In an announcement, the Los Angeles-based company said its approach compresses the conventional multi-stage denim dyeing and finishing workflow into a single step.
WTRLSS claims the method can cut water use in dyeing and finishing by up to 99.9% and reduce energy consumption by 90%.
This reduction is achieved by removing multiple wet and dry stages, including dye baths, wash-off, and water-based pre- and post-treatments. The process also avoids the use of “toxic chemicals” and could reduce costs linked to water consumption and wastewater treatment and recycling.
Dustin White, co-founder and CEO of WTRLSS, said: “We believe there is a better way to dye denim that doesn’t force manufacturers to choose between quality, cost and sustainability. That’s why we’ve built WTRLSS to give brands a faster, more flexible and more efficient way to manufacture their denim products. Improving how denim is dyed is not just an environmental challenge; it’s a commercial imperative.”
The company said the technology could allow denim production to be located in more places by reducing reliance on local water availability, which it said could support near-shoring and supply chain resilience and help manufacturers respond to “increasingly stringent environmental regulation”.
Manufacturers and brands are already trialling the process, with early product development under way. Bangladesh-based denim manufacturer Ha-Meem Group has been named as a partner on a commercial production pilot.
In the US, Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center (ISAIC), a Detroit-based non-profit, will be among the first organisations to use the technology within its advanced manufacturing facilities.
In addition, the company is working with “early adopting brands” that plan to launch collections using the technology this autumn, with commercial orders already under way.
As part of its go-to-market strategy, WTRLSS plans to operate as an “ingredient brand,” partnering with companies to make its technology visible on garments.
WTRLSS attributed the underlying scientific work to Swiss-French scientist Dr Mickaël Mheidle, its co-founder, chairman and chief scientist. The process is powered by the company’s proprietary MultiActiv chemistry, designed for digital application without traditional wet processing.
Mheidle said: “For more than a century, the industry has accepted that authentic denim comes with an enormous environmental cost. We’ve proven it doesn’t have to. By combining bioscience with digital technology, we’ve created a fundamentally new way to create denim. This is about the digital transformation of one of fashion’s oldest and most resource-intensive industries."
WTRLSS is initially targeting denim, described as a resource-intensive part of apparel manufacturing, and plans to expand into other areas of fashion and textiles.
The technology is intended for use across natural and regenerated fibres, including cotton, jute, bamboo and linen.
Printing and dyeing in these fibres account for the largest share of the global textile industry by volume and value, and still rely heavily on water-intensive processes.
