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Sustainable colouration concepts: Issues in textile processing of cotton

Sustainable colouration concepts Part III. Issues in textile processing of cotton

cotton plantIn the previous article we have discussed an innovative water-free dyeing process for polyester, dyeing from supercritical CO2 (scf-CO2). Today we will look at cotton, which is a major contributor for polluted effluents. Cotton has ethical and ecological concerns, as well as requiring high water & energy consumption in the textile industry.

Cotton is by far the most important natural, renewable fibre, used for textiles. Cotton and cotton blends are almost 40% of the total textile fibre consumption. The second biggest natural fibre is wool, from animal hairs, with only 2% share.

Cotton is not based on depletable raw materials such as crude oil or coal tar, compared to synthetic fibres like polyester or nylon. In the view of a peak oil scenario, this may be an important factor in the future.

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Christian Schumacher

Dr. Christian Schumacher is the founder and managing director of StepChange Innovations GmbH, a technology development and consulting firm based in Germany. He has 30 years of experience in the chemical industry with global players such as Hoechst, DyStar and Archroma in various senior managemnet roles.