Solution Dyeing
Solution dyeing involves adding pigment directly to the fiber before it’s made into a material, instead of using conventional methods that require more water and energy.
Why
Conventional batch-dyeing—the process of dyeing material—requires a tremendous amount of water and energy, resulting in waste and carbon emissions. Patagonia switched a selection of our products to solution dyeing, an approach that can result in water and carbon savings compared to batch dyeing and releases considerably fewer chemicals from the overall process.
Solution dyeing diverts from traditional dye methods. Pigment is added directly to the material before making the fiber. Since the yarn is created in a specific color (versus first being produced and then dyed), the color is confined within the yarn. Imagine little pigment molecules becoming trapped inside the plastic fiber after it cools to a solid form. The color then becomes intrinsic to the yarn through solution dyeing.
Where We Are
Our suppliers have extremely high minimum order quantities for solution-dyed yarns because they have to commit to the color upfront. This is largely the reason why solution dyeing isn’t more widely adopted, as long lead-times are required and flexibility often isn't possible once the order has been made. It becomes a major environmental liability to change an order or choose not to carry a color into multiple seasons because leftover yarn ultimately has to be discarded.
As a way to incorporate solution-dyed yarns in our apparel, we look at what products will always have select core colors we know we will use season after season, like black and forge grey. This is how the industry is moving forward with solution dyeing—not because we can’t achieve color variations with this type of technology but because of the liability yardage for seasonal colors.
Our materials team is working to identify those products that are the best fit for this process, so we can responsibly adopt solution dye and create the least environmental impact.
What’s Next
One of our main goals in incorporating solution dyeing is to reduce the amount of water used in the textile-coloring process. Other water-free dyeing techniques are being developed, and companies (including Patagonia) are building a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of this process. We’ve also recently learned that solution dyeing could be a potential answer to reducing microfiber shedding in certain colors. We’re working with suppliers and researchers to gather more data about this.
One of the lone downsides of solution dyeing is that it can only be applied to some synthetic fibers, like nylon and polyester. But strides are being made to change how natural fibers, like cotton, can be dyed in a more sustainable way. Research and experimentation are still at an early stage, but there’s promising data that shows we can achieve color without the temperature pressure, water, energy, time and cost of conventional dye methods.
We are continuing to look for efficient dyeing technologies and techniques, and we’re striving to adopt new options as they become available. Ultimately, solution dyeing will be part of a portfolio of technologies that reduces our impact on the planet.
