Imagine a Large Lake. By the Time You Finish This Article, It Will Be Dried Out

The textile industry is among the 3 most culpable for pollution worldwide, responsible for approximately 20% of the global clean water pollution from dyeing and finishing of products & 10% of the world’s carbon di oxide emission. Sonovia’s novel technology, is about to change that. Goldhammer explains “To understand what Sonovia does, we need to take a look at the textile industry. 11,000 liters of water are involved in making a single pair of jeans and it is estimated that 5 billion pairs of jeans are made all over the world annually. The denim industry alone uses 79 billion cubic meters of water every year, and if that isn’t enough – the wastewater from the dyeing and finishing process is highly polluted, filled with toxins and poisonous chemicals. If you add the carbon emissions and landfills, you get an industry that needs to undergo major changes,”. “Our mission,” says Zeitun, “is to break the paradigm that durability and performance must, by default, mean pollution. We are in the midst of implementing our novel ultrasonic technology, creating a massive transformation in what is still a very old-fashioned industry.”

Cleaning the face of the textile industry

For a paradigm shifting change to occur, it must be driven by a combination of factors. It must be cost effective and offer results superior to those of the original product. When talking about industry it must also comply with the strictest regulations, including voluntary regulatory restrictions, or even ones that have not yet been implemented. Currently, the solutions available are expensive, complex, and not up to latest industry standards, resulting in inferior products, which in the long run will cause more harm than good.

Sovovia’s technology is cutting edge, using ultrasonic cavitation jet-streams to effectively impregnate textiles with desired properties such as odor reduction, fire/water repellent capabilities, dyeing etc. “The SONOfix™ machine generates ultrasonic waves, which in turn generate cavitation bubbles which implode and create jet-streams that propel Sonovia's proprietary chemistries onto the fabric. The chemistries we use are environmentally friendly, stay on the fabric for much longer, consume much less water & energy and are far more durable as we impregnate the material with the desired properties. Our immediate focus is the ultrasonic dyeing of Indigo pigment for the denim industry (Dy)ENIMTM) and odor control finishing for the underwear and sportswear industries (NIOIXTM ), that are ready for commercialization.”, adds Goldhammer. “For the odor control, we have taken an eco-friendly, skin-friendly, FDA approved component, used in cosmetics, diaper rash creams, sunscreens, etc, and with our ultrasonic technology we treat the fabrics enhancing them with anti odor properties, for its entire lifespan.”

Sonovia’s two main partners in this project are German company Bruckner Textile Technology, a major player in the global textile machinery arena, and Delta Galil, a high-tech apparel company and global leader in intimates and activewear. “These are longstanding partnerships with giants in the industry, who intend on changing the face of the textile industry and making it environmentally friendlier, safer and healthier. By collaborating with them we acquire a true understanding of what the needs are in the field, and how we can further advance the textile industry without causing irreversible damage to the planet”, emphasizes Zeitun.

Jeans. So basic. So dangerous

“D(Y)ENIM TM, ultrasonic indigo yarn dyeing of jeans is an extremely innovative technology that we believe would revolutionize the Denim sector. Indigo dye isn’t soluble in water, and old school dyeing processes require 8 to 12 baths of water, and toxic chemistry to color the yarns used to produce the Denim fabrics. With D(Y)ENIMTM we have reduced water usage to 1 bath, using green chemistry only. Zero toxic chemicals used, lower water & energy consumption, simplified process and low waste in production without compromising whatsoever on the way the finished product looks.” Goldhammer elaborates.

Sonovia is working in close partnership with Pure Denim, Italy, a key innovative European producer for elite denim brands bent on disrupting the devastating environmental effects of traditional dyeing processes. Luigi (Gigi) Caccia, the founder, has been quoted saying that “this (D(Y)ENIMTM) technology is the Tesla of Indigo dyeing”. The technology is being tested in lab-scale in the Pure Denim factory in Italy and has shown after only a few months of research & development that it has the capacity to change the face of indigo dyeing. turning it into a sustainable and environmentally friendly production. An industrial D(Y) ENIMTM system will be installed at Pure Denim manufacturing site by the end of 2023 and widely offered to the Denim market during 2024.

Machinery + Chemistry = Revolution

The business model used is the razor + razor blade model, with a one-time capital sale of the ultrasonic textile treatment machine, SONOfix™ and a recurring revenue stream from the various unique chemical products used in the machines applications.

“Between the staff at Sonovia we have more than 100 years of experience in multidisciplinary industry sectors including textile, digital printing, cosmetics, food and more, and vast amounts of knowledge” Goldhammer laughs. “We’ve received a 2.4 million Euro funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, and from the leading accelerator “Fashion For Good” innovation platform. Fashion for Good organization unites some of the most well-known fashion and retail brands in the world, aiming to create a hub for innovative and sustainable solutions for the fashion and textile industry. Sonovia is intimately involved with leading brands and manufacturers in the textile and fashion industry, who are potential early adopters of our innovative technology as soon as it is ready for commercialization. This ongoing relationship ensures our development is targeting & tailoring the right solution for the industry, providing Sonovia with “a foot is in the door”, as they say, to start implementing the Sonovia technology. In the Indigo dyeing and odor control fields alone, Sonovia estimates an annual market of 2 billion dollars by 2023. The textile industry is is expected to shift towards more sustainable production implementations, and we are already there, leading the green revolution by gradually replacing the massive polluting processes used today with Sonovia’s viable alternative technology.”

If you are interested in learning more about our company and our vision, Sonovia is traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE: SONO); you can follow our updates and announcements on the following Link.

Partnered with Sonovia