Livinguard +DYE SC pilot at Indian knit mill cuts wash-off water 32% and batch time 23%

An independent pilot at an Indian knit mill found Livinguard +DYE SC cut reactive dyeing wash-off water use by 32%, batch time by 23% and greenhouse gas emissions by 29% per kilogram of fabric, with comparable fastness. Fibre2Fashion reported the assessment, commissioned by Fashion for Good and conducted by BluWin Limited.

How the Livinguard +DYE SC Pilot Worked

Livinguard Technologies is a Swiss material science company that licenses proprietary polycationic polymer surface-charge technology to textile manufacturers, brands and hygiene product companies for biocide-free odor control, microfiber reduction, sustainable dyeing and air filtration applications, according to akta.pro company records. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Madison, USA.

The assessment was commissioned by Fashion For Good under its Advanced Processing Matrix initiative and conducted by BluWin Limited in June 2026. The initiative validates innovative textile processing technologies with the potential to reduce CO2e emissions, water use and chemical use, benchmarking each technology against the relevant conventional process. Livinguard +DYE SC was assessed under the initiative alongside more than 23 other technologies.

The Livinguard +DYE SC wash-off was compared with the mill's conventional wash-off after the same dyeing process, on a 15 kg sample dyeing machine with knitted cotton in one dark shade at 6.92% depth, and the results were converted from a 1:12 to a 1:8 liquor ratio to reflect bulk conditions. During the pilot, the mill's conventional sequence of nine steps, including two soaping baths at 95 °C and two hot washes at 80 and 90 °C, became six steps with a single warm wash at 60 °C. The mill used its existing machines, dye recipes and dyestuffs, and no equipment was modified.

Michel Waegli, Global Head of Business Development at Livinguard Technologies, said: "Collective efforts to reduce the environmental impact of textile production are losing pace in a difficult economic environment. Livinguard +DYE SC changes the equation for manufacturers: it improves their cost competitiveness and reduces resource use at the same time, on the equipment a mill already has. We appreciate the partnership with Fashion for Good and BluWin in putting that proposition to an independent test."

What the Pilot Measured Per Kilogram

Water for the wash-off stage fell from 37.44 to 25.33 litres, batch time from 5.72 to 4.42 hours, steam from 4.47 to 0.54 kWh, electricity from 0.50 to 0.39 kWh, and greenhouse gas emissions from 0.51 to 0.37 kg CO2e. Utility costs, estimated on the basis of assumed utility and water prices, fell from 0.34 to 0.10 USD, covering water, effluent treatment, steam and electricity; chemical costs and machine time were not included in this figure. Cooling water for hot soaping was eliminated. Wash and rub fastness were comparable to the conventional wash-off and met the required standards across four shades tested at laboratory scale at the mill's M&S-accredited laboratory.

What Happens Next for Livinguard +DYE SC

Fashion for Good will facilitate the sharing of the assessment findings with its relevant brand and manufacturing partners, through its partner portal and partner briefings. Livinguard Technologies is currently working on implementing the technology with mills in Turkey, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.