INDIGO

Water for Change, Change for Water

The "Indigo" project deals with the environmental and financial challenges of the dyeing industry by treating
wastewater to make it usable again. This helps to promote sustainability and cost-effective water recycling.

The tie and dye textile printing method is currently causing environmental and
Context building health risks due to the generation of toxic wastewater from synthetic dyes
and chemicals. The challenge is to create a sustainable solution that can
maintain the beauty of tie and dye fabrics while minimising their negative
environmental impact through design driven innovation and making the
process lean.

The tie-dye process involves creatively manipulating fabric with folds, ties, or
Tie dye process knots, then applying vibrant dyes and water to create stunning patterns.
After the dye sets, the fabric is unwrapped, revealing a explosion of color.

Although tie-dye PROCESS and the textile industry use different methods for DYEING FABRICS, they share
a common use of synthetic dyes and bleaches, which leads to the production of toxic waste.
tHE TEXTILE AND DYE INDUSTRY

USD 210
The textile industry reached
billion by 2022 in india The textile industry use more water
than any industry globally

Dyeing and finishing processes most of this water is released into river
account for 90% of the total textile without cleaning
wastewater

Due to government regulations, there have been initiatives to establish shared

CURRENT SCENRIO municipal treatment plants where multiple factories can discharge their
wastewater. Ideally, this approach works as follows:

Due to lenient regulations, major fashion and fast fashion brands establish
understanding factories in countries such as India, Bangladesh, and China, but this practice
lacks ethical integrity. Despite clear guidelines mandating wastewater
the moles in the treatment in treatment plants, factories exploit loopholes in policies or resort to
system setting up facilities in remote areas or illegally disposing of wastewater in the
rivers.

Small to mid-scale factories that set up water treatment plants face a loss of
why industry is 25-30% in profits. There have been attempts by factories to jointly operate
not following these treatment plants, but even then, it results in a loss of up to 15% in
profits.
the guidelines?

There are several ways to make the process more sustainable, such as using
area of natural dyes. However, using natural dyes takes longer and is more expensive.
intervention Using less water affects the print quality and increases production time.
Treating water comes at a high cost. In any intervention, the main challenge is
the high cost of implementation. Therefore, instead of introducing something
new, we chose to focus on the viability of the solution.
wHY SHOULD WE CARE?

Each year, India produces 64,000 tonnes of dyes, 7,040 tonnes of which are directly
discharged into the environment. Enough to dye the river Sabarmati!

wE HAVE TO CARE BECAUSE

wE Drink
The water is discharged into river without proper treatment and
then the water we drink gets highly contaminated with
sulphor, heavy metals, soaps, other acids and
salts that makes its poisonous for consumption.

wE Eat
farmers in the nearby area have faced a decline in crop
production, and crop quality, polluted river water makes the
soil infertile posing serious risk to ecological health.

they have a life too

Billions of tonnes of wastewater are expelled from factories
untreated, lowering dissolved oxygen within waterways
to levels unable to sustain life.

wE breathe
q
polluted rivers affect the air uality of neighborhoods within
800 meters causing Respiratory ailments, Skin problems
Neurological disorders in newborns.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
“How can we address the challenge of non-compliance with wastewater treatment regulations in the dyeing
industry due to the high cost of treatment, which leads to environmental and health risks from improper disposal?”

Areas of ideation swap with organic

coloring agents
reuse the water

ideation
process with no make process
dyes consume less
water

IDEAS TREAT WATER RESUSE WASTE WATER REDUCE WATER REUSE THE WATER IN
FOR SOME IN SOME OTHER CONSUMPTION IN THE dying INDUSTRY?
OTHER USE? INDUSTRY? THE PROCESS?

sOLVING FOR people who n lear on tr tion

uc ,c s uc en iron ent
v m dying ind try us

need water ind try ETC

us .

PROBLEMS WITH high o t to

c s Water i highs using le water
ss re ing it el
us s f

IMPLEMENTATION m a e it a e
k s f v ol e prod t
um uc , m a e the
k s need o e le el
ss m v

or
f tran portation o it
s f pro ec ss o leaning that
fc ,

con ption
sum to the ind try i us s co pli ated and
m c co e with high
m s

u n ia le
v b . qu ality drop s. cot s .
 INDIGO
Water for Change, Change for Water

what does indigo do?

strives to reduce pollution lowers the financial burden encourages factories to

by repurposing wastewater on factories by utilizing comply with government
and promoting sustainable shared water treatment regulations on wastewater
water treatment practices. plants, making wastewater treatment, fostering
treatment more affordable. responsible environmental
practices.

conceptual model

Indigo achieves these impacts by repurposing wastewater from

how does it do dyeing factories, treating it to 100% safe drinking water standards,
and selling it as premium packaged drinking water at a high
cost in upscale venues. The revenue generated sustains
community water treatment plants, reduces factory costs, and
promotes regulatory compliance and environmental sustainability
within the dyeing industry.

SERVICE BLUEPRINT
Factory/ Revenue
Assessment Wastewater Packaging
Step dyeing unit Generation
and Setup Treatment and Selling
enrollment and
Sustainability

Factory discharges Indigo collects the

Factories expresses
interest in Indigo service.
wastewater treatment
Actions Indigo team provides
assessment of the factory's Revenue generated from
wastewater into the existing purified water from the
the sale of packaged
needs and capabilities.

community treatment plant.

Community treatment plant

treatment plant.

The purified water is

information about the
service, benefits, and
enrollment process.
drinking water is used to
Setup for accessing sustain the operation of
treats the wastewater to packaged as drinking
existing community the existing community
meet drinking water water with Indigo
treatment plants. treatment plants.
standards. branding.

Frontstage
legal formalities and contracts
factory/mills collaborations with profits are distributed
factories and treatment ensuring treatment of packaging and labelling back to factories
service plant units water is 100% safe for units
human consumption sale in upscale venues
distributors and sellers
consumers consumer gets
aware of the cause

attracting dyeing factories regulars tests and

Backstage for contracts checkups of the treatment mandating regulations mandating regulations
unit

Support government mandates and consumers aware of

Processes guildlines supporting the cause

i am 100% Recycled

not your regular water,

safer for good

water for the cause

concerns

ensuring safety targeting the right mindset of

market that pays people

Why would people opt for pricey water bottles made from
polluted water?
premiumization of there have been upscale or high- brands in Singapore
water can be done established methods, end locations, are already recycling
with right which are successful in such as airports, toilet and sewage
marketing and treating water to events, corporate water to make beer
also have done in drinking standards. social and mineral water,
the past responsibily. AND WHOLE COUNTRY
HAS ACCEPTED IT.

Right brand building + right market = success