ISSUE 3: 2021 BEHIND THE SEAMS OF THE GLOBAL DENIM INDUSTRY

INSIDE DENIM ISSUE 3: 2021

Boldness,
creativity and
sustainability
collide

Cotton industry takes a stand / Colour’s natural chemistry

New microfibres warning / UK denim’s comeback / Factory Talk
INSIDE DENIM CONTENTS

Contents
ISSUE 3: 2021 BEHIND THE SEAMS OF THE GLOBAL DENIM INDUSTRY
03 Editor Clare Grainger welcomes 04 Guest comment:
I

readers to Inside Denim, explaining James Bartle

that the magazine’s aim is to look Outland Denim’s founder is pushing
closely at the most the industry to ensure safe and
forward-thinking companies and supportive working conditions in
Boldness,
creativity and
innovative ideas in the global the supply chains.
sustainability denim supply chain.
collide
08 Industry News
06 Global news Ideas and A round-up of recent launches and
initiatives from around the world. developments from across the
supply chain.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE STYLE

Cotton industry takes a stand / Colour’s natural chemistry
New microfibres warning / UK denim’s comeback / Factory Talk
10 The makings of
‘low-carbon’ cotton
Cover A model wearing the latest Cotton is fighting back against its
collection from US-based brand Oak & bad reputation with the help of
Acorn – Only for the Rebelles. We talk to data and regenerative farming.
its founder, Miko Underwood, in the
Dialogue section.
PHOTO: PETER OSBORNE 14 Not only plastic
New studies show a greater
abundance of cellulose
microfibres in the environment
than previously assumed – but
much more needs to be known.

18 A new colour
Editor chemistry
Clare Grainger Demand for natural processes has
seen a new focus on plant-based
Technical editor dyes and colours extracted from
Sophie Bramel waste or by-products.
Consultant editor
Stephen Tierney
Assistant content developer
Charlotte Robson
Associate publisher
Jo Tait
Publisher
Simon Yarwood
Design team
Tim Button
Subscriptions manager
John Collins
Administration
Lisa Fabian-Smith
Editorial enquiries
[email protected]
INSIDE DENIM CONTENTS
DENIM IN-DEPTH Head Office
World Trades Publishing
36 Crosby Road North,
22 Jean Genie: Liverpool, L22 4QQ, UK.
Luca Braschi Tel: +44 151 928 9288
A revolution in consumption,
design and planning is needed,
according to the founder of
consultancy Blue Alchemy.
Global Sales Manager
Jo Tait
Tel: +44 151 928 9288
26 From deckchairs to Mobile: +44 74 1598 9103
denim: UK selvedge E-mail: [email protected]
stages a comeback
The long journey to produce denim
fabric in the UK has resulted in new @insidedenimWTP
collections. Could this be the start
of something bigger?
@insidedenimWTP

30 A new spin on 34 From DPRK to @InsideDenim

‘American casual’ Stockholm
in Seoul A Swedish brand that attempted @insidedenimWTP
A designer and a brand give us jeans manufacturing in
their take on the South Korean North Korea has now made
denim scene. inroads into streetwear.

World Trades Publishing 2021

Contributions: The editor welcomes news items,
38 Dialogue: articles and photographs for consideration and
Miko Underwood possible publication but no responsibility can be
accepted for the loss or non-publication of such
The founder of US brand Oak & material. Opinions expressed by individual
Acorn - Only for the Rebelles contributors do not necessarily reflect the view of
believes education is the key to the editor or publisher.
change. Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy in
reproduction, no responsibility can be accepted
for the technical content or for claims made by
manufacturers for product performance that are
published. Publication in Inside Denim cannot be
construed as an endorsement for a claim or
product by the publisher.
42 Factory talk A closer look 48 Clocking on… Graphic origination by WTP
Printed by Bishops Printers, Walton Road,
at some of the mills and Denise Sakuma, Lycra’s Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6 1TR
manufacturing premises vice-president of brands, All rights reserved. ISSN 2633-9463
around the world: marketing communications and World Trades Publishing 2021. All rights reserved.
merchandising, has a spring in her No part of this publication may be reproduced,
• Kuroki, Japan stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any
• AGI, Pakistan step around Barcelona.
01 ISSUE3/2021

form or by any means mechanical, electronic,

• Cone, Mexico recording, photocopying or otherwise, without
the written permission of the publisher.
Inside Denim is published three times a year by
World Trades Publishing,
IBC Essential reading 36 Crosby Road North, Liverpool L22 4QQ, UK.
MEET THE TEAM

Meet the team

Clare Grainger Editor
Clare has two decades of journalism experience, starting with
local and regional newspapers, followed by six years in
London, working in the financial press and for a superyacht
magazine. She has been with World Trades Publishing, writing
about the textiles sector, for the past nine years.

Jo Tait Associate publisher

Jo has over 20 years’ publishing experience in both print
and digital media, developing effective marketing
strategies, with commercial focus for global clients
including those in the performance textiles and
footwear industries.

Sophie Bramel Technical editor

Sophie is one of the most respected technical journalists in
the global textile industry. With a career spanning over three
decades there is little that she does not know about fabric and
more specifically performance fabrics; her passion and
enthusiasm are infectious.

Stephen Tierney Consultant editor

Stephen has been a writer for 30 years, working on projects
for newspapers, government departments and an extensive
range of private-sector organisations. He has won awards
from Plain English Campaign and the Institute of
Internal Communication.

Charlotte Robson Assistant content developer

Charlotte’s writing career began with a residency at a UK
gallery. Since then, she has published on art, fashion,
materials and footwear, including for World Footwear, World
Leather and WSA magazines. After living and studying in both
02 INSIDE DENIM

Shanghai and Seoul, she maintains a keen interest in the latest

industry developments from China and South Korea.
EDITOR LETTER
Hope on the horizon as the
industry gets creative

W
e find ourselves once again in a period of
uncertainty caused by the covid pandemic. Some companies are
At the end of last summer, when we
published Issue 2, there was a feeling that we using the time to focus on
were mainly over the worst in the UK, and
transmission rates were also down in Europe and elsewhere, but research, with the quieter
sadly we find ourselves in the midst of another wave. At the start of
February last year, many of us met at Bluezone in Munich. Yes, there
were hand sanitiser stations and we were encouraged not to shake
time offering the chance
hands (which felt unnatural), and a few cases had been confirmed
in Munich itself, but coronavirus still seemed far away. While we are
to renovate or change
now addressing the realities of new lockdowns and closures there
is, however, concrete hope of a return to normality as countries Some companies are using the pandemic to hunker down and
begin to vaccinate. As AGI director Hasan Javed points out in focus on research, with the quieter time offering the chance to
Factory Talk (page 44), this provides optimism to the markets about renovate or change. Italian chemicals company Soko Chimica has
a longer-term recovery. invested in a new innovation hub, ready to welcome visitors when
We certainly don’t want to dwell on the bad, because there is so restrictions allow. We also hear from companies busy in their R&D
much good, and this issue includes many inspiring voices and labs, boosting the options for natural dyes. It’s great to hear how
innovative products that are driving the industry forward. James nature – as well as waste from other industries – is providing
Bartle, the CEO of Australian brand Outland Denim, in our Guest solutions, even if some are currently fairly small scale.
Comment, gives a powerful plea for more to be done to protect This issue’s Dialogue is with Oak & Acorn founder Miko
employees in “overlooked” segments of the supply chain. The Underwood, who explains how important it is to acknowledge
company, with others, launched the Supply Network Intelligence denim’s history and suggests ways the industry can address
System last year to increase transparency in terms of workers, and inequalities and become more inclusive.
companies are encouraged to join to strengthen the initiative. We hop from one side of the globe to the other with articles on
We delve into denim’s relationship to microfibre shedding – South Korea’s denim scene and on the UK’s. Cone’s CEO Steve
something we generally hear about on the performance textiles Maggard tells us about the company’s Mexico investments, we find
side but about which there is not much solid data. It was previously out what happened when a Swedish designer made a collection in
thought that cellulose fibres weren’t causing issues in the North Korea, and denim consultant Tilmann Wröbel takes us on a
environment, but what are new studies telling us? Regenerative trip to the hallowed ground of Kuroki in Japan.
Farming is another hot topic: how does this apply to cotton, and
what does that mean for denim? Find out on page 10. We hope you enjoy this issue.

Clare Grainger
03 ISSUE 3/2021

Editor
[email protected]
GUEST COMMENT

GUEST COMMENT

James Bartle, CEO of Australia’s Outland Denim, believes manufacturers and brands
should put competition aside to tackle the industry’s big problems – and supporting
vulnerable workers in supply chains is among his top priorities.

“The denim industry can

lead life-transforming,
generational change”e
ccording to the Walk Free Foundation, one in 130 facts in the fine print, if at all, is the greatest threat to the pursuit of

A women and girls globally are victims of modern

slavery. Covid-19 threatens to only make this
figure even more devastating with millions of
already vulnerable people either out of work or
living on reduced wages due to the pandemic. Human
trafficking, just one form of modern slavery, is a $150 billion
industry, which casts a large shadow over the value of the
sustainable practices and innovation. It slows true progress; and
while it may win positive sentiment in the short term, brands will
suffer the repercussions of disenfranchised customers when the
truth in their slogans is inevitably brought to light.
Combating greenwashing needs a multifaceted approach. We
need to not put the onus on consumers to solve problems that were
created by the industry. We need to empower our impact and
denim jean industry, worth an estimated $70 billion. When faced corporate social responsibility teams with the tools they need to
with these numbers, it’s impossible to ignore. make true change. We need to invest and support research and
When we started building the foundation of what would advocate for that research to influence legislation that will regulate
become Outland Denim, I’ll humbly admit to not knowing a lot and bring accountability to our reporting and advertising. But most
about denim, but I did, and still do, wholeheartedly believe that it importantly, to mitigate greenwashing, brands need to establish an
is the key to solving this global injustice — the idea being to internal culture, driven from leadership, that morally rejects it.
support women who have come from backgrounds of modern Beyond this, we as denim manufacturers and brands have to put
slavery, exploitation or vulnerability, not with charity but stable competition aside and collaborate on solutions to the challenges
and safe employment that in turn allows them to support their we face. We don’t exist in a vacuum so no one is going to win this
family and contribute to the prosperity of their wider community. ‘sustainability race’. In partnership with Bossa Denim, PSG and
It’s nothing above and beyond. Incredible things will happen Nudie Jeans, Outland Denim in 2020 launched the Supply Network
when we simply do the bare minimum in providing people the Intelligence System, which aims to protect and support those who
human rights and support they deserve. And in 2021, consumers work in the earliest and most overlooked segments of our supply
understand more than ever that brands are either part of the chains. As more brands join to become members of the system, not
solution or part of the problem. only does impact increase but cost is reduced for all participants.
Our brand launched with a product range of only black skinny I’m hopeful as we enter a new year that we as an industry will
jeans, at a pop-up in Queensland, Australia, in what was the hottest continue to provide opportunities for wearers to connect with
summer of the past 100 years. People still came in to try on and makers, as often the story of social injustice is told in statistics. In
purchase. We launched an equity crowdfunding campaign just days talking to one of our first staff members about three years into her
before the World Health Organisation declared covid-19 a working with us we asked, 'How is this helping you, this kind of
pandemic. People still invested, and helped us raise over AUD $1.32 employment and opportunity?' She said that because of this
million. Time and time again, we are reminded that consumers will opportunity she’d been able to build a home for her family who
show up for businesses that reflect their values, particularly when it previously lived under a plastic sheet. She went on to say that she
04 INSIDE DENIM

