The production of clothing involves several steps. Very briefly, and how this usually goes, this is producing the raw materials, spinning the fibers into yarns, weaving or knitting the yarns into a cloth, dyeing and/or printing the fabric, and finally making up. In this blog, we will take a closer look at garment dyeing. Dyeing can be done in different steps of the production process:

• The fibers can be dyed
• Yarns can be dyed
• The woven or knitted cloth can be dyed
• After the cloth is made into a garment, it can be dyed in its entirety

In dyeing, a distinction is made between natural and synthetic dyes. Natural dyes include: Indigo (blue color extracted from plants and often used for jeans), madder (red color), turmeric (yellow color) and walnut (brown color). Synthetic dyes are often extracted from petroleum. Now it may sound logical that natural dyes are a lot better for nature than synthetic dyes, but both have advantages and disadvantages. Natural dyes are renewable resources and completely biodegradable which is positive. On the other hand, natural dyes use more water than synthetic dyes. Synthetic dyes are cheaper and they offer a wider color spectrum. However, disadvantages are that synthetic dyes are made from petroleum which is a non-renewable resource that is also non-degradable. Also, the waste materials from (the part not absorbed by the textile) are often discharged into rivers which causes a lot of environmental pollution. Nevertheless, sustainable clothing brands are increasingly trying to evolve to cause as little or even no pollution as possible during the dyeing process.

Armedangels "Undyed"

Reading this, the best solution might seem to be to stop dyeing clothes altogether. Sustainable clothing brand Armedangels thought so too and they have recently released an "undyed" collection. In this collection, they have taken the entire dyeing process out of the garment production process and thus no dye is used at all. As a result, about 90% less energy is used in the production process. Because no dye is used, all the clothes come in a white-beige color that the undyed organic cotton naturally has. This makes the collection perfect for spring and all the garments are cool to combine with each other because they are the same color.

Thinking Mu "Dyed with flowers"

At sustainable clothing brand Thinking Mu , they are also very aware of the impact that dyeing clothes has on the environment and are trying to evolve in this as well. For example, their hemp (hemp) collection is dyed with the instant color technique that uses natural flowers and minerals. This technique requires no heat as cold water is used and no dryer is needed. Thus, they say their dyes and prints do not dye rivers. They are nature-friendly and eco-friendly because they use only low-impact biodegradable dyes.

Girlfriend Collective

Sustainable brand Girlfriend Collective values transparency and they try to be very transparent about their dyeing methods. For example, they say that their fabrics are dyed with eco-friendly dyes and the resulting wastewater is carefully cleaned and cooled before being released. They even donate the dye mud to local paving plant companies that recycle it into sidewalks and roads. They state that this unique dyeing process allows for irregularities in the fabric that are not considered damage. Keep in mind that the colors may bleed out at first, so wash your new leggings separately or with similar colors. So they are very transparent about this, and they also indicate that because of that eco-friendly dyeing method, some side effects must therefore be taken into account. So despite that, they still choose to go for the eco-friendly method with natural dyes instead of synthetic, which is then very good of the brand.

What does label GOTS say about dyes?

Clothing brands that are allowed to carry the GOTS label or use fabrics that carry the GOTS label must follow certain rules when it comes to dyeing. For example, dyes that can cause allergies and dyes that contain heavy metals are prohibited. These heavy metals can in fact be very harmful to humans and the environment and even in small quantities. In Europe these toxins are banned but because many fast fashion clothing brands produce in countries such as China, Bangladesh they can incorporate these substances into their clothes unnoticed. Because the dye waste then ends up in the rivers from which drinking water must be taken in some countries, this is hugely harmful. However, this does not mean that if the clothing brand does not have a GOTS label that the brand does not pay attention to environmentally friendly dyeing. Many brands that are doing this well are very transparent about this and have a section on their site about their dyeing process. So be critical yourself and do research on a brand if, like us, you think this is important.