Sustainable denim brand Triarchy has launched its first collection made with WTRLSS digital dyeing technology, which is estimated to use 99.9 percent less water in dyeing and finishing than conventional methods.
The line includes five pieces across three colorways, among them Cowhide, a photographic hide pattern rendered across a jean and jacket-a design Triarchy said would have been nearly impossible with traditional dyeing. The company plans to move all of its denim production to WTRLSS going forward.
Conventional denim dyeing typically rope-dyes yarn through indigo baths, then finishes the material through washing, bleaching, sanding and rinsing. The process can take several weeks and accounts for most of the industry's manufacturing water use, chemical load and lead time. According to Triarchy, one pair of jeans can take around 100 bottles of water-roughly 75 liters-to dye and finish.
WTRLSS bonds color into the fiber itself in a single pass with no pre-treatment or wash-off, making it more lasting than digital printing, which adheres color only to the fabric's surface. Each wash style is digitally designed and dyed into flat pattern pieces before cutting and sewing. The chemistry, called MultiActiv, was developed by Swiss-French scientist Dr. Mickaël Mheidle after three decades in bioscience and digital textile coloration. The WTRLSS brand was introduced a couple of months ago as the next evolution of Lab Denim, the biotech company behind MultiActiv.
Triarchy's line is the first collection to hit the market using the technology, and WTRLSS also has a partnership for a commercial pilot with Bangladeshi manufacturer Ha-Meem Group, which produces jeans for Levi's, Gap, H&M and Zara, among others.
"From the start, we set out to create a fundamentally cleaner and more efficient way to make denim. This collection with Triarchy brings that ambition to life," said Dustin White, co-founder and CEO of WTRLSS.
Along with cutting water usage from 75 liters to roughly two tablespoons, WTRLSS estimates its technology reduces energy use by up to 90 percent versus conventional methods. The only additional water comes from a single rinse wash Triarchy gives before shipping so consumers don't have to wash before wearing.
Triarchy's Taubenfligel said the technology improves sustainability and enables difficult patterns like the cowhide look. Because undyed fabric can become any wash, the brand no longer commits to color months in advance, and fabric minimums no longer dictate production amounts-allowing closer-to-demand output and facility choices based on proximity to customers rather than access to water.
Triarchy stopped using conventional methods in 2016, halting production for 18 months before relaunching in 2018 with a rebuilt system that produced the first plastic-free stretch denim in 2022. Taubenfligel said the partnership expands the brand's sustainability commitment while pushing creative boundaries.
"Being the first brand to launch a collection with WTRLSS is about demonstrating what happens when innovation moves from possibility to reality," Taubenfligel said.
Originally reported by WWD