Textile dyeing is a heavy industrial consumer of water and energy, and the wastewater generated is difficult to treat due to high temperature, high pH, salinity and dye content. One hundred billion gallons of water are used by the textile industry each year. Dyes are persistent and resist degradation by microorganisms. Carpets and fibers are dyed by a variety of different processes at different stages of production, from the fiber, the yarn, or the carpet, depending on the product use, economy of the process, and market demand for the color. Fiber can be dyed as it is extruded, as in the case of solution dyeing; yarn can be dyed as in skein, beck, or space dyeing; or whole carpet pieces can be dyed as in continuous dyeing. This paper compares the environmental footprint of five carpet dyeing processes. Using a life cycle approach, cradle-to-gate inventories are created to assess resource and energy consumption and wastes associated with each of the processes extending back through the supply chain to resource extraction. The life cycle inventories are created based on process flow models of product manufacturing to provide transparency.

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