Of global carbon emissions
Come from textile production — a larger share than international aviation and shipping combined.
Process study · 2026
The water and energy numbers behind reactive on-demand printing.
Textile dyeing and fixation is where most of the industry’s water and energy footprint sits. This page collects the audited figures behind Fabrixa’s reactive-print process and the industry baselines they are measured against — in one place, chartable and citable. Every figure links back to its source and methodology below.
Water
−98%
Audited water reduction per metre of print versus conventional industrial reactive dyeing — a closed-loop process with no fresh-water input and no wastewater discharge.
Energy
−95%
Audited energy reduction at the dye-and-fixation stage: bio-based fixation chemistry replaces high-temperature steam steps.
Overproduction
0
Nothing is produced before it is sold. Industry estimates put unsold fast-fashion output at roughly 30% — an overhead that on-demand removes structurally.
The baseline
Why dyeing is the stage worth measuring.
Textile production accounts for around 10% of global carbon emissions — more than international aviation and shipping combined — and roughly 20% of industrial wastewater. Most of that wastewater is created at the dyeing and fixation stage. A single conventionally dyed and printed cotton tee carries an estimated 70–100 litres of embedded water before it is ever worn.
Of industrial wastewater
Is attributed to textiles, concentrated at the dyeing and fixation stage — exactly the stage a printing process can change.
Embedded water per tee
The estimated water footprint a conventionally dyed printed cotton T-shirt carries through dyeing and finishing.
Finding 01 · Water
98% less water per metre of print.
Conventional industrial dyeing uses tens of litres of water per metre, plus energy-intensive heat for fixation, and discharges the result as wastewater. The reactive-print process at our Portuguese hub runs as a closed loop: no fresh-water input per metre of print and no wastewater discharge. Independent process assessments audit the difference at 98%.
Conventional reactive dyeing
indexed 100
Fabrixa reactive process
2 · audited −98%
INDEXED PER METRE OF PRINT · BASELINE = CONVENTIONAL INDUSTRIAL REACTIVE DYEING · SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PROCESS AUDIT (SEE METHODOLOGY)
Finding 02 · Energy
95% less energy at dye-and-fixation.
Fixation is the hidden energy cost of conventional dyeing: high-temperature steam, applied to every metre. The audited process replaces those steps with bio-based fixation chemistry, dropping the energy footprint of the dye-and-fixation stage by roughly an order of magnitude — audited at up to 95% lower energy consumption per metre printed.
Conventional reactive dyeing
indexed 100
Fabrixa reactive process
5 · audited −95%
INDEXED AT THE DYE-AND-FIXATION STAGE · BASELINE = CONVENTIONAL INDUSTRIAL REACTIVE DYEING · SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PROCESS AUDIT (SEE METHODOLOGY)
Finding 03 · Overproduction
The 30% that is made for nobody.
Industry estimates put unsold-stock rates around 30% across fast-fashion supply chains — garments that carry full lifecycle carbon (cotton farming, processing, freight, retail logistics) and end as waste or incineration feedstock. Across the industry that is a typical hidden emission overhead of 25–35%. In an on-demand model production starts at the order, so the overhead is structurally zero — before any per-unit process improvement is counted.
Fast-fashion supply chains
~30% unsold
On-demand production
0% · made after the sale
SHARE OF OUTPUT PRODUCED BUT NEVER SOLD · SOURCE: PUBLISHED INDUSTRY ESTIMATES (SEE METHODOLOGY)
Context
Where a garment’s lifecycle carbon typically sits.
Typical shares of garment lifecycle carbon, from published industry estimates. The dye-and-fixation band is the one a printing process can compress directly — and the overproduction overhead of the previous section multiplies every band it touches.
Materials & cotton farming
Dyeing & fixation
Use phase (washing)
Freight
Retail logistics
0%10%20%30%40%50%
TYPICAL SHARE OF GARMENT LIFECYCLE CARBON · RANGES AS PUBLISHED · FULL BREAKDOWN ON THE CARBON FOOTPRINT PAGE
Methodology & sources
What these figures are — and what they are not.
98% water · 95% energy
Both figures come from independent assessments of the reactive-print process at our Portuguese production hub, measured against conventional industrial reactive dyeing as the baseline. The water figure holds because the process is a closed loop: no fresh-water input per metre of print, no wastewater discharge. The energy figure applies at the dye-and-fixation stage, where bio-based fixation chemistry replaces high-temperature steam.
10% · 20% · 70–100 L · ~30%
Global-emission share, wastewater share, per-tee embedded water and unsold-stock rates are published industry estimates, quoted as ranges where the sources give ranges. They describe the industry, not our process, and are presented here as context.
Honest boundaries
The audited reductions apply to the printing process — not to a garment’s full lifecycle, which cotton farming and the use phase still dominate. Growing cotton still takes water. A full breakdown of what stays outside these figures is on the sustainability page.
For ESG reporting
Per-SKU water, energy and carbon estimates — with the methodology and process-audit references behind them — are available on request for ESG and procurement teams, within 2 business days. Talk to our team.
Use these figures
Citing this study.
Journalists, researchers and bloggers are welcome to reuse the figures and charts on this page with attribution. Suggested citation:
Fabrixa (2026). The water and energy numbers behind reactive on-demand printing. Process study, audited figures vs conventional industrial reactive dyeing. https://www.fabrixa.com/technology/water-energy-study/
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See it on your own product
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