New bio-indigo offering
Exhibiting at Techtextil this week, Japanese chemicals company Sumitomo is presenting a new biotech indigo to the European market. The company has been working on this project for two years and it is produced via microbial fermentation. This makes Bio-indigo an aniline-free 100% biobased pigment. The company is now producing the dye on a semi-commercial scale, Alberto Ronzani, European sales & marketing manager, told Inside Denim.
The pigment produced by the microbes is the equivalent of natural and synthetic indigo and performs in the same way, but it is said to be easier to dispose of in wastewater using simple filtration methods, a Sumitomo R&D manager said.
The carbon footprint of Sumitomo’s Bio-Indigo is expected to be 70% less than that of conventional synthetic indigo, according to company documents.
Product and fabric samples by denim mills Kaihara (pictured) and Senyo Senko were on show on the company’s booth.
