the textile industry may adopt a new and more eco-friendly face. The textile technology department of Anna University in Chennai has developed a new technology that involves the use of ozone gas to remove natural and added impurities.

There are many advantages in using ozone. It requires only half-a-litre of water for every kilogramme of fabric processed (as compared to the conventional use of 50 litres of water per kilogramme). One of the most convincing features of this new technology is that it takes only two minutes to complete the whole process while the conventional technology takes six to 18 hours.

The new process also excels in its non-usage of chemicals. The effluents produced are only natural impurities, like wax, in a degraded form. Bleaching, the conventional method, is one of the most ecologically unfriendly processes that uses hypochlorite or bleaching powder, leaving behind by-products that contribute to ozone depletion. Keeping in mind the environmentally hazardous facet of the bleaching process, many countries around the world have rightly chosen to ban its use.