H&M collaborates with We aRe SpinDye for Creativity Stories series

Color Story, H&M’s most recent Creativity Stories series, features new designs dyed with the We aRe SpinDye process.

Andreas Andrén, the CEO of We aRe SpinDye said that this milestone reflects a growing emphasis on color among fashion brands, as well as a growing awareness of the negative environmental consequences of dyeing textiles using traditional methods.

In 2016, We aRe SpinDye debuted its resource-efficient dyeing process. The company uses only recycled polyester made from post-consumer water bottles or discarded clothes, resulting in a completely circular manufacturing process.

Color pigments and recycled polyester mass are melted together prior to extrusion to produce homogeneously colored yarns without the use of water.

Importantly, a single yarn source can be used to produce multiple fabrics, resulting in exceptional resource quality and minimal waste.

When dyeing textiles with the company’s technology, water consumption is reduced by 75 percent and chemical consumption by up to 90 percent when compared to the conventional dyeing process.

Andrén said that We aRe SpinDye’s biggest driving force has always been the fact that more companies in the apparel industry are paying attention to the harmful environmental consequences that occur when dyeing textiles. We aRe SpinDye has spent its entire life emphasizing how resource-intensive the dyeing process is in the textile industry. It is a worldwide problem that needs further focus. Over the years, it’s been a joy to partner with pioneering and courageous designers who have shown that our resource-efficient coloring system can yield fantastic results. They want to emphasize the importance of color and method in today’s world which can no longer be ignored.”

According to reports, dyeing consumes nearly a quarter of the energy used during the life of a garment. The textile industry dyes fabrics with nine billion cubic meters of water and 168 million tonnes of process chemicals per year.

Andrén said that they at SpinDye are now hoping that 2021 will be the year that more brands in the industry pay attention to the resource-efficient dyeing procedures that are available. They believe that instead of following the harmful model of wet dyeing, they should lead by example and encourage the textile industry to adopt a new, more sustainable dyeing process. By applying color pigments to the fiber at the same time as it is being made, it can absolutely prevent wet dyeing. Water, chemicals, and CO2 can all be reduced to a minimum in this way.

From April 15, the H&M range will be available in select stores and on hm.com.