Some companies have pioneered other solutions; a Dutch company called DyeCoo, for example, uses CO2 to dye fabric instead of water, in a closed-loop system with no waste.

The fabric alone is a nearly $100 billion global industry. Every year, mills consume about 70,000 metric tons of indigo, enough to dye about 7 billion garments.

Method 1. Soak the Fabric in the Mordant Weigh the dry fabric you want to dye, then multiply the number by 0.10. The result is the amount of alum you’ll need. Fill a pot with hot water.

Wet your fabric thoroughly with water, then submerge it in the dye bath. Stir occasionally to ensure even color, and leave the cloth until the desired shade is achieved, checking every 15 minutes ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A sapphire-colored dye called methylene blue is a common ingredient in wastewater from textile mills. But University at Buffalo scientists think it may be possible to give this ...

After dyeing, washing, and drying, the silk may retain some of the smell of the spice. This "turmeric fragrance" is actually part of what makes the fabric therapeutic.

Anjula Kosswattaarachchi, Timothy R. Cook. Repurposing an Industrial Dye, Methylene Blue, as an Active Component for Redox Flow Batteries. ChemElectroChem, 2018; DOI: 10.1002/celc.201801097 ...