Your Jeans Use Too Much Water, So WTRLSS Has a New Way to Dye Them

Getting pants to look casually blue has required a lot of commitment. Denim, we’re talking about those damn blue jeans, super stylish, but the making story is a lot less cool.

Traditional denim dyeing sends yarn through repeated dye baths, washing and finishing stages. The UN Environment Programme says producing a pair of jeans can require 3,000 to 4,000 of litres of water across its production, depending on how and where it is made. 

And of course, plain blue jeans were not enough.

Then came faded jeans, distressed jeans, and jeans that look like we have been wearing them since the 1900s.

Creating those finishes means dyeing denim dark and then using additional processes to remove some of that colour again.

That can involve repeated washing, bleaching and chemicals. UNEP reported in 2026 that some denim manufacturers are now trying to phase out chemicals, and replace conventional fading processes with alternatives such as ozone.

And yes, distressed jeans can involve a lot of effort to manufacture something that looks like it has already been through a minor life crisis. So unwanted, so not sustainable!

Now enter WTRLSS, a new denim technology startup with a rather appropriate name.

They skip dyeing yarn in large baths, washing it and then removing colour to create the final look.

WTRLSS starts with undyed fabric and its digital system then applies colour and the desired finish directly onto the fabric in one process using specially developed bio-based dye chemistry.

If you want dark indigo? It can print that. If you want faded denim? It can create that appearance too.

Want your jeans to look suspiciously like they survived 3 music festivals before reaching the shop? These designers can programme that as well.

The company says the process cuts water consumption during dyeing and finishing, a claimed reduction of 99.9%. Fast Company reports that the process also uses around 90% less energy than conventional production.

Traditional denim production requires brands to decide colours and finishes far in advance because dyeing and finishing involve multiple stages and specialised factories.

WTRLSS says undyed denim could be kept ready and digitally coloured when brands actually know what they need.

That could mean smaller production runs and potentially less of fashion's favourite hobby, which is making enormous quantities of something and discovering later that nobody wanted it.

The technology is currently being piloted with Ha-Meem Group, a major denim manufacturer that works with brands like Levi's and Gap, with the first products using the technology expected to reach the market this fall.

If technology can give us the same beloved denim without draining so much water, maybe the future of blue jeans could finally have a smaller water footprint.