Dyestuffs made from textile waste set to be scaled up

Italian textile chemical company Officina+39 is preparing to scale-up production of its Recycrom colour powders made from 100% textile waste.

The pigments are made by recycling textile fibres from used clothing and manufacturing waste into what is described by the company as “the gentlest dye in the industry.” It can be used to create long-lasting colours with a natural washed-out look.

The fibres are upcycled through a production process that uses only natural chemicals into a fine powder that can be used as a pigment dye for fabrics and garments made of cotton, wool, nylon or any natural and most artificial fibres and blends.

Recycrom can also be applied using various methods: exhaustion dyeing, printing and spray – with coating now under development.

However, in contrast to other dyes, Recycrom is applied as a suspension and not as part of a chemical solution, which means it can be easily filtered from the water – cutting both costs and environmental impact.

Developed in 2016, Recycrom has won several awards, including the Keyhouse Hightex Award at Munich Fabric Start 2017. It has also been applied to two capsule collections by Italian high-street retailer OVS.

As interest in this start-up technology increases exponentially, Recycrom is now set for mass volumes, and Officina+39 says it is talking to many other interested brands and retailers for a whole range of collaborations.

There is also the opportunity for brands to collaborate with the inventors to make custom dyes from their own scraps and textile waste.