Post Graduate Diploma in Knitwear Industry Management (PGD-KIM)

BRAC Institute of Governance and Development

BRAC University

Title of the Project: Dirty Secrets of Denim Washing and Sustainability Factors
(Aspect of Bangladesh)
Subject Name: Communication Skills

Submitted By
Md. Firoz Kabir
Student ID: 19381026
Intake-3, Class-A

Submitted To
Shanawez Hossain, Ph.D
Assistant Professor and Director EDC
BIGD BRACU

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Denim:

One of the strong and durable fabric constructed in twill weave

with indigo and white yarns. The indigo yarns are the
lengthwise or warp threads (parallel to the selvedge). The
white yarns run across the width wise of the fabric (the weft
threads). Denim is traditionally woven with 100% cotton yarn
but now a day it is blended with polyester and also spandex
fibers to add stretch. Today, denim has much diversity like
printed, stripped, brushed, napped and indigo of course.

History of Denim and Jeans:

The term denim derives from “Serge De Nimes”, the French city where it was produced. Two
words come from the name of a sturdy fabric called serge, originally made in Nimes, France.
Originally called serge de Nimes (fabric of Nimes), the name was soon shortened to denim (de
Nimes).

Jeans are pants made from denim fabric. They were invented by Jacob Davis& Levi Strauss in
1873 and worn still but in a different context. Jeans are named after the city of Genoa in Italy, a
place where cotton corduroy, called either Jean or Jeans, was manufactured.

Levi Strauss came from Germany to New York in 1851 to join his older brother who had a dry
goods store. In 1853 he established western branch of family dry goods business in San
Francisco. There he sold cotton cloths among other things. One of his customers was Jacob W.
Davis a tailor from Reno, Nevada. Davis made functional items such as tents, horse blankets and
wagon covers.

Denim @ Wikipedia. September 24, 2019.

Background and the present state of the problem:

Blue Jeans are made from Blue Denim fabric which is popular in the current fashion world and
familiar by the name only “Denim”. The diversity of blue denim is noticeable to make
fashionable products. To realise the dynamic & up to date phenomenon of denim topic has to be
accessed from different aspects. This denim is being used to make the core of jeans anatomy
allow endless opportunities for the designers.

Phenomenon of denim is a complex one with multi-segmental local & global interests where the
economic aspect carries the vital importance. Drastically change in today’s contemporary fashion
promotes this sector as a rapidly growing field. The US and EU market is increasing gradually
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that worth around $60 billion in a fiscal year. Bangladesh is one of the leading denim producing
country across the world.

But blue jeans or denim manufacturers are earning foreign currency at the cost of environment
because it has tremendous negative impact on the environment. Denim washing plants are mostly
established and growing in the country of third world like Bangladesh. It is indicated as the most
polluting industry of whole Textile sector.

The government categorizes textile dyeing and washing industries as “Red industries” (most
polluting) under the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995 and the Environment
Conservation Rules, 1997 and made Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) mandatory for the
factories.

Worries over wastewater @ thedailystar. September 24, 2019.

Denim Washing:

Ever since the inception of blue Jeans in the 1870s as worker wears for coal miners and
cowboys, these iconic garments have evolved to become popular item of casual wear throughout
the world today. Coming in various fits to suit different tastes and fashions an important part of
their appeal is the distressed, visibly aged and worn but still intact and functional. The process of
washing improves the fastness properties of indigo-dyed denim Jeanswear and in addition by
altering the types of washes, various fashion looks are achieved.

Denim washing involves commonly below steps:

 Dry Process(whiskering, destruction, hand scrapping etc)

 Pretreatment
 Basic Wash
 Tinting or dyeing
 Softening
 Hydro-extraction
 Drying

Dry process:

The process through which denim looks more faded and worn which is usually done before
starting any wet process. Some of them are done by machine and some are still manual. Different
types of dry processes are mentioned in below -

 Hand Scrapping
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  Whiskering
 Chevron
 Grinding
 Destruction
 PP Spray
 Acid Splash
 Rip and Repair
 Tagging
 Knicking
 3D Whisker
 Laser Whiskering
 Crinkle with Resin

Wet Process:

To make the denim garments more attractive and fashionable, wet processes play the vital role.
This starts from pretreatment like desizing to final wash. Enzymatic treatment is very essential to
washing and some other types of wash are done today as mentioned below -

 Desizing
 Rinse Wash
 Enzyme Wash
 Acid Wash
 Bleach Wash
 Random Wash
 Sand Blast Wash
 Towel Bleach
 Tinting
 Stone Washing
 Coating
 Bio-polishing
 Ozone Treatment
 Softening
 Ice Blasting
 Desizing

Denim Washing @ Textileaid blog. September 24, 2019.

