This textile technology enables a more environmentally friendly and effective polyester dyeing process while optimizing textile product quality. HeiQ Clean Tech – make the sustainable choice!
The textile industry and water pollution
After agriculture, the textile industry is the largest industrial water consumer and at the same time one of the biggest water polluters. Every year, more than 5,000,000,000 liters of fresh water are used to dye textiles, and 17-20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing and final fabric treatment. In order to reduce industrial pollution, it is crucial to find solutions that allow for reduced water consumption.
For many years, the textile industry has tried to find new ways to reduce water use, but there has been little progress, despite increasing pressure on the textile industry from governments, non-governmental organizations and consumers to better protect the environment.
From a pragmatic perspective, industry insiders realize that widespread adoption of existing but often costly solutions is still years away. The dye industry is typically low-margin and the new machinery required to apply existing solutions is often expensive. Therefore, pragmatic, workable and cost-friendly solutions are needed to quickly address the current environmental problem.
HeiQ Clean Tech – make the sustainable choice
HeiQ Clean Tech is a pragmatic and cost-friendly solution: no equipment changes are required for its integration. This “drop-in” technology simply allows the replacement of a dyeing auxiliary chemical with HeiQ Clean Tech.
The technology is designed for polyester dyeing. Polyester now accounts for 54.5% (53,700,000 metric tons) of the world’s annual fiber production (98,500,000 metric tons) – most of which ultimately ends up in dyeing mills. The process of dyeing is an important part of the textile value chain.
HeiQ Clean Tech reduces the water consumption of a textile mill by 30% and enables 30-50% faster dyeing time. This helps to increase productivity by 30% and reduces 30% of energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
HeiQ Clean Tech expands the production capacity of dyeing plants with existing equipment, reducing the need for new machinery and saving CO2 emissions and the consumption of resources generated by the production of dyeing machinery. Land and other resources can alternatively be used to meet other needs, such as food.
Finally, the product itself results in a better dyed polyester that is truer to color, has deeper hues, and uses less dye. Less dye is released during household laundering and the improved color consistency extends the product’s useful life at the end user.
Overall, the technology helps textile mills significantly reduce their environmental footprint while saving costs and improving product quality. The added benefit of saving money when using HeiQ Clean Tech is an incentive to make the “green” choice.
Who is it for?
HeiQ Clean Tech helps textile mills significantly reduce their environmental footprint when dyeing polyester by saving dyeing time, energy and water, which also translates into cost savings.
HeiQ Clean Tech allows high process flexibility thanks to its suitability for most standard polyester dyeing machines and can be used for woven fabrics, knitwear and yarns.
An estimated 500,000 polyester dyeing nozzles exist in approximately 10,000 dyeing plants in over 100 countries – a manageable number to “upgrade” to better technology.
To date, HeiQ Clean Tech has been integrated into the textile manufacturing process of textile factories in Italy, Germany, Spain, Turkey, China, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, India, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
The introduction of the technology needs the support of the entire textile value chain to penetrate the market quickly. It is estimated that today around 100 brands dictate the manufacturing parameters for about 80% of the total volume of polyester produced. HeiQ is therefore trying to push the technology into the market by having well-known brands commission it from their suppliers.
In addition to providing the textile effect, HeiQ also supports its customers through ingredient branding & marketing. Textile products dyed with HeiQ Clean Tech are of higher quality and more sustainably produced. HeiQ helps its brand partners communicate this added value to the end consumer through a hangtag.
The company behind the solution
Headquartered in Schlieren, Zurich, HeiQ is a three-in-one company: scientific research, specialty materials manufacturing and end-user ingredient branding – all with the goal of improving the lives of billions of people by perfecting the everyday product of textiles.
HeiQ was founded in 2005 during a hike in the Swiss Alps by Carlo Centonze (ETH) and Dr. Murray Height (MIT) as a spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH).
HeiQ is a leader in textile innovation, developing some of the most effective, durable and high-performing textile technologies on the market today.
HeiQ works with textile brands across the value chain to innovate and differentiate products and capture value at the point of sale.
HeiQ is a multinational textile effects company employing 85 professionals from 23 nationalities in 11 countries on 5 continents, with innovation partners from over 50 countries.
Nominated solution: HeiQ Clean Tech
Company: HeiQ Materials AG
Further information: www.heiq.com
