Reduce the environmental impact of fabric dyeing by 92% The problem of "fashionable but not environmentally friendly" denim clothing has been solved

Trendy denim has long been criticized for being "uneco-friendly," but a study published in Nature Communications Feb. 28 says a new approach could reduce the environmental and social impact of producing blue denim. These methods could reduce the environmental impact of blue denim dyeing by up to 92 percent and prevent factory workers from being exposed to harmful chemicals at a modest cost.

The production of blue denim is a multi-billion dollar industry, and the dye currently used is indigo, which is currently the only molecule that produces the unique color of blue denim. This process emits a lot of carbon dioxide and uses a lot of toxic chemicals, which leads to environmental pollution and harms the health of workers and local community residents. Indigoside is a colorless precursor to indigo and is a more environmentally friendly denim dye because it does not require the use of toxic chemicals and because it turns into indigo directly on spinning. However, the application of this method requires the technology of mass production of indigoside.

The team from the Technical University of Denmark has obtained an improved indole glycosyltransferase found in indigo-producing indigo-producing plants that can economically produce industrial-scale indigo. They also demonstrated an economically viable, low-harm dyeing process. One of these processes uses an enzyme and light-driven approach to turn indigo into indigo and dye denim. The light sources used include energy-efficient LEDs, natural light and even household light bulbs, and different light sources help to dye denim in solution. Light-driven dyeing is expected to reduce the environmental impact of blue denim dyeing by 73 percent, while enzymatic dyeing can reduce it by 92 percent.

The team pointed out that according to market analysis, the annual trading volume of jeans is 4 billion pairs. These methods could reduce the generation of toxic waste and reduce global CO2 emissions by 3.5 million tonnes per year. At the same time, reducing environmental impact will increase supply chain transparency and sustainability in the textile industry.