Athletic apparel, footwear and equipment designer and marketer Nike Inc., Beaverton, Ore., is
implementing the Netherlands-based DyeCoo Textile Systems BV’s waterless textile dyeing technology
in the production of a line of apparel for elite athletes that it plans to introduce later this
year, with a long-term idea of scaling the implementation to include a much larger segment of its
products.
DyeCoo’s supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (SCF CO2) technology involves the use of recycled
CO2 instead of water and eliminates the need for auxiliary chemicals and drying. Its current
technology is applied to the dyeing of polyester materials. With an estimated 100 to 150 liters of
water currently being used to process one kilogram of textile material, and more than 39 million
metric tons of polyester materials per year projected to be dyed by 2015 — not to mention the use
of energy, mostly generated by fossil fuels — waterless dyeing technologies could reduce annual
water consumption by tens of billions of liters, as well as effluent discharge and energy
consumption, and, Nike notes, could be particularly beneficial in Asia, where a substantial amount
of textile dyeing takes place — and which holds Nike’s three biggest sourcing markets including
China, Vietnam and Indonesia.
“Waterless dyeing is a significant step in our journey to serve both the athlete and the
planet, and this partnership reinforces Nike’s long-term strategy and deep commitment to innovation
and sustainability,” said Eric Sprunk, vice president of merchandising and product, Nike. “We
believe this technology has the potential to revolutionize textile manufacturing, and we want to
collaborate with progressive dye houses, textile manufacturers and consumer apparel brands to scale
this technology and push it throughout the industry.”
“The technology can also improve the quality of the dyed fabric, allows for greater control
over the dyeing process, enables new dye capabilities and transforms fabric dyeing so that it can
take place just about anywhere. We hope more industry leaders will join us in leveraging this
innovative technology in the near future,” said DyeCoo CEO Reinier Mommaal.
DyeCoo is conducting research to extend the technology’s application beyond the dyeing of
polyester fabrics to include dyeing of other natural and man-made-fiber fabrics as well.
February 14, 2012
