Putting Invention into Practice: Conversion of the North American Denim Dyer to a New Form of Indigo

摘要

BASF's invention of an improved form of indigo for application was a brilliant idea that required a new manufacturing process and unique logistics, but establishing the product into mill practice required even more effort. To realize the benefits in process costs, quality, ecology, and handling many barriers had to be surmounted. The barriers, chief of which was the cost of the new indigo product, included also skeptical fashion designers, expense of experimentation in full-scale production, and capital expenditure. The stakes were especially high in very traditional denim manufacturing where indigo is fundamental in a mill's entire product range - all of which was compounded by indigo available from only one source. This is the story of the how the denim mills realized the net benefits of pre-reduced indigo after many years of experiments.