Manufacturers interested in the ColorZen solution avoid additional capital expenditures; the company maintains a dyeing facility and global headquarters in China where apparel producers send their raw cotton fiber for pretreatment and dyeing. The additional time required to ship the fiber to and from the ColorZen facility is balanced out by the reduced dyeing time; the company's dye process takes just one-third of the time of the traditional process, says Hariri. Technical director Tony Leonard claims that with ColorZen's process, 97 percent of the dye chemicals bond to the fabric, creating a significantly cleaner dyebath at the end of the process.
Because ColorZen doesn't rely on freshwater resources for its process, future dyeing facilities can be located virtually anywhere — even in arid regions — and could end up strategically placed near the next link in the global supply chain, says Hariri. As of now, the process works only with cotton and select other natural fibers; the company is looking into expanding the use case for cotton-synthetic blends.
ColorZen initially aims to partner with high-end brands that have the high margins capable of absorbing the modest but additional cost of its alternative dye process. Hariri insists consumers will largely avoid paying a premium for ColorZen products — which will feature specially branded hang tags in stores — explaining that additional costs are mostly recovered during production. "We're going after certain kinds of brands first, those that have already embraced sustainability," he says.
"All brands today want to be sustainable," Hariri adds. "Consumers are demanding it."
Jessica Binns is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance writer specializing in business, technology and social media.