Archroma and CleanKore Announce Partnership

Archroma, a leading company in specialty chemicals for sustainable solutions, has announced a strategic partnership with CleanKore, a technology innovator aimed at advancing sustainable dyeing processes throughout the denim supply chain. The agreement will enable Archroma and CleanKore to promote the benefits of each other's technologies. This encompasses Archroma's robust dyes and specialty chemicals catalog, alongside CleanKore's patented yarn dyeing process, which completely eliminates the need for potassium permanganate (PP) spraying and laser enhancement at denim mills to achieve the bright white wear effect in garment finishing. The result is a small indigo dye ring with a large, circular bright white core. The technology not only eliminates the chemicals associated with PP spraying and laser processing, which is far safer for denim workers, but also delivers significant water and energy savings throughout the production process from fabric to garment. [caption id="attachment_121738" align="aligncenter"] Archroma and CleanKore combine efforts to support sustainable, cost-effective indigo dyeing processes. (Photo: CleanKore)[/caption]   CleanKore initially focused on eliminating potassium permanganate because it is classified as hazardous when inhaled or ingested, or upon skin or eye contact. The material is also considered highly toxic to aquatic life. Applying CleanKore technology, which works on all denim fabrics including dark indigo, sulfur top/bottom and sulfur black, requires no new equipment or capital expenditure for production setup. This is where Archroma comes in. Its global technical team, composed of denim coloring specialists, will support denim mills wishing to implement CleanKore technology and develop the desired looks and effects, with the right colors and chemical systems for their production setups.

CleanKore estimates that the technology saves up to 15 liters of water per garment, equivalent to one person's daily drinking water needs, and up to 0.51 kWh of energy per garment, equivalent to five 100-watt light bulbs operating for one hour. CleanKore technology also delivers a 10 to 20 percent increase in production volume as a result of faster garment washing and elimination of PP spraying.

  For CleanKore CEO Darryl Costin Jr., the announcement comes at an ideal time: "We have successfully proven the technology with factory partners like Arvind and other denim mills in Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, Thailand and the United States. Industry response has been extremely positive. Having a partner in Archroma, highly respected for its innovations and emphasis on sustainability across the sector, will take CleanKore to the next level." Umberto Devita, Global Indigo Manager for Archroma's Global Center of Excellence for Denim and Casual Wear, adds: "CleanKore aligns perfectly with the three pillars of 'Archroma's Path to a Sustainable World: Safe, Efficient, Enhanced.' 'Safe' through the elimination of a potentially harmful substance and protection of denim workers, 'Efficient' through reduced resource consumption, improved productivity and cost-effective profile. And 'Enhanced' through magnificent colors and effects enabled by Archroma's innovations and systems, particularly our aniline-free* Denisol® Pure Indigo and Diresul® sulfur dyes. We look forward to championing an innovation that will help address many challenges faced by our denim customers around the world. Because this is our nature."