The Horizon Europe initiative moves colour decisions upstream to the fibre stage, aiming to reduce wet-processing intensity while turning natural shade variation into a design feature.
A new European research project is testing whether textile colouration can be shifted from finished fabrics to the fibre stage, potentially reducing water and chemical consumption by up to 50% compared with conventional finishing-stage dyeing.
The €4 million Horizon Europe MELANGE project, led by Finland’s Aalto University, brings together fibre producers, spinners, weavers, designers and research organisations to develop lower-impact colouration systems and the business models needed to commercialise them.
Colour moves upstream
MELANGE is exploring fibre-stage approaches including spin, dope and solution colouration, alongside blending fibres already carrying different colours.
The concept draws partly on the traditional recycling model of Italy’s Prato district, where pre-coloured wool fibres are sorted and blended to create new shades without repeatedly dyeing finished fabrics. The project challenges the textile industry’s preference for perfectly uniform colour, proposing instead that controlled variation can become a desirable aesthetic characteristic.
Its initial focus is interior textiles, a segment Aalto estimates accounts for roughly one-third of global textile production.
Industrial partners test scalability
The consortium includes Austrian cellulosic-fibre producer Lenzing, Turkish spinner Karacasu Tekstil and weaving producer Vanelli Tekstil, alongside VIA University College, Next Technology Tecnotessile, Textile ETP and design and policy partners.
Aalto receives about €1.5 million of the project’s €4 million budget. The programme will develop a MELANGE framework covering design, production, aesthetics, supply-chain structures and business models.
Dyehouses face a different production logic
For textile manufacturers, the significance is not simply another low-liquor dyeing technology. Moving colour upstream could eliminate or reduce entire downstream wet-processing stages, cutting wastewater, chemicals, energy and processing time.
But the 50% figure remains a project target, not yet a demonstrated industry-wide saving. Commercial success will depend on shade flexibility, inventory risk, colour reproducibility and whether brands accept greater aesthetic variation.
If those barriers can be overcome, MELANGE could shift part of textile sustainability strategy from making dyeing cleaner to avoiding unnecessary dyeing altogether.