comes to sustainability, even during the most uncertain chapter of was also able to buy her sister back off a man who owned her. This
our lifetime or a 40-degree day. is the kind of life-transforming, generational change that the
As we enter 2021, I believe our greatest challenge to overcome as fashion industry can create, and I believe denim, with its
an industry will be the rise of greenwashing. This manipulative universality, adaptability, loyalty and underlying rebellion is the
marketing that stamps products as ‘100% sustainable’ or hides community to lead the way.
GUEST COMMENT
James Bartle is the founding CEO of Outland Denim, a
company described as being “on the vanguard of the
socially conscious manufacturing movement”. Outland
employs seamstresses who have been impacted by
human rights abuses and gives them a future through
sustainable employment and career progression in its
Cambodia-based production facilities.
PHOTO: ANNIkA SAlISBUry

Incredible things will happen

when we simply do the bare
minimum in providing people
the human rights they deserve
05 ISSUE 3/2021
DENIM GLOBAL NEWS

Global News
Sweden H&M Group has signed a Finland The European Commission has provided €6.7 million to a textiles recycling
multi-year deal to replace virgin cotton project led by Infinited Fiber Company, whose cellulose carbamate technology enables
and wood-based fibres with Circulose, a textile waste to be turned into a cotton-like fibre. Twelve companies are taking part in the
material made from recycled textiles by €8.9 million three-year project, including denim mill Kipas, and manufacturers Inovafil and
Swedish company Renewcell. Pascal Tekstina. They will supply fabrics to H&M and adidas.
Brun, head of sustainability at H&M, said:
“This agreement is an important
milestone not only for H&M Group, but Netherlands The water footprint of polyester fibre is much higher than
also for the wider industry in terms of influential apparel industry calculations have suggested, according to non-profit
having a circular product like theirs group Water Footprint Network. The Netherlands-based organisation said the
available at scale.” water footprint of polyester can be as high as 71,000 cubic metres per tonne of
fibre, which equates 71,000 litres per kilo of fibre.
• Dutch denim brand Mud Jeans has boosted its B-Corp score by more than 35
UK Jeans manufacturer Blackhorse Lane points in three years, making it one of the top Benefit Corporations in the
Ateliers is transforming its allotment into Netherlands. To be classed as a B Corps, a company must meet criteria in areas
what it describes as London’s first indigo such as social and environmental performance. Mud founder Bert van Son said:
garden, run by Luisa Uribe from Indigo “We have identified improvement targets that we hope to integrate in the coming
Bluefields and Liza Mackenzie from Indigo years, such as increasing renewable energy.”
Works. The plot will be used as an
educational garden for learning how to
grow, extract and use natural indigo to
dye fabric.

Spain Technology provider Jeanologia Germany Chemicals producer Rudolf Austria Fibre producer Lenzing Group
has teamed up with 3D garment Group has launched two water repellents will start work on a solar energy project
simulation solutions company CLO Virtual based on natural components. Ruco-Dry this summer which it claims will be Upper
Fashion to allow users to import Bio CGR is made of waste that Austria’s largest ground-mounted
Jeanologia’s files onto CLO’s software. accumulates as a by-product during the photovoltaic plant, covering 55,000
They will be able to visualise denim processing of cereal grains in the food square-metres. The plant will generate
finishes, and then send designs to a laser industry, and is refined to create a water nearly 5,500 megawatt hours per year,
machine. It will enable higher levels of and stain repellent textile finish. Ruco-Dry which will help it meet its target of cutting
collaboration between brands and their Bio NPE is based on a mixture of plant its carbon dioxide emissions in half by
supply chain partners, Jeanologia said. extracts and combines water and stain 2030 and be climate-neutral by 2050.
06 INSIDE DENIM

repellency with breathability and a

natural hand feel, the company stated.
DENIM GLOBAL NEWS
China Wrangler will now be available to Chinese consumers through a partnership with US Karachi-based Artistic Milliners has
Tmall, an online retailer. Scott Baxter, CEO of Wrangler owner Kontoor Brands, said: “One of purchased a denim factory in Los
Kontoor’s core strategic priorities includes expanding to new markets, and launching in Angeles, with the intention to develop
China is a key step towards that.” the business (Star Fades International)
into a “state-of-the-art” design and
Hong Kong The Hong Kong Research production hub based on supply chain
Institute of Textile and Apparel (HKRITA) 4.0 principles. Executive director
South Korea Lee launched online in has signed a five-year collaboration with Murtaza Ahmed said the acquisition
South Korea , with stores set to open in the H&M Foundation. Projects include a gives it a strategic foothold in the US as
March. A brand spokesperson yarn that will capture CO2 from the air, a it expects increased nearshoring.
commented: “From the official launch in bio-based option for removing indigo
South Korea, we plan to introduce a from wastewater treatment plants, and a
variety of fashion items, as well as denim. system for using the recycled cellulose
We plan to position ourselves as an powder decomposed from the cotton in
attractive fashion brand that will appeal cotton-polyester blends to produce
to millennials and generation Z.” regenerated viscose fibre.

Brazil The authorities in the Brazilian

state of São Paulo have confirmed
42 people died in a recent road traffic
accident near the town of Taguaí and that
the majority of the victims were workers
at a jeans factory. Stattus Jeans closed its
factory for three days of official mourning
Bangladesh Denim Expert has made and supported victims’ families.
schoolbags from leftover denim and
distributed them to local schools. The
World Economic Forum praised the
Israel Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has company as part of its New Champions Australia Biomaterials company
announced winners of a technology Nanollose and Indian manmade fibre
awards for its sustainability progress, as
challenge: Israeli agricultural-tech manufacturer Birla Cellulose have filed a
well as its work with USAID to provide
start-up Agritask, which has won €100,000 joint patent application for a
human trafficking survivors and
for its mobile app that allows farmers to high-tenacity lyocell fibre made from
transgender people with opportunities.
adopt digital solutions and remote microbial cellulose. Nanollose uses a
monitoring. Second place went to Indian fermentation process to grow fibres that
agricultural-tech company CropIn, for a it believes could become “a sustainable
digital farm management solution that alternative to conventional plant-derived
enables “complete digitisation” of cellulose fibres”.
farming processes.
07 ISSUE 3/2021

India The Fashion For Good initiative is working with PVH Corp, Kering and Arvind on a
pilot project in Gujarat that involves setting up a cotton farm over 1.5 hectares and using
technology from UK-based group Materra to produce cotton using less water and no
pesticide. Materra, formerly called HydroCotton, combines precision agriculture and
controlled environments to create what it calls “radically resource-efficient cotton farms”.
INDUSTRY NEWS

Tonello launches laser and

Industry News software system

Technology group Tonello has launched a
laser and software system for jeans that it
describes as a “breakthrough innovation”.
The next frontier: What THE Laser includes four laser systems
and new software called CREA, and is the
result of “many months of hard work
blockchain means for denim after listening to customers’
suggestions”, according to Alice Tonello,
Italian jeansmaker Carrera is launching its
research and development director.
first blockchain-compliant range after its
She said: “It is an innovative, complete
supply chain and processes were mapped
laser range and reflects the keywords of
with the help of EZ Lab in Padua.
our vision: simple, digital and automatic.”
Carrera was launched in 1965 and was one
The machines are compact, so they
of Europe’s largest denim makers, but
need less space; they are fast, and easy to
moved production to Tajikistan at the end of
install and maintain, she added. They can
the 1980s to be closer to the cotton supply. It
also be connected to the group’s Metro
now operates a vertical operation, with
software, which measures consumption.
spinning, weaving and finished products,
Other advantages of the machines
employing 2,000 women.
include a system whereby the laser can
“Our organisation was perfect for
understand where the garment is placed
blockchain as everything is integrated in one
and laser correctly. “This helps to save
unit, “ said Carrera owner Gianluca Taccella,
time, and is an amazing innovation,”
speaking on a blockchain webinar on PV's
added Ms Tonello. CREA software is
Digital Denim Week. “We did a small survey
described as solid, beautiful, fast and
that revealed 95% of people don’t know what
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK easy to use.
blockchain is but that 70% are interested in
transparency, so we are confident in the
H&M’s 100% recycled cotton jeans
future it will have a positive impact.”
Fashion retailer H&M has teamed up with
The webinar was hosted by Giusy Bettoni, CEO of the CLASS sustainability platform,
Lee for its first 100% recycled cotton
and included Amit Gautam, CEO of traceability platform Textile Genesis, and Walfredo
jeans, made from 80% post-industrial
della Gherardesca, CEO of Genuine Way, which offers blockchain-based traceability
waste and 20% post-consumer waste.
solutions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The retailer will also share the
Mr Gautam explained that there are three distinct features of blockchain. “It is a way
garments’ life cycle assessment data
to store data but what’s special is once something is written it cannot be modified. The
(including the water, CO2 and energy
database technology can connect transactions to each other, and the third is to do with
impact of each piece, from raw material
tokenisation; that you can take a physical asset and create a digital twin; tokens or
through to end of use) on its website.
assets can exchange hands.”
H&M’s global sustainability manager,
Textile Genesis has worked with Lenzing as well as brands including H&M to scale
Pascal Brun, said: “The H&M x Lee
up its technology, and Mr Gautam believes that brands’ commitments to using
collaboration clearly shows our efforts in
traceable fibres by 2025 will be an impetus for the supply chain.
making fashion sustainable and
transparent. From the use of materials to
water saving methods, we are pushing
Transformers’ campaign gathers pace the boundaries and opening our doors
for how you can design and produce
The Transformers Foundation’s #EthicalizeDenim campaign now has 14 signatories,
denim garments.
companies “that absolutely endorse” the Calls to Action set out as part of its first report.
“I am excited that we also for the first
The foundation is seeking more companies to endorse the Eight Ethical Principles
time will share data indicating the water,
for The Purchasing of Jeans & Denim, with a target of between 50 and 100 companies
CO2 and energy impact of each denim
in the supply chain.
garment during the production process.”
“This Code of Conduct is much like the 10 Commandments in a sense - be honest,
tell the truth, respect one another,” Transformers founder Andrew Olah told us. Once
AFM chooses natural dyes
they reach the target, they will approach brands and retailers and ask them to accept
Pakistan-based AFM has taken “another
and endorse the principles, too. step towards sustainability” by
The Foundation’s white paper, ‘Ending Unethical Brand and Retailer Behaviour: introducing a line of naturally dyed
The Denim Supply Chain Speaks Up’, published in October, uncovers why some denim jeans. Chestnut wood, reseda
brands and retailers reneged on commitments to denim suppliers, and puts forth weld (aerial parts), madder plus roots,
short-and long-term solutions. cochineal insects, acacia bark and
Authored by Marzia Lanfranchi, the foundation’s intelligence director, and buckthorn roots made up AFM’s denim
08 INSIDE DENIM

