Sustainability is gaining traction in the fashion industry, with companies across sectors aiming to create an eco-friendly value chain. While progress is evident, areas like garment dyeing and finishing chemicals still need significant improvement. Companies recognise the need for water-efficient and environmentally friendly options to stay competitive and minimise their impact on the planet. This is what Officina39 – an Italy-based sustainable chemical manufacturing company – aims at achieving with its textile auxiliaries.
Officina39 provides comprehensive solutions spanning from garment pre-treatment to finishing, including processes like denim laundering, textile finishing in dye houses and yarn manufacturing. The company’s primary focus, particularly in the denim industry, lies in product sustainability as it offers alternatives to Potassium Permanganate and Chlorine which are considered harmful and toxic ingredients for the environment and workers’ health.
New sustainable products to suffice the needs of Bangladesh industry
Recycrom™ is a patented technology of Officina that creates a full range of pigment powders using textile fibres from pre- and post-consumer textile waste. Through a sophisticated production process, fabric textile waste fibres are transformed into fine powder that can be used as pigment dye for fabrics and garments made of cotton, wool, nylon or any natural fibre and blend.
According to Md. Nasir Ullah, Country Head of Bangladesh, Officina39, the company recently launched the updated version of Recycrom™ Ready to Dye, a range of 15 standard stock-ready colours made from a minimum of 65 per cent recycled textile materials and 35 per cent conventional dyes. Recycrom™ Ready to Dye offers Officina39’s customers the ability to choose and create their own colours from a standard colour chart, a palette of darker and brighter shades, ensuring true upcycling of textile waste without any chemical synthesis.
Nasir further informed that the upgradation was necessary because Recycrom™, being a product derived from 100 per cent textile waste, had limitations such as requiring higher doses to achieve desired shades and facing challenges with darker hues.
“Currently, we are engaged in bulk trials, collaborating with natural denim in Bangladesh for the production of garments using Recycrom™ Ready to Dye for the brand Esprit,” mentioned Nasir.
Another product that Officina39 recently launched in the global market is Ecobinder. This innovative product is made from post-consumer recycled polymer obtained by recycling windshields and other types of safety glass. The phthalate-free binder has lower CO2 emissions than petroleum-based alternatives while providing high reactivity, strong adhesive properties, great flexibility and a soft hand. Applicable in printing, spraying, coating and dyeing processes, it can be coloured with regular pigments or combined with Recycrom™ for a total circular solution. It is worth noting that a 60 grams binder is used to fix the colours in one litre of dye.
Officina39 also introduced AquaLess Mission, a project in denim washing aimed at reducing water consumption by 75 per cent. As part of this initiative, the company unveiled AquaLess Activator, a product that provides the stonewash effect without the need for substantial amounts of stones traditionally used in denim washing. Typically, it requires a 1:1 ratio of stones for denim, sometimes even 2-3 kilos for high mechanical abrasion. Managing stones poses challenges, necessitating cleaning and causing sludge in the ETP. Over the past few years, efforts have been made with stone-free enzymes, but the challenge is to provide both chemical and mechanical abrasion.
“Our solution is AquaLess Activator, which requires only 2 per cent to 3 per cent in combination with waterless enzymes, operating in a waterless process. This guarantees the removal of 100 percent of the stones, achieving the desired effects without compromising the garment’s appearance. Customers have warmly embraced this product, which comes in powder form. It contains some stone powder ingredients and additional components that create the desired stonewash appearance,” commented Nasir.
| Officina39 recently launched the updated version of Recycrom™ Ready to Dye, a range of 15 standard stock-ready colours made from a minimum of 65 per cent recycled textile materials and 35 per cent conventional dyes. |
Focus is also on knit fabric finishing
Typically, in knitwear, the industry is conducting dischargeable dyeing in fabric as well as garment, followed by acid wash with sand or similar materials to achieve a desirable look. However, Officina39 has developed a product MadeToFade: a technology for creating faded worn look directly on reactive dyed fabric by continuous application method, producing a vintage effect always on trend in a more sustainable way.
Officina39 Novapret Worn, MadeToFade is the vintage finishing agent that adds value to dyed fabric through easy and simple application, decreasing water and energy consumption, for a unique washed look. It is suitable as post-treatment after conventional reactive dyeing.
Ensuring end-product prices do not go up!
The company is committed to supporting its customer base by developing products for sustainable ranges that do not necessitate specialised machinery as not all laundries may afford such equipment. Another sustainability focus involves ensuring that product prices do not experience a significant increase in the pursuit of sustainability. “Moreover, substantial savings on stone replacement products can be guaranteed by us,” claimed Nasir.
Joint venture with Italy headquarter is in the pipeline
Looking ahead, considering the challenging landscape of the supply chain, Officina39, as an Italian company with main facility and plant in Italy, is mindful of the complexities of shipping products to Bangladesh. It has decided to establish a joint venture manufacturing plant in Bangladesh, located in one of the economic zones near Dhaka and will commence production in the first quarter of 2025. This will improve Officina39 service and support for Bangladesh market, making it faster and efficient.
“The facility will include state-of-the-art technologies. Decision-making and quality control will be overseen by Italian team, which is the primary reason for entering into a joint venture,” asserted Nasir.
Future plans include expanding into printing division
Officina39 boasts of a customer base of over 150 in Bangladesh, spanning both the textiles and laundry sectors. Despite entering the textile dyeing business only five years ago, Officina39 has been successfully able to capture a market share of around € 18 million in a potential € 450 million worth of market size.
To capitalise on this opportunity, the company is strategically increasing its technical and sales teams in Bangladesh. Beyond textiles and washing, Officina39 has plans to further increase its operations in the printing sector, including both screen printing and ‘all-over printing’ (AOP), as well as to improve the production of dyestuffs.
