Business

Nike heralds change with CO2 dyeing

Nike CEO Mark Parker has pronounced the opening of a fresh ‘water-free’ dyeing facility at its Taiwanese contract manufacturer Far Eastern New Century Corp. The idea of a manufacturing revolution is what Nike is eyeing at and wants to initiate a change in the industry.

Compared to water dyeing, which requires separate units for specific processes, the extraction of spinning oils, the dyeing and the removal of excess dye can all be carried out in one plant in the carbon dioxide dyeing process. The CO2 led process involves a temperature and pressure change and drying is not required unlike the process involving water, because at the end of the process CO2 is released in the gaseous state. With the process coming to a halt, the residue CO2 can also be recycled quite easily.

The process, which Nike has dubbed ColorDry, reduces dyeing time by 40 percent, energy use by about 60 percent and the required factory footprint by 25 percent compared to traditional methods, the company says. ColorDry products will be introduced to the marketplace in early 2014.