journalist Alden Wicker, the report includes in-depth interviews with executives dyeing palette for the collection. All dyes
representing a cross-section of the supply chain, including laundries, mills and used came from “all-natural” sources via
cut-and-sew factories in 14 countries. Andrew Olah’s hopes for the campaign and for a "premium European supplier", the
a fairer industry can be found in our online Dialogue section. company said.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Bossa blends nature and nurture
Customers’ desire for comfort and
changes to working patterns caused by
the pandemic will have an influence on
denim trends, according to Turkish mill
Bossa. It has split its fabrics for
spring-summer 2022 into four
categories: Heritage, Dark Side, Sweet
Home and Nature Breath. “We take
inspiration from different sources; from
cultural movements, from social
movements, from fashion trends and we
try to translate that into our denims,”
said Bossa designer Piero Turk.

Orta threads an ‘ecolution’

Turkey-based denim mill Orta launched
its “ecolution” for Spring/Summer 22,
“deeply rooted in ethical innovation,
circularity, transparency, authenticity,
ultra-performance and durability” says
PHOTO: SOKO CHIMICA washing manager Zennure Danisman.
Key to this is Orta’s “golden ratio” of pre-
Soko touts powers of Black Magic and post-consumer recycled materials
and alternative natural materials, which
Italian chemicals company Soko Chimica has developed a product for black denim Ms Danisman said would become Orta’s
that saves water by achieving the same bleaching in single bath of water that standard going forward.
would normally be achieved in two or more, and which also saves time and energy,
it claims. Isko and Johnson meet again
It has also opened an Innovation Hub (pictured) at its headquarters in Firenze as a British designer Miles Johnson has
space for brands, designers and the wider industry to discover new products and gain joined forces with Isko for a second time
design and technical inspiration. While many have scaled back spending during the on another Light on the Land collection,
pandemic, Soko took the opportunity to renovate and invest, with a redesigned lab, designed in partnership with Creative
showroom and office, as well as the new hub. Room and Iskoteca, Isko’s Italian style
Black Magic is one of the first innovations to come from the new hub, offering a and washing research hubs. Each item
way to wash down black denim in one bath, reducing time, energy and water was created with fabric from Isko’s
consumption. R-Two range (containing reused cotton
Black Magic works at 50°C rather than the conventional 80°C, reducing steam, and and recycled fibres), and which have
works at pH10, meaning gentler processes can be used, eliminating the need for been designed with “material circularity
caustic soda. The process means less stress for fabrics, in particular stretch fabrics, embedded into the production
which can result in fewer rejects, according to the company. processes, designing out waste and
Matteo Urbini, managing director of Soko Chimica, said this is just the start of minimising impact,” Isko said. Light on
similar sustainability-focused developments, and the hub will offer a positive space the Land 2.0 “incorporates responsible
for those seeking solutions. “Last year was hard for everybody, but we are from design principles” overall - including
Florence and we believe in Renaissance, it's part of our culture and it's part of our innovative apple-based trim material by
vision,” he added. Cadica - and has been developed using
“eco-conscious finishing techniques”,
the company said.

Arvind backs cotton project in Gujarat Unravelling DNM’s chrysalis

The Fashion For Good initiative has announced a new cotton project, working with Inspired by the chrysalis phase,
fashion groups PVH Corp and Kering and denim manufacturer Arvind, in Gujarat. wherein the caterpillar becomes a
The project involves setting up a pilot cotton farm over 1.5 hectares and using butterfly, denim producer DNM Denim
technology from UK-based group Materra to produce high-quality, long-staple cotton (headquartered in Turkey, with a
using less water and no pesticide. factory in Egypt) has unveiled its
Materra, formerly called HydroCotton, was one of 13 start-ups that Fashion For “chrysalis project”. Shaped’N Relaxed is
Good selected in 2020 for inclusion in an accelerator programme. Materra’s approach made with Lycra and focuses on
combines precision agriculture and controlled environments to create what it calls comfort, fit and shape. The Iconic
“radically resource-efficient cotton farms”. Touch offers softness and sustainability
The pilot farm will be equipped with a network of sensors to track data in real time. using Tencel and EcoVero, among
09 ISSUE 3/2021

This will allow what Materra calls “efficient irrigation”, delivering the right amount of others. Tokio Spirit uses cottonised
water directly to the roots of the cotton plants. The system is also pesticide-free: it hemp and Comformance offers a
monitors pest outbreaks and, when necessary, the farm will use biological pest solution for “environmentally-
control to combat them. conscious fashion enthusiasts”.
SCIENCE BEHIND THE STYLE

The makings of
‘low carbon’ cotton

T
o be true, the entire fashion industry is
accused of being unsustainable. But
the extent of its impact is often based Cotton gets a bad rap. It is accused of consuming
on incomplete or outdated data, and undue amounts of water and chemicals from farm
there is little solid research to set the
record straight. This is not unsurprising given the size
to mill. But it is fighting back. Better data is being
and fragmented nature of the market. Awareness collected to improve statistics and the adoption of
however is growing that the numbers, copied from
one industry report to another, are far from foolproof
regenerative practices is helping frame the natural
or even accurate. The challenge for cotton is that fibre in a more positive light.
calculating the impacts of an agricultural resource is
even more difficult than measuring those of an
industrial process. Energy, water and chemical use in The good news is that they are now increasingly
fields depend on weather conditions, vary widely working together to clear up the confusion in
from farm to farm and from year to year. Cotton has sustainable cotton practices and labels. Among these,
become ‘demonised’, says Andrew Olah, CEO of Olah the Textile Exchange, Delta Framework and US Cotton
Inc, founder of Kingpins and the Transformers Trust Protocol are seeking to align the different
Foundation. “We need to stop treating cotton like it standards and improve industry statistics. “The
comes from a factory. It doesn’t, cotton comes from global cotton community has realised it needs better
farms, and each farm is different.” He says it is near data and it is taking measures to achieve unity on
impossible to evaluate the impacts of cotton farming information collected on farms,” says Brent
on a global scale as conditions on a smallholder farm Crossland, a global sustainability and regenerative
in India will be worlds apart from those on a huge cotton consultant and Textile Exchange ambassador.
agro-industrial estate in Brazil. He cites Farm to Field, Myfarms, the Cool Farm Tool
If that’s the case, then what is sustainable cotton? and Field Print Calculator as new platforms designed
To this fundamental question, there is no simple to help farmers log the various metrics to support
answer. There is however growing momentum to their sustainable practices.
promote better practices and no lack of
organisations, institutions, industry frameworks and A common ground
working groups to help the industry make progress. The US cotton industry launched the U.S. Cotton
Trust Protocol in 2020 to improve the sector’s
practices and monitor progress. It includes elements
of regenerative agriculture, such as reducing soil
loss and increasing soil carbon, measures that it
says improve yields. The parameters tracked also
10 INSIDE DENIM

cover land use, water management, greenhouse gas

emissions and energy efficiency, and will provide a
clearer picture of previously unavailable field data,
it says.
SCIENCE BEHIND THE STYLE

Levi’s supports sustainable cotton farming and

farmers as part of the Sustainable Cotton
Challenge launched by Prince Charles, The
11 ISSUE 3/2021

Prince of Wales in 2017. Shown here, products

from Levi’s Spring/Summer 21 Made & Crafted
collection that features premium denim fabrics.
PHOTO: LEvI STrAUSS
SCIENCE BEHIND THE STYLE

Farmers participating in the programme are invited

to report their data using the Field to Market
platform. “Field to Market has created a data
collecting tool that is as user-friendly as can be,” said
U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol president Dr gary Adams,
speaking at a webinar on “Addressing gaps in
sustainability: why brands need more data”. He
emphasised the importance of better statistics. “The
industry needs relevant and useful, standardised
data, and it needs to be updated regularly,” he added.
As self-reporting will be suspected of unreliability,
independent verification will be conducted by Control
Union on a selection of farms. This, he says, will
provide a measure of accountability. The protocol is
now included in the Textile Exchange’s list of
‘preferred fibres’.
The Delta Framework, which is a part of Cotton
2040, a multi-stakeholder programme created by
sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future, is an
ambitious plan to harmonise metrics and standards.
The cotton industry is
It has identified 15 farm-level indicators across three
aware it needs to provide
main pillars — environmental, social and economic “Maintaining healthy soil will have repercussions more complete and
benefits — covering what it believes to be a on other impacts areas such as water and energy up-to-date information on
foundation for better practices. This vast undertaking use,” says Dr Jesse Daystar, chief sustainability officer farming practices.
has reached out to 54 different organisations, from at Cotton Inc. He cites cover crops as having PHOTO: COTTON INCOrPOrATED
UN agencies to research institutions, and plans to potentially a beneficial impact. This soil enrichment
present a finalised programme by mid-2021. technique keeps roots in the ground and thus
“Our goal is to make the cotton industry more minimises disruption to its biome. The advantages of
sustainable and resilient so that sustainable cotton is reduced tillage and cover crops can vary by region
no longer a niche, but the way things are done,” said depending on soil types and weather conditions.
“Farmers will need to try different methods, and After switching to 100%
Charlene Collison, associate director at Forum for the
organic cotton in 1996,
Future, in a presentation of the Delta Framework. experiment with them.” They will also need to adopt a sportswear brand
Textile Exchange is part of the Cotton 2040 Project, new mindset and accept a changing landscape. Patagonia is now betting
it has also formed the Sustainable Cotton roundtable “Many are not used to scrubby fields,” he says. on regenerative organic
and manages the 2025 Sustainable Cotton Challenge. cotton, used to make a
series of T-shirts.
“These working groups and programmes all seek to
PHOTO: PATAgONIA
harmonise standards and remove confusion,” says Mr
Crossland. He does point out however that they put
much of the burden on farmers. “The challenge is
what do we need to know? The data that farmers
need may not be the same information that
consumers will find useful. We need better statistics
that measure improvement, but we should not ask
for more than we need.”

