Fibre52’s cotton technologies earned the ZDHC seal of approval.
Since 2021, Houston-based Fibre52 has been working to create eco-friendlier bio-based chemistries that prepare cotton fiber for the dyeing process, which traditionally uses harsh solutions such as bleach. Now, brands and mills can find Fibre52’s patent-pending prepare for dye (PFD) and dye solutions on the list of approved ZDHC chemistries.
Months of testing evaluated Fibre52’s solutions against the ToxFMD Screened Chemistry Standards, which ZDHC uses to confirm that the company’s products and residual byproducts are safe for the environment.
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“We aim to be an industry leader by offering a net-neutral, bio-friendly chemistry that’s combined with an easy-to-adopt process for preparing and dyeing cotton,” said Laura Thornquist, president of Fibre52, which sustainably cleanses cotton of impurities before it’s in good shape to soak up dye. “By aligning our practices with ZDHC’s guidelines, Fibre52 is playing a role in reshaping the global textile and fashion industry toward greater sustainability.”
In addition to employing unhealthy chemicals, the process of preparing cotton for the dye stage is known to be a water-guzzling, energy-hogging, high-heat endeavor. Fibre52, on the other hand, claims to produce a “superior” cotton product with up to 40 percent less energy and 70 percent less water.
“We are a process and a chemistry, and so we’re very much committed to making this at an individualized solution, so that it’s a win for the brand,” Thornquist said. “The brand gets sustainability call outs with significant water savings and electricity savings [and] the brand saves a lot of money because we’re shaving two hours of time [off] their production capacity—that just increases their production.”
Fibre52 is engineered to treat cotton to the same standards as conventional processes while enabling the fiber to retain its natural hydrophobic properties and soft hand feel. Mills interested in using the cost-neutral Fibre52 technology don’t need to invest in new machinery to use the plug-and-play solution, according to the company, which is part of the Innovo Fiber LLC portfolio. Cotton treated with Fibre52 is breathable and colorfast, meaning it might not require as many additional textile finishes.
Today, the company is ramping up, with several major brands waiting in the wings.
“We’re in the commercialization phase right now, we’re working on a global scale, trialing with several large brands already,” Thornquist said. “We’ve had a verbal [agreement] from a big brand and are in various talks and in various ways moving forward with five other big brands right now. My goal is by 2025, there will be a Fiber52 product on the shelves.”
