Alchemie: How to Change a Dinosaur Industry Into a Cleantech Industry
Alchemie has open, honest and customer driven values, fuelled by human spirit, with a team that are on a mission to change the textile industry. In this presentation from the FuturePrint Leaders Summit, Alchemie CEO Alan Hudd hosts a panel on how to change a ‘dinosaur industry’ into a cleantech industry. But what does that mean?
The challenge
Hudd describes the textile industry as the ‘worst that he has ever come across’. There are around 50,000 dye houses around South East Asia, leading to an industry drowning in pollution. The intensity of the issue is the best kept secret in the textile world, and the second biggest cause of global water pollution in the world.
Hudd explains that dyeing contributes to a huge 3% of global emissions, and if we do nothing then this figure will rise to 10% by 2050. If things continue as they are, by 2030 there will be a water shortage with demand 40% greater than supply. To put the problem in perspective, Hudd explains that it takes a human 2.5 years to drink the water equivalent of dyeing one black T-shirt.
The solution
After seven years developing a solution, Alchemie believes they have the greenest digital textile dyeing solution. Hudd explains that what they're now achieving is a 95% reduction of water, a reduction of energy by 85% compared with the traditional dyeing process, a reduction of manufacturing costs by 50% and a reduction of waste materials by at least 25%.
The benefits of the solution are simple: cost reduction, sustainability and agility, whilst matching all performance requirements that the textile industry needs.
WATCH: FUTUREPRINT LEADERS SUMMIT SUSTAINABILITY PANEL
The strategy
Alchemie is implementing a four cornerstone strategy:
Brand endorsement
Cost saving benefits for manufacturers
Tapping into future consumers that push environmental values
Lobbying governments for climate change
Hudd knows that rebuilding the textile world is a big deal, and there are many factors that can help to bring about this change. Firstly, we need 10x more people in STEM than we’re educating. The consumers will also play a key part in securing this change, and primarily the top four textile fashion brands in the world - Nike Adidas, H&M and Lululemon will need to play a big part. These top brands have a combined revenue of over $90bn dollars a year -realistically if 25% of these brands' revenues were invested into making a change, a more sustainable future could far more easily be secured for the industry.
You can watch Alan Hudd’s full presentation here.