Regenerative vs extractive
Documentaries such as “The Biggest little farm” in
2018 and “Kiss the ground” in 2020 have helped bring
the issue of regenerative agriculture to the
mainstream. “The topic resonates strongly with
consumers and these films help better understand
what this type of farming is,” says Mr Crossland. He
says regenerative practices have also gained a lot of
play with farmers, as they can apply them in stages.
“regenerative makes sense from a farmer’s point of
12 INSIDE DENIM

view as it covers many different aspects of farming

and can improve yields and diversify crops, while
improving soil health.”
SCIENCE BEHIND THE STYLE
This is a point that Dr Cristine Morgan, chief
scientific officer for the Soil Health Institute, a
non-profit, also raises. “Fields where regenerative
agriculture techniques are applied look different, they
can look messy, and this goes against socially
accepted norms.” She recommends putting signs at
roadsides to display soil health scores that will help
explain why they look unkempt.

Carbon sequestration
A technique that has relied on a loosely defined set
of practices to maintain soil health, and as such
improve its resilience and potentially sequester more
carbon, regenerative agriculture is also being
formalised into a new standard. The regenerative
Organic Alliance (rOA) has introduced a certification
programme which adds a number of criteria to
existing organic standards, including soil health,
animal welfare and social fairness. These, says rOC
director Elizabeth Whitlow, “are missing from organic
farming”. It is designed as a “bolt-on” that organic
certifiers can add to their audits. The cotton and
denim industries are a key focus for the organisation
and the first tests were conducted with Patagonia, a
founding member of the programme, and Arvind and
Pratibha in India.
e3 cotton, developed by BASF, has been
promoting what it calls “carbon positive cotton
farming” for years. A fully traceable system from The rodale Institute, a research institute on Wrangler (seen here
seed to garment, it also measures CO2 levels at each regenerative and organic farming, believes the launching in China) has
stage of the supply chain. Committed to sustainable technique has the ability to sequester all of the invited cotton farmers who
manufacturing, vidalia Mills sources all of its cotton can demonstrate
world’s annual carbon emissions. Scientists do
from e3 producers. soil-carbon and
however question the magnitude of impact it can biodiversity improvements
Major brands are making moves in the same have, all the more so in the absence of a globally to be part of a collection
direction. Levi Strauss has linked its sustainability recognised method of measuring carbon for the Jeans Redesign
goals to those of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. sequestration. It is expected that its application in project from the Ellen
Kontoor brand Wrangler is working with the Soil Health MacArthur Foundation.
cotton farming, coupled with the collection of better
Institute and MyFarms to support farmers switching to quality data, will provide a clearer picture of impacts
PHOTO: WrANgLEr/
BUSINESS WIrE
regenerative practices. This is part of its goal to source and progress made. This might in turn help craft a
100% sustainably grown cotton by 2025. Lee, also a more positive picture of denim’s favourite fibre.
Kontoor brand, has taken similar measures.
How much impact these measures will have on
cotton prices is open to question. For some,
regenerative increases yields, diversity of crops, and
Sustainable cotton production
can provide carbon credits that can be a new source
The Textile Exchange monitors the evolution of sustainably grown cotton
of revenue for farmers. For others, the transition from
globally as part of its 2025 Sustainable Cotton Challenge. The 2020 annual
conventional to regenerative, and then possibly to
report shows that the market share of what the organisation calls
organic, will impact a farmer’s revenues, increase
“preferred” cotton is up. It represented 22% of global production in 2017/18,
prices, and potentially add time-consuming data
with a striking 58% increase over the previous period, growing from 3.8
collection to a workday. Paying more for more
million tonnes to 6 million tonnes. Preferred cotton is that which is certified
sustainable raw materials is normal, says Andrew
by the responsible Brazilian Programme (ABrAPA), BASF e3, Better Cotton
Olah: “It is unacceptable behaviour that a brand
Initiative (BCI), Cleaner Cotton, Cotton made in Africa (CmiA), Fairtrade,
refuse to pay extra for more sustainable practices. It is
Fairtrade Organic, International Sustainability and Carbon Certification
a matter of doing the right thing not because it is
(ISCC), Australian sustainable cotton organisation myBMP, Organic and rEEL
sustainable, but because it is the right thing to do.”
Cotton. The data for 2017/18 does not include Transitional Cotton,
regenerative farming, he says, is not a trend, it’s a
13 ISSUE3/2021

regenerative Organic Certification (rOC) or US Cotton Trust Protocol

good way of farming.
programmes, not formally launched at the time. They will no doubt add to
the global availability of more sustainable cotton.
SCIENCE BEHIND THE STYLE

When textiles were first identified as a source of microplastic pollution,

polyester fleece was rapidly singled out as a likely major contributor.
But new research has revealed the presence of cotton and cellulosic
microfibres, too. These are being found in places where they are not
expected to be, going against a widely held assumption that natural
and wood-based fibres are biodegradable.

Not only plastic

C
otton and cellulosic microfibres are Cellulose is the most abundant polymer in the
being found in the Arctic, in the deep sea world, and cotton a very pure form of cellulose,
and in the air we breathe. A research he says. Once mercerised, however, cotton fibres
study has even collected indigo-dyed switch from cellulose type I to cellulose type II, a
cotton fibres in the far reaches of the term used to describe manmade or
Canadian north. It is not yet fully understood how they semi-synthetic cellulosic fibres such as viscose
get there (it might be through the air), and it is not and acetate. “It is not a naturally occurring fibre,”
known how dangerous they are. he says. Various chemical treatments including
Should we be concerned? Cellulose is a natural oxidisation, or bleaching, change the chemistry of
material, it is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth, the fibre, while dyes form covalent bonds that
and its presence in waterways may come from sources make cotton more crystalline. This, he says leads
other than textiles. But the microfibres being found are to a greater possibility for chemicals to leach
often of a modified type, known as anthropogenically from cotton than from a synthetic fibre.
modified cellulose, which is not a natural substance. In this relatively new field of research, there
Reports indicate that the presence of cotton and are many gaps in the science and literature. It is
cellulosic microfibres is far from trivial. These two fibre not known how microfibres adsorb or release
families represent roughly 36% of all textile fibres chemicals in the environment, nor how
produced annually but they made up nearly 80% of the chemicals affect biodegradation, and even less is
microplastic particles collected in the Southern known on their potential impact on the health of
European deep seas. Polyester came in second (13%), biota and animals as they travel through the
followed by acrylic, polyamide, polyethylene and food chain.
polypropylene. These are the findings of a research Research from North Carolina State University,
team led by Anna Sanchez Vidal at the University of funded by Cotton Incorporated, shows that the
Barcelona, Spain, in a paper published in 2018. natural fibre biodegrades faster than synthetics in
“Though polyester is the main fibre used in clothing, wastewater treatment plants, fresh water and
it is not the main fibre observed in oceans and in salt water environments. “Once dyed and
nature. Natural fibres are found in high proportions, finished, cotton fibres still biodegrade, but
even though it is believed they should biodegrade,” sometimes at faster or slower rates, and more
said Dr Richard Blackburn, associate professor and research is needed to better understand how
textiles technology group leader at the University of textile chemistries accelerate or retard fibre
Leeds, speaking at a webinar organised by The degradation,” says Dr Jesse Daystar, chief
Microfibre Consortium. sustainability officer for Cotton Incorporated.
14 INSIDE DENIM
SCIENCE BEHIND THE STYLE
French brand Kaporal Jeans identifies its
most sustainable products as part of its Blue
Impact label and has taken measures to
remove virgin synthetics from its ranges and
replace them with Unifi’s Our Ocean recycled
polyester from ocean-bound plastics.
PHOTO: KAPORAL JEANS

15 ISSUE 3/2021
SCIENCE BEHIND THE STYLE

Additionally, related research with University of

North Carolina Wilmington is under way to better
understand how accumulated cotton and polyester
Fibres could be a conduit for
microfibres impact aquatic life. “The science
surrounding the environmental impacts of
persistent legacy chemicals
microfibres is quickly evolving and Cotton
Incorporated is committed to leading research to
entering the environment
better understand and address the impact of SAMANTHA ATHEy, UNIVERSITy Of TORONTO
apparel on the environment and reduce the
environmental impact of our clothing.” Cotton
Incorporated is also working with Ocean Wise to
investigate ways to reduce microfibres shedding
from textiles.

Phasing out polyester

As more is known, it may become more difficult to
brush the issue aside. Its emergence has led some
companies in the denim industry to phase out
polyester and seek alternatives for other synthetics.
In Italy, Candiani is replacing fossil-fuel based fibres
with plant-based ones, as seen with Coreva, a
biodegradable stretch fibre made from natural
rubber. Turkish mill Orta Anadolu is said to be
rethinking its policy with regards to synthetic fibres.
french jeans brand Kaporal is addressing the issue
by phasing out the chemicals that can leach from a
fabric and generate microplastics, Beatrice Gonzadi,
the brand’s sustainability manager, tells Inside Denim.
It now sources recycled polyester from Unifi’s Repreve
Our Ocean programme, which contributes to
removing what are called ocean-bound plastics from
the environment. The brand has created a Blue
The research team found that textile microfibres A Toronto University
Impact label for its most eco-responsible products.
made up 87% to 90% of the anthropogenic particles research team turned
“When we launched this range, in autumn/winter its attention to jeans as a
found in sediments collected in the Canadian Arctic
2019, it had a single reference, and we now have 30% source of microplastic
Archipelago, Laurentian Great Lakes and shallow pollution.
of the spring/summer 2021 collection that is
suburban lakes in southern Ontario. Among these PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
sustainably designed,” she says. The brand’s goal is to
particles, 21% to 51% were anthropogenically
reach 50%, and this, she notes, covers the entire
modified cellulose, and 40% to 57% were identified as
sourcing and manufacturing process, including fabric,
indigo denim microfibres, representing 12% to 23% of
laundering and accessories.
all microfibres analysed.
These numbers led the authors to “hypothesise
Anthropogenically modified cellulose
that blue jeans are a major source of introduction of
But keeping synthetics to a minimum in collections
anthropogenic cellulose microfibres into aquatic
is only part of the problem. The number of
environments and serve as a tangible and potent
indigo-hued cellulosic microfibres that a research
indicator of anthropogenic pollution”.
team at the University of Toronto found in its study
Dyeing, along with other treatments applied to
prompted it to focus specifically on this source of
improve the durability or performance of fabrics, are
pollution. The report, ‘The Widespread
thus believed to increase the synthetic content of the
Environmental footprint of Indigo Denim Microfibers
original raw material. “We found microplastic
from Blue Jeans’, was published in July 2020.
microfibres in sediments at 1500 metres. It takes
them a long time to reach these depths, but our
research suggests that they biodegrade at a slower
rate than previously thought,” says Samantha Athey,
key author of the paper. She does however concede
that this could be due to the colder conditions found
16 INSIDE DENIM

