Transformers Foundation, with support from Naveena Denim Ltd. and the Indigo Council, has released “A Reference for Water Consumption During Indigo Dyeing,”the first cross-industry benchmark for water usage in rope and slasher dyeing systems. The study is based on data from seven mills in Pakistan, Türkiye, Italy and China, and highlights how process control and monitoring can reduce water use in post-dye washing and rinsing.
The initiative arrives as regulators in the European Union, United Kingdom, and United States push for transparency in sustainability claims. Andrew Olah, Transformers founder, said: “Without transparency and specificity, such figures become marketing jargon: just enough to sound responsible, never enough to be meaningful. Real sustainability requires real data, and this report provides exactly that.”
“This report marks a historic first in the denim industry — bringing together mills from across the globe to share verified, third-party data on actual water use,” said Paolo Leidi, Transformers’ Technical director.
“Our goal was not to rank mills, but to equip brands, designers, and retailers with meaningful benchmarks, enabling them to assess how seriously a mill is addressing water reduction.”
2025 Quarterly Issue III
