A Nike-backed waterless-dyeing company, DyeCoo Textile Systems, recently gained a significant new investor in Ikea GreenTech, a venture capital division of the Swedish retailer. In February 2012, Nike announced that it would invest in DyeCoo Textile Systems, a Dutch company that developed the first commercially available waterless dyeing technology. DyeCoo's technology avoids the large amount of water and chemicals used in traditional dyeing processes by using recycled carbon dioxide (CO2). The textile industry is one of the largest consumers of water. Most of the sector's plants are located in Asia, where the scale of the industry's activity can put pressure on the availability of clean water and contribute to environmental pollution. By removing the need to use water in the dyeing process and eliminating the environmental hazard from effluent discharges, the DyeCoo system could bring significant benefits to the region. The first range of DyeCoo's machines are designed to dye polyester fabric. The partnership with Ikea will help to scale the processes for dyeing polyester and speed up the development of processes and machines for dyeing cotton.

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