at these depths and that cellulosic fibres should

break down faster than synthetic ones.
SCIENCE BEHIND THE STYLE
The team compared the microfibres collected in
the environment with those shed by domestic
laundering, with a series of three types of jeans:
Natural fibres are found
used, new and distressed models of Levi’s 501
Original Fit blue jeans made in 98% to 100% cotton.
in high proportions in
New jeans were found to release a significantly
greater number of microfibres than used ones. “We
the environment, though
found that the microparticles released during
washing were virtually the same as fibres found in
it is believed they
the environment,” says Ms Athey.
For her thesis, Ms Athey is pursuing research into should biodegrade
domestic laundering as a source of textile microfibres
DR RIChARD BLACkBURN, UNIvERSITy OF LEEDS
and specifically seeking to identify the presence of
unintentionally added contaminants, such as PCBs,
plasticisers and flame retardants. “These legacy The Microfibre Consortium (TMC), based in the Uk,
chemicals are no longer in use, but they are persistent has been working on the issue since 2016. Its research
and identified as Chemicals of Mutual Concern in the first focused on the development of a collection and
US and Canada. Fibres could be a conduit for them quantification protocol, but it is also looking into the
entering the environment,” she says. mechanics of fibre fragmentation and is testing fabrics
(200 to date) to build up a knowledge base. “We are
The study of fibre fragmentation collaborating with members to test more fabrics, in
More research is needed to understand the many specific research areas, that will provide the consortium
parameters that lead to fibre shedding, be it during with the data needed to produce conclusive industry
manufacturing or home laundering. Not only is the statements,” TMC managing director, Sophie Mather,
issue complex, it is also difficult to quantify. There is said in an emailed statement. TMC members include
as yet no globally recognised method of collecting some 40 companies among them Fast Retailing, Gap,
and measuring the samples themselves. This has h&M, Inditex, Primark and Target.
been the first focus of research for industry At a recent online forum with its research partner the
organisations looking to better understand the issue University of Leeds, the organisation presented data
and determine its impact on manufacturing. that confirms the complex nature of fibre
In 2018, five industry organisations created a Cross fragmentation. Contrary to the findings of earlier
Industry Agreement (CIA) to tackle the microplastics research papers, it says it is not related only to fibre
issue. Members include trade bodies representing composition, but to the interconnection of all elements
detergents (AISE) and synthetic fibre manufacturers that make up a textile. The results of its research will
(CIRFS) along with European outdoor (EOG), textiles be presented at the TMC Fibre Fragmentation Summit
(EURATEX) and sporting goods industry (FESI) to be held online from March 23 to April 1, 2021.
associations. The CIA published an update on its There is, as yet, no clear idea of the pathways the
research in January and announced that a microparticles take nor how dangerous natural fibres
harmonised test method had been developed and are. “Anthropogenic modified cellulose may not be as
handed over to the European Committee for persistent as synthetics, but we are finding them
Standardisation (CEN) for use as an official standard. everywhere, in the air, in the sea, in animals, in biota.
Early studies focused on
New research suggests that home laundering may Until we can confirm they are not harmful, we should laundering as a source of
not be the predominant emission pathway, the CIA mitigate their release,” says Samantha Athey. She microfibre pollution, new
update says. It confirms that natural textile fibres mentions laundering less and adding better filters to research is needed to
make up a greater proportion of textile fibres washing and drying machines. Some research assess the contribution of
sampled in the air than synthetic fibres, in a textile and clothing
suggests that adding a specific type of enzyme to
proportion of 70-75% for natural and regenerated manufacturing, from
wastewater treatment plants could be a solution. yarn to fabric and to
cellulose materials and 17-30% for fibres of Many questions remain about these tiny particles and garment finishing.
petrochemical origin. It intends to pursue research the debate goes beyond plastic. PhOTO: ShUTTERSTOCk.COM
to better understand what triggers fibre
fragmentation which should help find a solution to
reduce the phenomenon.
17 ISSUE3/2021
SCIENCE BEHIND THE STYLE

The development of a dry

leaf extraction process
allows Stony Creek Colors
to scale up production of
its natural indigo dyes .
PHOTO: STOny Creek COlOrS

Rethinking the
chemistry of colour

W
hether based on recycled
textile waste or natural indigo,
these alternative dyes are, for
As demand for more natural materials and
now, just that, alternative. Very processes grows, so does interest in alternative and
few can equal the scale and
performance of synthetic indigo. When more
plant-based dyes. From natural indigo to recycled
sustainable practices are called for, chemicals agricultural or industrial waste, this new outlook is
companies have, or develop, solutions. The
fuelling experimentation and expectations.
introduction of pre-reduced or liquid indigo some
20-odd years ago significantly improved the
environmental profile of denim dyeing. An
aniline-free solution, developed by chemicals The reintroduction of natural indigo in industrial
company Archroma, is considered a further step in processes is the mission that Stony Creek Colors, a
the right direction. These are without question better company based in Springfield, Tennessee, is
and welcome, but they don’t address the rumblings pursuing with dedication. Its innovative dry leaf
for more natural solutions. extraction process, in operation since 2019, is ready
to be scaled up and should be patented this year.
The company founded in 2012 has faced many
18 InSIDe DenIM

challenges in its drive to make the natural dyestuff

suitable for today’s industrial needs. “We looked to
improve each stage of the process, from seed to mill,
and believe it is possible to disrupt each one,”
company founder Sarah Bellos tells Inside Denim.
SCIENCE BEHIND THE STYLE
The crop itself had faded from the agricultural
landscape, and had therefore not benefitted from
modern farming techniques. To improve yields and
consistency, it was first necessary to identify and
breed new indigo plants. “We are at a stage where it is
possible to make giant leaps in indigo yields, as
opposed to other crops that have been optimised for
decades,” says Ms Bellos, citing corn and cotton
having been incrementally improved over many years.
The perishable nature of the leaves, from which
the dye is extracted, was another challenge. Their
shelf life is in the order of 4 to 5 hours, she says. To
address this issue, which is the crux of its extraction
innovation, the company developed a process that
involves the stabilisation of the leaves to limit their
perishability and allow year-round extraction. This
solved the issue of scaling up production and, even
more critically, provides batch-to-batch consistency.
For Stony Creek, the reintroduction of indigo crops
supports the growing trend towards regenerative
agriculture. “Our indigo plants partner with bacteria
in the soil to extract nitrogen from the air and use it
to grow the plant. nitrogen cycles are critical to
agriculture, as they are a source of fertilisers,” says
Ms Bellos, who adds that tropical indigo is a legume
crop. “leaves are composted after extraction and
stems and roots are left in the field, which improves
carbon sequestration and helps soil regenerate,” she
adds. The company says that this makes its
agricultural practices not just climate neutral but
climate positive, while offering the market a
bio-based chemical.
Stony Creek Colors is currently supplying textile
dye partners and denim mills in the US, Mexico,
Turkey, Italy and China, and selectively integrating
new partners. It claims that its natural dye can be With regards to processing, whether synthetic or AGI Denim is exploring the
used as a drop-in solution. “The purity of our natural, indigo needs to be made soluble. “But each possibilities of using
solution has its advantages and disadvantages,” says natural indigo.
plant-based indigo dye is still somewhat lower than
PHOTO: AGI DenIM
that of petroleum-based dyes, but the unwanted Mr Tekin. Besides its steeper price, natural indigo
elements are non-toxic,” says Ms Bellos. Current lacks the uniformity of synthetic dyes and often
production is consistently sold out, but the requires longer production times. “There is no
company’s goal is to make it available season after standard recipe for natural indigo,” he says, and
season without disrupting a brand’s supply chain. depending on weather conditions, the plant will
“We know now that our plant-based indigo solution produce a greener or yellower shade. Among its
works at industrial mills and will work with those advantages, he lists its renewability, biodegradability,
companies that see the value of using natural indigo.” non-toxicity and skin friendliness. Ideally,
plant-derived indigo should be processed using
Changing views natural and non-toxic chemistry, but it may require
natural indigo may in time find its place on the the addition of synthetic chemistry to obtain better
market, agrees Ali Tekin, head of r&D for results or brighter colours. “We are working on all of
Pakistan-based AGI Denim. He compares its these issues today, so as to be ready for the future,”
evolution to that of organic foods and organic says Mr Tekin. He believes that natural indigo could
cotton. “At first, they were much more expensive make up 15% to 20% of the market in five years. Other
than their conventionally grown equivalents but with sustainable processes, such as waterless dyeing, he
time, quantities increased and prices went down. points out, went from virtually zero to mainstream in
I think natural dyes will follow a similar path. They five to six years. As part of its strategy to favour more
19 ISSUe 3/2021

require more effort at first, and not all brands and sustainable processes, AGI has introduced a natural,
consumers are ready to make the shift. But if there organic reducing agent, which replaces salt with
are enough that are willing, it can turn into a viable glucose and eliminates hydrosulphites, leaving no
market,” he says. toxic residue in wastewater.
SCIENCE BEHIND THE STYLE

