A tale of two cities. Transforming the fashion and apparel industry with more sustainable colors & effects

We at Archroma, a global specialty color and chemical manufacturer who serves industries such as textile, apparel, packaging, paper, paints or construction, know this all too well.

We have around about 3,000 employees and are present in 35 countries with 25 production sites. Archroma sells into 110-115 countries globally.

The chances are that your very own jeans and t-shirt, your notebook or even your face mask, are made with a color or protective chemistry developed by Archroma.

In an industry ingrained with the use of fossil fuel-based raw materials, we are encouraging a paradigm shift across our operations to move with our customer towards a more progressive, sustainable way of thinking.

We call it “The Archroma Way: Safe, efficient, enhanced. It’s our nature”.

Textiles is probably considered as the second most polluting industry globally, and it is a complex industry with very many stakeholders, where change can often be very slow.

We are delighted to share the Tale of Two Cities - Jamshoro, Pakistan and Castellbisbal, Spain – where that paradigm shift is happening.

The Archroma teams in Jamshoro and Castellbisbal are incredibly committed to explore new technologies and develop innovations that change the way we create colors and effects in our everyday clothing.

In Jamshoro, you will hear about Archroma’s sustainable effluent treatment system, probably the first of its kind in the textile industry, allowing our company to operate with zero discharge to the environment - and to supply clean, fresh drinking water to the local community in an area fast moving from being water stressed towards water scarce.

We have also developed in Jamshoro Denisol® Pure Indigo, a new synthetic indigo dye that is free* of one of the impurities found in indigo: aniline, a component that is harmful to the workers who are producing denim, and also for aquatic life.

In Castellbisbal, the Archroma team develops award-winning innovations for denim and casual wear, such as EarthColors®, a technology that uses raw materials based on natural, non-edible waste that is generated by the food or herbal industry, rather than products derived from fossil fuels.

Or prior to this, Advanced Denim, a range of colors which allows improvements in the application process of the dyes by Archroma’s customers, allowing them to save up to 90% water.

While business as usual is going to take a while to eradicate and there’s still so much more to be done in the battle against climate crisis, our commitment to sustainability and innovation is helping to start the paradigm shift.

Innovation should focus on preserving our planet, because after all, as we at Archroma like to say: “It’s our nature.”

* Below limits of detection according to industry standard test methods