Clariant’s Advanced Denim triggers a revolution in resource-saving, fashion-focused production

Muttenz, November 14, 2011 - Clariant’s groundbreaking contribution to sustainability – Advanced Denim technology – opens up a whole new range of exciting color and material effects to the fashion market, while reducing the impact of denim manufacturing on the environment. Advanced Denim by Clariant is based on the company’s indigo-free industry-leading Pad/Sizing Ox process.

From James Dean and Elvis Presley in the 1950s to the Beckhams and Kate Moss today, celebrities have ensured the longevity of denim. As a result it could lay claim to being the most well-known fabric in the world. It is unsurprising then, that in recent years – as consumers have become increasingly concerned about the environment – a number of the processes involved in denim manufacturing have attracted criticism for being wasteful and energy-intensive. This is something no manufacturer or designer can afford to ignore.

Clariant’s Advanced Denim offers a potential solution by achieving a balance between fashion and environmental awareness.

Advanced Denim:

• Delivers a massive reduction in water consumption – up to 92% less used, creating practically no waste water.

• Allows 30% energy savings to be realized.

• Saves up to 63% waste cotton compared to conventional dyeing procedures.

• Maintains the highly-valued creative effects, colors and shades of conventional denim in a straightforward, one-step dyeing and sizing process.

The Pad/Sizing Ox process is based on Clariant’s recently patented Arkofil® DEN-FIX sizing agent. In combination with the company’s full range of Diresul® RDT sulfur dyes, including cutting-edge non-indigo based Diresul® RDT Indicolors dyes, Advanced Denim offers unique effects, improved fastness, better reproducibility of tones and shades, and easy application for more precise results. The dyes expand the potential to achieve new and interesting colors, deeper and faster blues, amazing blacks and grays, finely-graded shades and special wash-down effects.

And all of this can be achieved without making any changes to existing production lines.

“Environmental awareness and fashion consciousness are not necessarily mutually exclusive,” comments Miguel Sanchez, Head Global PL Dyes for Cellulose of Business Unit Textile chemicals at Clariant “On the contrary: Advanced Denim takes both aspects into account in equal measure, to create new possibilities in fashion effects as well as addressing the need and demand for even more sustainable and efficient production by the textile industry.”