In its exploration of alternative dyes, AGI is also

working with nature Coatings. The California-based
company founded by Jane Palmer uses FSC-certified
wood waste to make a high-performance black
pigment. “This solution solves the issue of
petrol-based carbon black which has many health
concerns,” says Mr Tekin. nature Coatings’ closed-loop
manufacturing process is very clean, requires no
external source of energy and emits only steam. It is
also easy to process, resists humidity and UVs, and is a
cost-neutral high-performance dye, he says.
Plants and agricultural waste are not the only
source of novel pigments in the denim industry.
Using old clothes to dye new ones is the innovative
and sustainable solution invented and patented by
Andrea Vernier, CeO of Officina +39. The process
known as recycrom starts with leftover fabric scraps
in cotton or cellulosic fibres (tolerance for other
fibres is low, in the order of 3% to 5%), these are
sorted by colour and ground into powder using an
eight-step process that is mainly mechanical, he tells
Inside Denim. And, he says, it is growing demand for Officina +39 has developed
Archroma was a precursor in the recycling of a version of Recycrom, its
natural dyes that first inspired him to seek a more
agricultural waste into colourants when it introduced patented process that
sustainable solution.
its earthColors dyes for cotton and cellulose fabrics makes pigments from
recycrom is now reaching industrial scale. The fabric scraps, that creates
and garments. Coming from a well-established
company recently dyed 150,000 pieces with a dirty, vintage feel.
supplier of chemicals, they may help change the
pre-consumer waste for G-Star and OVS, and PHOTO: OFFICInA +39
industry’s views on plant-based chemistry. The
produced recycrom dyes from unsold Inditex group
company’s latest development, an indigo that is near
garments to make a capsule collection. The company
aniline-free (the presence of aniline is below limits of
is now looking into the possibility of recycling fabrics
detection by standard test methods), has been
made in other fibres into dyes and is stepping up
adopted by Soorty.
trials with second-hand clothing. Through its
With its Smart Indigo technology, the
participation in the Fashion For Good incubator
Pakistan-based denim manufacturer uses electricity
programme, Officina +39 is working with reverse
instead of chemistry to reduce liquid indigo. This, the
logistics and I:CO on these projects. The company
company says, removes many of the harmful
has also expanded the options, introducing recycrom
chemicals that end up in wastewater. Soorty is
for screen printing. It is working on developing
experimenting with natural indigo, another process
solutions for fabric dyeing and for coatings.
that discharges cleaner wastewater, it claims.
A shift to natural processes
Heightened interest in natural or plant-based
chemicals can be seen throughout the denim industry
and not only in dyes. Italian mill Candiani introduced
a chitosan-based alternative to PVA with kitotex, and
then a plant-based solution known as V-sizing.
Italian laundry specialist Tonello is developing
dyes made from vegetable food waste, using a
natural mordant, in its Wake process. Though
processing is faster than that of indigo, not all shades
offer the performance levels of synthetic dyes, the
company says. A fixing agent can be added, but that
will go against the “all-natural” claim, r&D team
member Carlo reniero told Inside Denim.
20 InSIDe DenIM

The black pigment developed by Nature

Coatings is made from wood waste.
PHOTO: nATUre COATInGS
SCIENCE BEHIND THE STYLE
The optimisation of dyeing operations is an Sharabati Denim’s Sahara
ongoing process at Sharabati Denim. The process uses a new
egypt-based company has focused on the chemical to better fix the
indigo on the warp yarn,
automation of the dyeing machines themselves, removing wash steps for
enabling the company to increase quality, efficiency unfixed dyestuff.
and production capacity. The Sahara process it PHOTO:SHArABATI DenIM
developed uses a new chemical to improve indigo
uptake on warp yarns and reduce the number of
washes needed to remove unfixed dyestuff. Foam
and nitrogen dyeing processes are other more
sustainable measures in development.
Iskur Denim has recently focused on reducing the
amount of dyestuff needed to make very dark shades
of blue. The result, Blue Zircone, is said to cut water
use by 95% and offer long-lasting colour that does
not fade, even after 40 home laundries. The
Turkey-based company introduced We Are Water
(WAW), a certified water-saving indigo dyeing
technology in 2017, which will be rolled out across all
of its denim pieces by the end of 2021.

Finding the right balance

Without denying that demand for more natural
products is up, Günther Widler, DyStar’s head of
technology for denim, believes the market needs to
find the right balance between natural and synthetic
indigo. He points out that it may be difficult for
plant-based indigo to reach the level of performance
and optimisation that synthetic indigo has Providing sufficient quantities of plant-based dyes
benefitted from since it was first invented 125 years for an industry that currently consumes in the order of
ago. In 2017, the chemicals company introduced 50,000 to 70,000 tonnes a year of synthetic indigo is
Cadira Denim, a resource-saving concept based on its not feasible and not in the interests of the industry
pre-reduced Indigo Vat 40% Solution combined with nor, for that matter, the world. “The surfaces required
a biodegradable organic reducing agent (Sera Con to grow the amount of dyestuff the denim industry
C-rDA), which, he says, “does the job without the uses would be gigantic, possibly the size of
negative effects of the salt.” It is part of the Bangladesh, and would replace food crops,” he posits.
company’s focus on reducing the footprint and side It is not possible to rely entirely on natural indigo, he
effects of indigo chemistry, furthered by the launch insists, other than for special collections and capsule
of indigo spray in 2018. lines. “In the future, the situation may change with the
DyStar is now testing the possibility of filtering out development of biotech dyes. But these processes
indigo pigments after dyeing so as to release cleaner require sugar, and may lead to the same discussion
wastewater, which Mr Günther says could be reused with regards to land use. The question would then be:
in some processes such as pre-treatments, leading should sugar be used to make dyes or to feed people?
ultimately to a closed loop use of water and indigo in Food for thought,” he says.
factories. “We are working with chemists to find the Plant-based dyes may require extra processing
best and most environmentally-friendly solution. It is steps in the backend of the supply chain, which may
our responsibility to use the right chemistry in the offset the sustainable nature of these products, as a
right quantities,” he says. spokesperson for Sharabati Denim points out.
“natural dyestuffs are not yet perfectly suited to
industrial processes,” agrees Ali Tekin at AGI Denim,
but he believes they could, in time, become a viable
solution and could address market demand for more
natural and sustainable jeans.
The outlook for bio- and plant-based chemicals is
mostly positive. Some solutions, such as nature
Coatings’ bio-black, tick all of the boxes with regards to
21 ISSUe3/2021

performance and price. But blue is another story, and

natural indigo faces the daunting task of competing
with synthetic indigo, whose market dominance has
been largely unchallenged, until now.
JEAN GENIE

Now is a good time to explore new areas of finishing and develop novel
techniques, according to Luca Braschi from denim consultancy
Blue Alchemy. He acts as a bridge between brand, laundry and
suppliers, advising on practical ways to achieve designers’ ideas using
the most sustainable methods.

Translating the vision

onto the canvas
Q Which development has made the most impact over the past
five years? Are there any that have more potential?
A We are witnessing a new era of denim finishing with methods and
treatments that have less impact on the environment, operators and
consumers. While the conventional approach left little to creativity,
now there is ample room for inventiveness and innovation. New
technologies and chemicals have been invented and are evolving, I
wouldn't be surprised if there is a new one next week.
However, there is room for improvement, and I am focusing my
efforts on unexplored areas, such as the interaction between new
chemistries and raw materials with ozone and lasers. Lasers have
been improving rapidly with some good results and this "new"
technology has had the greatest evolutionary support in terms of
software and control.
Reducing water consumption is key, which means washing using
minimal water, but these practices can pollute the garments with
indigo discharged during treatment, which tends to redeposit. To
Room with a view: the Blue Alchemy studio in the Italian countyside.
fix this, peroxidase is a product that is underused; it cleans the ALL PHOTOS: BLue ALcHemy
water, reducing rinsing, making garments bright and enhances
contrasts. I consider this enzyme a premium look enhancer, as it
merges the laser pattern with the wash look. In fact, when I don’t Fabrics with recycled cotton are the opposite: they are more
use it, the laser pattern looks fake and not in tune with the natural attractive with medium-dark washes. This is because the weft of the
abrasion of the garment. In addition to technologies and chemistry, recycled cotton is not white but rather blue, so it is difficult to obtain
there is value in tools like new-generation abrasive materials that bright contrasts and beautiful points of white. Some types of natural
don’t create the dust and sludge of pumice stones. dyes are rather superficial and stay on top of the fibre, so it is
recommended to use the “old” effect obtained with both mechanical
How easy is it to adapt finishing processes when working with and laser abrasion. Dark tones cannot be obtained. It is also very
hemp or recycled fibres? Or with natural dyes? important to select the correct binder to improve the fastness.
We start from the assumption that the textile industries don’t want
to make finishing complicated, keeping the classic cotton fabric What qualities are important for someone in your position and
behaviour as a reference. each fibre has its own natural structure; how do you keep up to date?
hemp and linen are a different length to cotton and this must be I worked at chemical companies for many years where I gained not
taken into account – these fabrics are quite delicate and risk tearing only experience but also a passion for denim, and visited laundries
if the washing is too aggressive. They are suitable for "vintage" around the world. I consider every experience, every technique and
washing, or medium-light washes, creating accentuated piece of advice as tools I can draw on. A quality that characterises me
salt-and-pepper effects and are generally blends that give a nice
22 INSIDe DeNIm

is the aesthetic sense – the creation of the look – which comes from
look and cast. understanding the behaviour of fabrics in different conditions,
enhancing their characteristics. After working for creative studios and
brands, I learned to translate the requests of designers into practical
results, from the concept and the mood to the finished product.
JEAN GENIE
Luca Braschi advises brands and retailers
through his consultancy Blue Alchemy. He has
Sustainability over 20 years’ industry experience, including
working for Garmon and The Italian Job creative
studio, where he worked closely with brands such
cannot be limited by as AG (Adriano Goldschmied), Citizens of
Humanity, Hugo Boss and Levi's. He is currently

the ability to invest working with Uniqlo and the Fast Retailing Group
on a sustainable production project.

23 ISSue 3/2021
DENIM IN-DEPTH

In this sector you never stop learning, this pushes me to search

for ideas, explore new applications and technologies. Fortunately, I
have a great relationship with the suppliers who share their
innovations with me. I think this is an ideal time to explore the grey
areas, to develop new effects and optimise them.

What’s most important to you and what do you enjoy focusing on?
The most important thing in my work is beauty, because aesthetics
should never be compromised, and to create sustainable
techniques without compromising the look. I try to get the most out
of my clients' resources, whatever technologies they have.
Sustainability cannot be limited by the ability to invest in new
technologies or economic resources. With industrial production,
the most important factors are cost, time and result, which must be
guaranteed and constant. The most important technology is our
brain and creativity, so the best results are found by finding the
right balance of logic, conventional methods and new technologies,
chemistry and tools. I'm also focusing on all those unexplored
areas that new sustainable technologies and practices have. One of
these is certainly ozone, which is only minimally exploited.

What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen over the years?
I have been working in the textile industry for 20 years, and in the
last decade there has been a growing interest in change, probably
starting with the famous Greenpeace Detox campaign in 2011. I
have worked for leading chemical companies that immediately
began to search for new raw materials to create products without
hazardous substances. Things only move where there is an
economic interest, and fortunately this demand has created a new
economy for producers and suppliers.
campaigns to raise consumers’ awareness have also had some
impact. Brands and chemical groups have led the change, and this
has had a knock-on effect down the supply chain. Only recently
have I noticed a growing desire in consumers to purchase
sustainable garments; this part has been too slow.

