By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazilian textile Vicunha is investing in Israeli technology designed to make jeans production less polluting, as the global denim industry faces mounting pressure to reduce water use, energy consumption and chemical waste.
The move, reported by news outlet Israel Económico, centers on technology developed by Sonovia, an Israeli company that uses ultrasound waves to improve the dyeing process for denim fabrics, one of the most resource-intensive stages in the jeans supply chain.
A study commissioned by Sonovia found that its technology can reduce greenhouse gas emissions linked to traditional jean fabric dyeing by about 75%. The same study estimated water consumption could fall by 85%, while energy use could decline by 42%.
The market opportunity is significant. The global denim market is estimated at more than $100 billion a year, according to the report, while the indigo dye market is valued at about $1.5 billion. Vicunha holds roughly 8% of the denim fabric market, estimated at between $20 billion and $30 billion.
Vicunha produces tens of millions of pairs of jeans annually for major international fashion brands, including Tommy Hilfiger, Zara owner Inditex SA (BME: ITX), H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB (STO: HM-B), PVH Corp.’s (NYSE: PVH) Calvin Klein, and Diesel’s parent OTB Group.
The conventional dyeing process requires yarns used in denim production to pass through a sequence of rollers and vats containing water, chemicals and synthetic dye. Each tank can hold about 1,000 liters of liquid, and the yarns are repeatedly immersed, dried and immersed again in new dye baths.
That process is typically repeated about 20 times before the yarn reaches the desired color and moves to the next stage of denim manufacturing.
Sonovia’s system takes a different approach. The company applies ultrasound waves to the liquid in the dyeing tank, causing a sudden drop in pressure. That generates tiny cavitation bubbles, which rapidly form and collapse.
The collapse of those bubbles creates high-speed dye jets that cover the yarn more efficiently. According to Sonovia, the process allows yarns to be dyed in a single immersion, compared with the industry standard of as many as 20 dye baths.
For Vicunha, the investment reflects a broader push across the fashion supply chain to lower the environmental footprint of mass-market apparel, especially in denim, where production has long been associated with heavy use of water, energy and chemical inputs.