The NIFT-TEA Knitwear Fashion Institute, Tiruppur, India, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Synthetic and Arts Silk Mills Research (SASMIRA) to develop a waterless cotton fabric dyeing machine. The waterless technology uses liquefied carbon dioxide instead of water. The collaborators will pursue technical innovations, research and information exchanges on new ideas. The two bodies would also consult in the area of eco-labelling, helping the Tiruppur knitwear industry to produce technical textiles for the agricultural sector and use of microbial technologies to reduce the duration of effluent treatment in the dyeing business. “At present, it takes almost 72 hours for the effluent to come out through the pre-treatment stage,” says R. Shrinivasan, chair of the Academic Committee at the NIFT-TEA Institute. “We plan to reduce the duration to 12 hours.”