Luca believes in creating a varied range of styles and

How much of the sustainability of the garment is rooted finishes to meet market demands.
in materials?
everything starts from the raw materials - the fabric, the
accessories and the chemistry. When the raw material has
How would you ideally like the industry to change, and how do
biodegradability or is able to be recycled, we are halfway there. It is
you think it will in reality?
important to avoid the exploitation of natural resources, for
A revolution in the way of working, designing and planning is
instance, using lower-impact fibres such as hemp.
needed. consumers who were already conscious of ethics, nature
Our supply chain is full of variables and sometimes they are
and responsibility are now more so, while those who were not are
difficult to control, so starting with 100% "green" materials makes
starting to pay attention. This change is still too slow so brands
everything more controllable. If I use chemicals that do not contain
must make a courageous sustainable choice, regardless of
dangerous components, I don’t have the problem of monitoring
consumer demand, and present their actions in a clear and simple
how it is used; with “unsustainable” chemistry, there are
way, because there is too much confusion about sustainability.
concentration limits, meaning a human dosage error could pose
Transparency and traceability will be fundamental, there are
risks for the environment and people. At the design stage, it is
already several systems in place, but the key to making the
important to consider the end of the garments’ life, such as
message understood is to have a universal language. Brands should
24 INSIDe DeNIm

accessories that can be easily removed and using recyclable fabrics.

be sustainable in their DNA, not just for marketing purposes. unity
.
is strength, so the more people, brands, leaders and industries take
the same direction, the more chance they have to change radically
for the better.
3,000

2,000

1,000

What a year! With 3,000 registered website users, around 2,000 Linkedin
It’s hard to believe that we published our first issue a year ago followers and around 1,000 Instagram followers, we are so
oblivious to the year that would lie ahead. We haven’t been pleased to have generated such interest in our ‘science
able to get out to see everyone so we’re so pleased you have behind the style’ features. We’ve so much more to come!
come to us! Amongst the challenges there have been many If you haven’t already you can sign up to
positives for us. Since launching Inside Denim’s digital www.insidedenim.com FREE and access our technical
platforms in the summer we’ve connected with so many of you articles and features. We’ll also send you a weekly newsletter
from all over the world. to keep you up to date.

If you are interested in raising the profile of your business to our global industry professional
audience in either our magazine or digitally on our website, email: [email protected]
DENIM IN-DEPTH

From deckchairs to denim:

UK selvedge stages a comeback
PHOTO: HewiTT HeriTage Fabrics

C
hris Hewitt describes arriving outside a
Lancashire mill as a moment that Hewitt Heritage Fabrics’ Lancashire-woven
would change the course of his life. This
might sound dramatic, but it marked a selvedge has been used in new ranges by brands
key moment in a long journey to including Hiut and Joe & co, following a tough slog
produce UK-woven selvedge denim, and which has
recently been selected for collections by brands by its founder to set up production and develop
including Hiut – whose co-founder describes him as a the fabric to the right specifications. and while the
“denim maverick”. “Up until i spoke to chris, i
thought what we were doing was hard, but at least volumes are far from those produced 30 years ago,
we still had a town full of grandmasters [experienced these companies are part of a group of brands that
workers],” says David Hieatt. “when he told me, 10
years ago, that he was going to weave selvedge in place value on making jeans in britain.
britain, i thought that would be a tough, tough ask.”
with the domestic denim industry largely
disappearing three decades ago, there is little in the The breakthrough came when he discovered two
way of infrastructure or support on the fabric side, 1950s Northrop shuttle looms that had been in
but Mr Hewitt was determined to make it work. “My retirement since weaving deckchair fabrics, and
current mill likes a fighter,” he admits. which could create the authentic look he was
He set up Hewitt Heritage Fabrics in 2016, his love seeking. He returned to the mill time and again,
of denim and its heritage cemented through his testing for shrinkage and stability and hand feel.
vintage clothing shop, somebody & sons in London. Finishing was a major challenge: “People would say,
The research stage for the selvedge involved several ‘yes, we can do that’, then they’d run 1,000 metres of
partners; finding those that could deliver proved fabric and it became clear they couldn’t, so i was left
problematic, not least because of the indigo. “Most with fabric that’s very difficult to sell,” he says. “Hiut
26 iNsiDe DeNiM

british companies don’t weave a lot of yarn-dyed have been very encouraging in that they have stayed
goods so they are reluctant to weave a fabric that in the conversation for a very long time. Others do
might contaminate all their other products, especially stay in, but most brands have built into their
if they are weaving on old looms,” chris explains. marketing the idea of a Japanese woven product.”
DENIM IN-DEPTH
Hiut, a jeansmaker and brand based in cardigan,
south wales, was launched in 2011 following the
closure of a former jeans factory in the town that had
made 35,000 pairs per week. Owners David and clare
Hieatt wanted to protect those skills and create
employment. Their slogan ‘Do one thing well’ and
appealing marketing and ethos has earned fans that
appreciate the high-quality fabric and attention to
detail. The Hiut x Hewitt collection will be available in
both men’s and women’s fittings and each will have a
leather back-patch highlighting the journey between
the two maker homes, cardigan and Lancashire.
The Hewitt fabric is also being used by brands such
as London-based United Overalls (see separate panel)
and Joe & co, a clothing company based in
Manchester run by Josef schindler, who reckons the
british selvedge “can hold its own against any of the
denim mills from Japan, the Us or italy”. He also
highlights the heritage with an embroidered
Lancashire red rose on the pocket, and is a vocal
supporter of UK manufacturing. His collection
launched in December, with the fabric travelling only
30 miles to be made into jeans, minimising the
carbon footprint. “we made enquires into
transporting the fabric using the Lancashire canal
network,” says Mr schindler “but this wasn’t a
workable option.”

Indies and markets

Hewitt’s story is fairly pioneering when you
Phil wildbore, who owned the road label, says the (Above:) The old looms
consider there was never a vast amount of denim give the fabric an
high street lowered the price of jeans. “in the late 80s
fabric made in the UK – even in its heyday most was authentic feel, but need a
and early 90s, it was normal to pay £40 for a pair of
imported and then made into jeans here. From the lot more attention from
jeans, but that’s the same price that people want to operators than modern
1960s through to the early 90s, big brands such as
pay now – they should be around £110 if we factor in machines
Levi’s made in britain but smaller independent labels
inflation,” he says. “The demand for cheaper prices PHOTO: HewiTT HeriTage Fabrics
also played a significant role. Different areas favoured
meant that you couldn’t compete. Then all the
different brands: crazy Face, Joe bloggs, bleubolt,
machinery got shipped abroad, so we lost all the (Below:) Joe & Co
boogie Jeans, Dollar Jeans and road were among the
infrastructure to make.” promotes the Lancashire
brands of choice. They thrived because retail was not heritage. The collections
The closure of the highly regarded smith & Nephew
dominated by big groups; people also shopped in are sold online and at
mill in Pendle in 1993 ended denim fabric production Altrincham Market in
independent stores, boutiques and markets, around
in england and was such a blow that it was discussed Manchester.
which the denim scene thrived.
in parliament, with MP gordon Prentice lamenting: PHOTO: JOe & cO
“The decision might make commercial sense to one
company but for the country as a whole it makes no
sense.” ireland’s atlantic Mills, which also made
denim fabric, closed in 1999.

We made enquires into

transporting the fabric using the
Lancashire canal network
27 issUe 3/ 2021

JOseF scHiNDLer, JOe & cO

DENIM IN-DEPTH

HebTroCo is a relative
newcomer to denim but
are proud of the local
manufacture.
PHOTO: HebTrOcO/
aLex De PaLMa

road, which was at one time producing 3,000 pairs

of jeans per week from a family-run factory in Steady whirr of machines
Leicester, followed other brands in trying overseas There are a small number of jeansmakers in the UK, making for brands that
manufacture. “it didn’t work; it didn’t have the same value local manufacture. blackburn-based clothing manufacturer cookson
feel,” says Mr wildbore. “The game had changed, it & clegg was founded in 1860, starting life as a boot upper supplier and now
was more mass production. The jean world became makes jeans for brands including Finisterre. Like many in the industry, it has
incredibly generic.” had ups and downs; a year after being bought by designer Patrick grant in
2015 it announced job losses following the loss of a big contract. it is now
Manufacturing revival? operating on a smaller scale, partly through Mr grant’s community clothing
with such a rich history of textiles and clothing social enterprise, which creates employment in the UK’s textile
making in the UK, could the sector be revived, manufacturing regions.
particularly as people reconsider sourcing Last summer, cookson & clegg won funding from Made smarter, a
destinations? a report by The alliance Project (TaP), programme helping small-and medium-sized manufacturers implement
initially in 2014 and updated in 2017, concluded there new digital technologies. UK-based denim consultant amanda barnes says
is potential in sectors such as homeware, luxury the company has a “top reputation” among UK producers. “On the denim
goods and fast fashion, and perhaps in value-added side, it’s not so much about the authentic vintage machines (which many
products like jacquard, embroidery and knitwear, but denim enthusiasts believe is key to a good pair of denim) but more about
for staples the UK will remain uncompetitive on cost affordable quality at community clothing: a pair of raw organic 12.5oz
for some time. Decades of offshoring means there is a selvedge are reasonably priced at £79.”
skills shortage and an ageing workforce, with major London-based blackhorse Lane ateliers is one of the more prominent UK
challenges including a predominantly micro-size jeansmakers (see Inside Denim Issue 2), using beautiful fabrics from Japan,
supply chain with no OeMs, or large prime Turkey and italy. The company is setting up a mini laundry this year which
manufacturers, to act as “enablers”. “The UK also has will help designers, students and brands develop wash techniques.
one of the highest energy costs in any of our brands that make jeans in the UK include Hove-based Dawson Denim,
competitor markets,” said the report. TaP established which uses Japanese fabrics sewn on 1950s sewing machines; sheffield’s
two regional growth Funds using £27 million of Forge Denim, which imports Japanese selvedge and uses steel buttons to
public and £123 million of private money that it represent the city’s steelmaking heritage; Fallow Denim, based in brighton,
forecast would create over 4,000 jobs – however, the which uses Japanese and cone fabrics with deer leather patches tanned in
pandemic has hit the sector hard, as consumer scotland; and HebTroco from Hebden bridge, which sources all its clothing
spending dropped off and companies closed. and accessories in the UK. “Making in britain is convenient, and minimums
are lower,” says its co-founder, brant richards. “we truly value local
production – all our manufacturing is within a drive of our unit – but we get
cloth from candiani because consistency of supply is crucial.”
28 iNsiDe DeNiM

On the fabric side, The London cloth company is a micro-mill that weaves
small quantities to order and offers 60 types of indigo cloth, including a
range with an indigo cotton warp and a shetland wool weft.
DENIM IN-DEPTH
Hiut’s co-founder Clare
Hieatt modelling the Hiut x
Hewitt range.
For Hewitt, the target is to develop a yarn and dye it PHOTO: HiUT JeaNs
locally (yarns are currently brought in from Turkey)
and eventually create a compostable jean. For Hiut,
using british selvedge represents a wider ideal of
keeping alive the opportunity of manufacturing for
future generations. “People don’t understand how
hard it is to do what chris did,” says David Hieatt. “it’s
the stuff we dreamt about when we started, that we’d
do a fully british jean. People congratulate us on our
success, but success isn’t being the only one, it is
when the infrastructure comes back and making
denim in britain becomes a lot easier. we’d like it to
be common practice to have denim woven in the UK –
it’s good for the environment, for industry and skills.
This is a key defining moment, but it should only be
the start.”

