Sustainability challenges of the textile and dyeing industries - opportunities for innovation

This presentation will discuss the concept of sustainability within textiles and dyeing and why innovation in this area is necessary for the future success of the industry. The lecture will present case studies of sustainability issues and discuss examples of new sustainable fibre innovations, developments in ‘green chemistry’ dyeing technology, and the opportunities for innovation. With the primary objectives of textile dyeing being to improve the aesthetic and functional properties of textiles, the demand for superior quality and functionality from textiles is increasing. Dyeing operations must improve and techniques are being scrutinised to be more efficient from the technical, economic and ecological perspective and this trend is continuing. To achieve truly sustainable textile processes and products, step-change innovation is needed and the application of green chemistry to achieve this is fundamentally important.