Israeli startup company, Twine, wants to eliminate the polluting process of dyeing thread by creating a print-on-demand technology that uses no water.
Print-on-demand changed the book industry forever by allowing publishers to only print books that were placed by customer orders instead of printing in bulk and paying for warehouse fees.
Similar to the print-on-demand technology for book publishing, Twine’s Digital Thread Dyeing System will allow clothing manufacturers to feed raw materials into a digital printer, but only as needed. The digitally dyed threads can be used in embroidering, knitting and sewing.
According to Yariv Bustan, Twine’s vice president of product and marketing, he tells ISRAEL21c that:
“The traditional process is both time-consuming and polluting; it starts when a manufacturer sends an order to a thread dyeing factory, usually in India or China. A sample is dyed and shipped overseas to the manufacturer. If it doesn’t match the manufacturer’s requirements, the thread must be re-dyed and sent again. All this can take weeks. Once the color is right, the factory dyes a large amount of thread. If for any reason – from overly optimistic ordering to fast-changing fashion – the manufacturer doesn’t need all the thread ordered, it goes to waste. Indeed, 40 percent of dyed thread winds up in landfills.”
Bustan also states that “The textile industry is the second most polluting industry in the world, responsible for up to 20 percent of water pollution globally.”
Twine has made it so that no water will be used whatsoever. Once a color of thread is chosen, the thread on a spool is then sucked into Twine’s digital printing system which then comes out of the other end in the appropriate color.
According to Twine, the digital printing system is currently limited to polyester with plans of nylon being next in line.
