Ralph Lauren reveals green cotton dyeing platform ‘Color on Demand’

Ralph Lauren Corporation has introduced Color on Demand which is an innovative dyeing platform that aims to transform cotton dyeing–more sustainably, effectively, and faster than ever. As per the brand, the multi-phased system aims to eventually deliver “the world’s first scalable zero wastewater cotton dyeing system”.

In garment production, the dyeing stage is one of the most damaging to the environment. Trillions of liters of water are used for fabric dyeing every year which generates around 20% of the world’s wastewater. This issue is aimed to tackle Color on Demand which issues a set of technologies that assist in recycling and reusing all water from the dyeing process. Along with reducing the water consumption, the new system also consumes much less amount of dyes, chemicals, dye, time, and energy used in the cotton dyeing process.

Rather than at the outset, this new system can dye cotton at any point in product manufacturing enabling notably shorter lead times for making product color decisions. Ralph Lauren aims to use the Color on Demand platform by 2025 in more than 80% of their cotton products.

Ralph Lauren’s chief product and sustainability officer, Halide Alagöz said that in the fashion industry, traditional dyeing is one of the most polluting practices. Being a global brand, they have identified the need to create a scalable solution.

She added that the environmental impact of dyeing cotton is significantly reduced by Color on Demand. Along with this, it will also enable us to balance inventory in a better way and meet personalized consumer demands faster than ever before.

To create the new system, Ralph Lauren brought together 4 leading experts in their respective fields. This includes textile dyes and chemicals specialist Huntsman Textile Effects; sustainable garment and fabric finishing company- Jeanologia specialized in garment dyeing and closed-loop water treatment systems; materials science company Dow; and Corob, a global technology leader in dispensing and mixing solutions.

In the first phase of Color on Demand, Ralph Lauren used a pre-treatment solution- Ecofast Pure Sustainable Textile Treatment, developed by Dow for cotton textiles. In comparison to traditional cotton dyeing processes, when Ecofast Pure is used with the existing dyeing equipment, it uses up to 40% less water, 85% fewer chemicals, 90% less energy, and a 60% reduction in carbon footprint. This process will be integrated into the supply chain of Ralph Lauren and will be launching products using this technology later this year.