Dye Affinity

Dye affinity describes the absorbing capacity/attraction between dyes and fibres. This is why water, energy, and chemical consumption are especially important with respect to the dyeing of cotton; both the surface of cotton fibres as well as the dye compounds are negatively charged and therefore do not readily react with each other. Even with assistance from salts and alkali (so-called ‘mordants’), cotton may only take up about 75% of the dye. In other words, cotton has a limited dye affinity (i.e. dye absorption capacity). The environmental issue here is that, generally, large amounts of chemicals and dyes that are used during the dyeing process are not fully absorbed and released into rivers.

We use hydrolysed dyes that ensure almost 100% dye absorption. Furthermore, mercerisation and Naturally Clean reduce the required amounts of dye. Lastly, all water used during dyeing is fully treated with organic compounds before leaving the plant and being returned to the river.