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In General, the amount of water is used to make one pair Blue Jeans:

Blue Jeans are made by indigo dyed denim fabric which is mostly cotton or blended in cotton
with other fibres. To make denim, cotton is inevitable fibre content that has versatile use and
various kind of blending capability. If a blue jean is produced in 100% cotton fibre then the
amount of consumption of water from fibre production till denim finishing is huge.

In total textile supply chain cotton is using 56% among all kinds of fibre so amount of cultivation
of cotton in the world is high compare to any other fibre. Cotton is a thirsty fibre as for
cultivation of cotton the requirement of water is relatively too high.

Below chart is showing the amount of water which is required in various purposes including
cotton cultivation. Around 1800 gallons or 7200 litres water is required to grow enough cotton to
make one pair jeans.

Below chart is showing the amount of water that is required for cotton fibre processing. Around
380 litres of water is used for processing 1 kg cotton. To produce one pair of jeans at least 2 kg
cotton fibre is required that means 760 litres water is required for processing enough cotton for
one pair jeans.

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Raw denim is used to manufacture jeans that are finally treated in denim washing plant to make
more vintage, worn looking, faded jeans. A wide range of wet and dry processes are done in
washing to make more commercial jeans for customers. In conventional washing method around
150 liters water is consumed for washing one pair of jeans. Below typical chart is showing the
total amount of water consumed per 100 kg jeans with others segment data.

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In conclusion, around 7,000 - 8,000 litres of water is consumed to produce one pair of jeans
from growing cotton to finish the denims in washing laundry.

Sustainability in denim @ Nearchimica. September 24, 2019.

Denim Washing in Bangladesh:

Currently in Bangladesh there are more than 100 denim washing plants functioning at smaller to
broader range to supply quality denim goods to potential markets like USA, EUROPE and UK.
The quality of Bangladeshi jeans is good and sell able. Manufacturers are highly interested in
denim washing due to its profitability. But the impact of these industries in Bangladesh is huge. I
have gathered information through direct contacting with wash technicians of three reputed
laundries that I have described below to know how much water they are wasting in everyday.

Natural Denim Washing Ltd: (Data is collected through direct contact)

It is one of the reputed denim washing laundry in Bangladesh, washing 40,000 pieces or equal to
29,000 kilograms blue jeans per day. Below are the typical data about resource consumption of
this laundry.

Water Consumption/KG Capacity/Day Water Consumption/Day

60 Liters 40,000 pcs or 29,000 KGs 17,40,000 Liters

On an average Natural Denim is using17,40,000 litres water per day and total amount is being
discharged into adjacent water body as waste water. Further, since they are using a very good
biological Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) thus the presence of chemicals and metals into the
water is very less as whole water is being treated before discharging into the water.

Hams Washing Ltd: (Data is collected through direct contact)

It is another reputed denim washing laundry in Bangladesh, washing 45,000 pieces or equal to
32,000 thousand kilograms blue jeans per day. Below are the typical data about resource
consumption of this laundry.

Water Consumption/KG Capacity/Day Water Consumption/Day

70 Liters 45000 pcs or 32000 KGs 22,40,000 Liters

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On an average Hams Washing Ltd. is using 22,40,000 litres water per day and total amount is
being discharged into adjacent water body as waste water. Also, they are using a newly set up
Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) thus the presence of chemicals and metals into the water is very
less as whole water is being treated before discharging into the water.

Dekko Washing Ltd: (Data is collected through direct contact)

It is medium category denim washing laundry in Bangladesh, washing 20,000 pieces or equal to
13500 kilograms blue jeans per day. Below are the typical data about resource consumption of
this laundry.

Water Consumption/KG Capacity/Day Water Consumption/Day

75 Liters 20000 pcs or 13500 KGs 10,12,000 Liters

On an average Hams Washing Ltd. is using 10.12,000 litres water per day and total amount is
being discharged into adjacent water body as waste water. Also, they are using an Effluent
Treatment Plant (ETP) thus the presence of chemicals and metals into the water is very less as
whole water is being treated before discharging into the water.

