Vietnam-based Tuong Long has become the first denim manufacturer in the country to switch 100% of its production to an aniline-free indigo solution developed by colour and speciality textile chemicals provider Archroma.
The toxic chemical aniline is beginning to feature on the restricted substance lists (RSL) of some major clothing brands and retailers. During production, some of the aniline stays locked into the indigo pigment and is difficult to wash off the fabric. The remainder of the aniline impurity – about 300 metric tonnes annually – is discharged during dyeing, which can be an issue as aniline is toxic to aquatic life. In addition, exposure levels to factory workers can be high.
However, Archroma’s Denisol Pure Indigo 30 liquid dye contains aniline that is “below limits of detection” and was first launched in May 2018 as a non-toxic way to produce the traditional, iconic indigo blue that consumers associate with denim and jeans.
“Tuong Long is engaged into manufacturing denim and khakis fabrics in a cleaner way,” says production manager Dieu Tuong. “That is why we had our wastewater treatment licensed – the only factory to be in our industrial zone. So when we heard about an aniline-free version of indigo, we decided to look into it. We then realised that Archroma’s Denisol Pure Indigo actually is an indigo dye and as such performs just as conventional indigo – and we decided to switch 100% of our production to it.”
Tuong Long’s plant is located near Ho Chi Minh City and employs 600 people producing up to 18,000,000 metres of fabric per year. The company manufactures and trades woven fabrics, particularly denim and khaki, stretch and non-stretch, for apparel brands in the US, Japan, Europe, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Demand for its Denisol Pure Indigo 30 liquid is so high that earlier this year Archroma tripled production of the product.
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