of
antiquity and of the current era as it provides the blue for blue jeans.

Various researchers have identified the mutagenic effects of textile samples and wastewater from the textile industry. Their findings
showed that dyes used for textile finishing are mainly responsible for the mutagenic effects observed. Indigo dye had a mutagenic effect
on the bacterium Salmonella typhimurium (a pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria predominately found in the intestinal lume).

There is risk of disrupting the primary aquatic food chain when untreated indigo dye effluents are discharged into aquatic
systems. Researchers reported that indigo might cause a potential health risk through revealing toxic effects of other compounds or by
being a non-genotoxic carcinogen. If the effluent contains higher concentrations of indigo and indigoid dyes, it would be genotoxic
(damaging to the genetic information within a cell causing mutation).

Denim is made primarily with cotton, though it’s now often blended with synthetic fibres like polyester. Producing just 1 kilogram (2.2 Ibs)
of cotton can require up to 7,660 gallons of water, depending on where it’s grown. (In comparison, producing 2.2 Ibs of tomatoes requires
one-hundredth of that amount: 76 gallons.) A cotton crop consumes a lot of chemicals too: 16% of all insecticides are used on the plant,
and many of them pose significant health risks for farm workers and nearby residents.

DENIM DYEING
Three different dyeing techniques are used to dye the warp beam for denim weaving: rope dyeing, slasher dyeing and loop dyeing. More
than 95% of warp-dyeing for denim employs rope and slasher dyeing ranges.

The environmental impacts of denim processing can be classified into the following categories:

Water pollution: dyeing and finishing effluent discharge in water bodies

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 Air pollution: cotton dust, abrasives and chemicals found in air

Solid waste (sludge)

Ecological and toxicological problems caused by the direct discharge of denim wastewater in natural water bodies have been one of the
most significant water pollution problems. The presence of colour (indigo dye), dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS),
toxic (heavy) metals and residual chlorine in the effluent results in a high chemical oxygen demand (COD). The presence of organic
pollutants leads to a high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD).

DENIM WASHING
Denim washing is an aesthetic finish that is imparted to fabric to improve its softness and comfort. In addition, the fabric achieves a
different look such as a faded or worn-out appearance.

1. Stone washing

Pumice stone is used to stone wash denim garments. The stone gets abraded during the process and becomes powdered; part of it
remains in the liquor and part of it sticks to the garment. A huge amount of water is required for repeated washing cycles to remove the
deposited pumice from the denim. The effluent and pumice dust lead to environmental pollution.

2. Sandblasting

Sandblasting is a mechanical finish which uses sand containing silica. The minute silica dust spreads in the air it poses the risk of
causing serious respiratory diseases such as silicosis.

Microsanding is a finish that uses a series of rollers covered with abrasive paper or chemically coated abrasive paper. Chemically coated
abrasive papers means the abrasive papers are first coated with Carborundum, Aluminum Oxide, and Glass Fall and then used for the
required application. When the denim fabric is pulled over these rollers it results in a soft, raised surface and dulls the colour. The
abrasive material pollutes the environment.

3. Bleach washing

Chemical washing such as bleaching employs chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite or potassium permanganate. It is harmful to
human health and corrodes the stainless-steel drum of the bleaching machine. The effluent contains chlorinated organic substances
which cause severe pollution to the environment.

4. Acid washing

Acid washing uses both pumice stone and chemicals (sodium hypochlorite or potassium permanganate) for washing. It does not require
water but is still a pollutant because its effluent contains pumice dust and residual manganese, both of which are hazardous. Also, it
contains cotton fibre dust from the abrasion caused by pumice stones.

ECO DENIM
Fibre manufacturer Birla Cellulose has developed a complete range of denim look-alike options that look and feel like any conventional
niche cotton or lyocell denim range: Eco Denim. In the whole process, the technology does not use any dyes or chemicals. The wash-
down looks are also achieved without any chemical application. It is a sustainable solution for the denim industry that doesn’t
compromise on aesthetics.

Below are images of fabrics dyed using the new Eco Denim range:

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 Normal indigo

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 Sulphur bottom indigo top

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 Indigo bottom vat top

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 Enzyme wash

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 Enzyme bleach wash

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 Enzyme bleach stone wash

Advantages of Eco Denims over conventional denims:

Complete sustainable products as not used any indigo/chemicals/auxiliaries which are leading environmental pollutants
None use of any environmental polluting chemicals/pumice stones to get wash down, ie faded look effect
Oeko Tex 100 certified products
Highest effluent load saving compared to indigo effluent
Easy manufacturing route compared to conventional denim manufacturing
Zero staining on the any machineries as well as human body parts
No colour bleeding post any garment wash at home
Shrinking production timeline
Excellent washing and rubbing fastness: ratings of 4 whereas conventional achieves 2
Excellent shade repeatability
Excellent shade uniformity
Reproducible products even after a long time of interval
Highest first grade packing
Economical

By Abir Chakrabarti, Somes Bhaumik, Alkesh Darji & Ketan Patel, Textile Research & Application Development Centre (TRADC), Birla
Cellulose, Grasim Industries

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