The Consequences:

 Huge amount of colored water is discharged

into water bodies
 Water is carrying toxic chemical and heavy
metals
 Enormous Carbon Emission
 Unhygienic for Denim Workers

Worries over wastewater @ thedailystar. September 24, 2019

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Sustainable Denim Processing To Reduce Negative Consequences:

Use Organic or BCI Cotton and Recycle Polyester: These all are sustainable
material that ensures less use of natural resources since beginning. Fewer
amounts of water and pesticides are used in growing organic and BCI
cotton.

Cradle to Cradle and G2 Fabric Dying process: These two are

modern dyeing processes where fewer amount of water is used to
dye up yarns.

Latest Technology in washing: Modern technology has been initiated

to reduce bad impact of denim washing such as Laser, Ozonator and
NOSTONE machine. Without water laser and ozonator can give faded
effect to denim garments.

Green Screen Chemicals in washing: Green screen

chemicals have very good sustainability bench mark to
reduce toxic elements in washing.

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 Convince Buyer to Take Sustainable Denim: Brands are now
more conscious and responsible towards environment, so
industries need to check with them to produce sustainable denim
and need to encourage taking denims with fewer processes.

Sustainable denim washing @ Textileaid blog. September 24, 2019.

Significance of this project:

Garments industry plays a vital role in Bangladeshi economy which contributes 87% of total
export. In the last fiscal year, this sector contributed $32 billion export value which is the largest
share of the growing economy. To maintain the demand of buyers, the entrepreneurs of
Bangladesh are establishing washing plants as an integral part of denim garment finishing
process and some of garment over dyeing. With the increase of denim export to the global
market, the manufacturers have imparted their attention on denim projects which includes denim
fabric mills and laundry establishment. To fulfill the daily production capacity in those laundries
a huge amount of water is used for treatments which causes to become lower the level of water
source. According to the recent study of Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT), an average 4
inch of water level is going down in every year in the area of Dhaka, Narayongonj and Gazipur
which is really alarming for the scarcity of water in near future in those areas. Also the carbon
emission rate is high in those areas as well as worker health is at high risk. Considering all those
things, a comprehensive initiative is taken by both buyers and manufacturers to ensure ecological
friendly environment for next generation. Besides, some NGO’s and private companies like
Green Peace, Go Blue, Solidaridad, Pact etc, are working in conjunction with the buyers and
manufactures towards achieving a common goal of green world. Taking this theme in mind the
eco friendly denim washing can be advantageous for denim production in Bangladesh.

In eco friendly denim washing below measures can be taken-

- Use of latest washing machine that contributes to less water consumption

in washing
- Use of green chemicals or most possible alternative less harmful
chemicals
- Rain harvesting
- Joint work with companies which are

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Since eco friendly finishing evolves as sustainable process due to less consumption of resources
therefore it has another advantage that is cost effectiveness. Due to less process and
biodegradable chemicals waters are discharged with less toxicity and also the amount of water
itself is less, thus effluent also less. Eventually, cost involves in maintaining huge effluent
through ETP will be reduced.

Benefits of this project:

a) Understanding overall environmental impact of denim production in Bangladesh

b) Getting idea about direct impact on water & energy consumption and also worker health.
c) Knowing the processes that can make the denim more sustainable.

Conclusion:

Today’s fashion refers to denim which is the main focus of designers and customers. Bangladesh
is the second largest denim exporter across the world where China has obtained first place.
According to the commerce ministry of Bangladesh, one of every six person uses Bangladeshi
denim in USA which is the largest export zone of Bangladesh. To increase the market share of
this sector manufacturer need to enlarge the capacity of production. But the denim production
carries out in dirty places and the laundries discharge a huge amount of waste water carries toxic
elements that are harmful for whole environment. Though ETP is must before setting off a
laundry, there are a few companies who care this indeed. To get rid of those problems,
sustainable eco friendly denim washing can be a good solution. We need to be cautious for our
environment therefore discussions with buyers are necessary to implement the ideas in
production.

After all awareness among the wash technicians is also an important matter that can be raised
through some workshops and seminar. Certainly it can say, without awareness new technologies
and processes will not be implemented practically.

References:

a) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denim
b) https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/worries-over-waste-water-1700863
c) https://textileaid.blogspot.com/2013/12/denim-washing-different-types-of-denim.html
d) extranet.nearchimica.it › admin › newspdf › Sustainability in denim
e) http://textileaid.blogspot.com/2019/03/sustainable-denim-washing-reason-behind.html

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