Imagine taking ancient recipes for coloring clothes with plants and upgrading them with modern lab tech. Instead of using harsh chemicals and gallons of water, this work uses things like supercritical CO2 to lock colors into fabric. It's like giving traditional craft a high-tech makeover to make fashion cleaner and greener.
Textile dyeing is traditionally water-intensive and relies on synthetic chemicals. Natural dyes often suffer from poor attachment to fabric and fade quickly during washing.
A natural dye-based digital printing system and colour wheel, along with improved chemical methods to increase dye attachment and wash fastness on cotton.
If you are a sustainable apparel brand dealing with the high water waste of traditional dyeing — this project developed waterless application techniques and improved wash fastness for natural dyes that reduce environmental impact.
If you are a textile printing house dealing with the lack of eco-friendly ink options — this project developed the first successful digital printing and colour wheel created by natural dyes.
If you are a bio-colorant producer dealing with poor dye attachment on cotton — this project developed chemical modifications of natural dyes that improve attachment and durability.
Based on available project data, specific pricing or implementation costs are not provided.
The project aims to increase sustainability in both craft scale and broader industrial scale textile production, though specific industrial capacity metrics are not listed.
Based on available project data, there is no mention of specific patents or licensing terms for the natural dye digital printing results.
The project supports Green Deal objectives by replacing traditional chemical processes with bio-based colourants and waterless application techniques.
The project period runs from 2023-07-01 to 2026-06-30, suggesting that final results are being refined through 2026.
The consortium is heavily research-driven with 4 universities and 1 research institute, but it maintains a 17% industry ratio including 1 SME. This balance suggests the project is focused on translating high-level academic research in archaeology and chemistry into practical business applications for the creative industries.
Contact University of Helsinki (HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO)
Contact us to bridge the gap between these bio-dye results and your production line.