chris Hewitt admits it’s difficult to have a successful

clothing industry if the prices are not in line with the
rest of europe. “There are a lot of sewers here, but A perfect fit for United Overalls
young people don’t want to go into that side of the
Thomas Burke, founder of the
industry, and it’s not something the government has
London-based brand, uses Hewitt’s
an interest in developing,” he says. He is setting up a
fabric for five-pocket jeans made at
new brand this year, somebody’s Denim, which will
Blackhorse Lane Ateliers.
use the UK fabric (amongst others) with the jeans
made in the UK and Portugal. “i’d love to be able to What’s important to you about
make everything here but it’s so hard to remain sourcing fabrics from, and
competitive,” he explains. manufacturing in, the UK?
even if the numbers work, the UK doesn’t currently it was always a crucial part of our
have the infrastructure to support a denim industry at brand that we source as much as we
scale. Denim consultant and the co-founder of The could from the UK. Making the
Three indigos idrish Munshi, whose family owned a highest quality jeans also meant
laundry in Leicester in the 80's and 90's, says strict that the denim we used had to be a
water rules and the cleaning cost of effluent are too selvedge denim woven in the UK, which was only being made by Hewitt
prohibitive. “in the past, when Levi's and wrangler Heritage Fabrics. They upheld a lot of the ideals and standards that we
were made in the UK, washing here was worthwhile wanted to, seeking the most ethical and sustainable practices.
because companies understood the water challenges when we were searching for a manufacturer, we were already friendly with
and would pay a decent rate. when other companies the founder of blackhorse Lane ateliers, Han ates, after attending their first
realised ways of bypassing the water rules or they opening party back when it was an empty industrial building. They strive to
installed their own effluent treatment plants, they make everything as sustainable as possible and they work with their local
reduced the costs of processing the garments and it community so they can give back as much as possible.
was difficult to compete. Today, it would be difficult to How do you think the fabric compares with Japanese denim?
restart this side of the industry here using The yarns are not as exciting as some that you might find coming out of
conventional means - the effluent treatment plant Japan but for someone looking for a vintage style finish and fading process
would make it too costly. sustainable processing using the denim from Hewitt Heritage is great. The character and nuances that the
modern technologies could be a feasible option.” 1950s Northrop looms add to the fabric become much more apparent after
wear and conjure up images of the jeans made in early 20th century america.
Common practice
That’s not to say there is not a thriving denim scene Would you buy more UK fabric if it were available?
in the UK: there are plenty of passionate designers, if more mills started up in the UK making more selvedge denim then we
creatives, consultants, retailers and fans; people would be overjoyed, the more manufacturing that we bring back to the UK
working within global companies, or brands or the better! Most of our customers see UK-made denim as a very new idea
29 issUe3 /2021

retailers that make offshore, as well as those making but are excited to purchase such a unique item. They can really feel the
collections domestically. while mass-market denim quality in what we make and that is due in a large part to the amazing
looks unlikely to return, it seems there could be the denim we receive.
PHOTO: UNiTeD OveraLLs
desire and potential for more niche makers.
DENIM IN-DEPTH

Mr Jeon plans to further develop his denim

designs and techniques. His method is
experimental, and he seeks to create “new
shapes, proportions and details” with
future collections.
PHOTO: PainTers
30 insiDe DeniM
DENIM IN-DEPTH
Comparatively little is written about south Korean denim, especially when
contrasted with the collector’s paradise that is Japan, the country’s
neighbour. inside Denim talks to two protagonists on the scene in seoul,
both with unique insights to share on denim’s heritage and contemporary
potency in the city.

A new spin on ‘American

casual’ in Seoul

O
ne of many threads to south Korean denim culture today is
amekaji, a Japanese term meaning “american casual”, so the
founder-designer behind seoul-based fashion brand Painters, Won
Jeon, tells Inside Denim. applied to wearers of what is considered
to be american-inspired fashion (a demographic which, Mr Jeon
says, tends to skew younger), the phrase more than hints at one interpretation of
denim’s place in the world, from a north-east asian perspective.
in Mr Jeon’s view, however, wearing denim is “not a major trend” in seoul, at
least. He says that “few designers” work with denim in any meaningful way, though
he points to south Korean actress Kong Hyo-jin and actor Bae Jung-nam, both
known for incorporating denim into their everyday style, as local influencers.
instead, Mr Jeon’s own eye was drawn to the “undervalued” fabric while
researching global street cultures for Painters’ spring-summer 2021 collection,
which showed at seoul Fashion Week last October. Denim’s “subcultural” history
and typically “working class” roots, plus its strong identity on account of its
prominent visual role in moments of cultural “resistance”, deemed it suitable for
Painters’ nonconformist palette, he says.

Down to Dongdaemun
Mr Jeon sources all the denim used in his collections for Painters from denim
merchants Kunsan, based in Daejeon, central south Korea, but also has a shopfront
in seoul within the famous Dongdaemun shopping complex, the largest fabric
market in the country. Characteristic of fabric shopping in seoul, Mr Jeon says,
Kunsan does not have an online presence, in order to prevent the unwanted
copying of its hundreds of different denim samples by competitors. The designer
relays to inside Denim that while it might be “better to go to different countries
[such as Japan]” to purchase denim, he feels “lucky” to have found and established
a positive professional relationship with his chosen denim supplier. “i try to create a
deep bond between the fabrics i select and Painters as a brand by sourcing all
materials in seoul,” he tells us.
Visits to Kunsan often inspire a “half and half” approach to realising his initial
sketches in denim, Mr Jeon says. The sheer scale, diversity and ever-changing
nature of the enterprise’s offerings mean that he frequently – yet, always
unexpectedly – leaves with more than one fabric to experiment with, as opposed to
sticking fast to any preconceived idea, a creative process which he admits to
enjoying very much. He mostly opts for 100% cotton, handwoven denim fabrics
though, and avoids stretch. as the sustainable fashion conversation gains increasing
31 issUe 3/2021

traction around the globe, Mr Jeon is considering branching out into other fibres
(such as hemp and Tencel, a wood-based cellulosic fibre), but is taking steps to first
“completely understand” the field prior to making any changes.
DENIM IN-DEPTH

Painters’ production of denim pieces such as jeans and overalls

is usually outsourced elsewhere in seoul, but Mr Jeon controls the
I try to create a deep
pattern-making and final sampling processes in his studio. ever
since interning with Paris-born, London-based designer Faustine bond between the
steinmetz while a London College of Fashion student, Mr Jeon has
been interested in hand-dyeing techniques, which led to his fabrics and my brand
discovery and subsequent experimentation with the Japanese
shibori manual resist method, a prominent design element of the
denim pieces he showed during his October 2020 presentation. For
by sourcing all
spring-summer 2021, the designer mainly used sanforized denim
(already fixed to avoid or minimise any shrinking) and layered
materials in Seoul
different washes on top of each other, intentionally “damaging” WOn JeOn, PainTers

the fabric’s edges to achieve the raw fringes seen in the collection.

Rising between Seoul and Japan

Bona fide denim lover and co-founder of early south Korean raw interestingly, at that time denim mills in south Korea were
selvedge denim company Twilled & Co (which closed in 2017) and the primarily producing “budget-friendly” denim, so Mr Lee and his
now-iconic imported denim shop Brick seoul (which shut its doors in business partner sam Yoon ingeniously produced Twilled & Co’s
2014) Howard Lee similarly straddled two different denim worlds, denim garments in both seoul and Japan, using the same Japanese
with a dual focus on the contemporaneous denim scene in seoul and selvedge (the “finest”) from Collect and Kaihara mills, to offer denim
the more established denim heritage of neighbouring Japan. Though at different price points. Garments made in seoul were priced “more
Mr Lee was forced to dissolve Twilled & Co while taking up his accessibly” (slight detail changes were made to bring production
compulsory military service a few years ago, it is clear that denim costs down, Mr Lee tells Inside Denim), while the Japanese-made
remains as much in his heart and on his mind today as during his jeans were crafted “to the highest quality standards” and, therefore,
pre-Brick seoul days, when he would purchase and ultimately take were priced higher. Twilled & Co’s standard denim – 13.25 ounces of
apart denim jeans from Japan and the United states for years, just to sanforized and pure indigo rope-dyed, ringspun Memphis cotton,
investigate production differences between pairs down to the woven in Japan – was sourced from Collect. The Kaihara denim used
“smallest details”. was pure indigo rope-dyed selvedge, with the weight differing
“Finding the perfect pair of jeans is quite tricky, with so much to slightly from denim to denim.
consider, namely: the fit, the denim and its colour and fade, the
craftsmanship and the tiniest details, plus the brand and its values – Shades of blue
all of these have to be right,” Mr Lee says. Out of frustration with For both Mr Lee and Mr Jeon, denim is intensely personal. While
there being “so many great denim brands throughout the world, but Mr Jeon employs the, for him, underrated yet symbolically charged
not so much in the south Korean market”, he opened Brick seoul in fabric as something of a vehicle for creating “new” shapes and
spring 2012, with the intention to make it “the” source for denim on expressing his own, progressive artistic viewpoint as a designer, Mr
the Korean Peninsula. Brick seoul’s line-up of exclusively raw Lee brings our discussion back to the intimate nature of “breaking
selvedge denim included rogue Territory (imported from the Us), in” one’s own pair of jeans, a unique process which ultimately
Bldwn (Us), naked & Famous Denim (Canada), 3sixteen (Us), The makes them “truly yours”. Mr Jeon’s desire to keep moving the
Flat Head (Japan) and Momotaro Jeans (Japan). design and production techniques of denim “forward” is perhaps a
Mr Lee recalls that rogue Territory was Brick seoul’s most popular nod towards the increased diversity and maturity of the south
brand, specifically its stanton jeans. “People really loved the fit and Korean denim scene today, as Mr Lee sees it (local brands Demil and
the colour – or fade – of the denim the brand got from nihon Bespoke Denim are current particular favourites of his), the perfect
Menpu,” he tells us. it was a “big mistake” to close Brick seoul, Mr stage - or runway - for Mr Jeon’s aesthetic innovations. so much
Lee confides. “i had closed a great shop where i could talk and share more than an imported idea or yesterday’s fad, the contemporary
ideas with other people passionate about denim,” he continues. He denim outlook in seoul is imbued with creative flair, originality,
did it to focus his energies on nurturing Twilled & Co, though, which communal support and keen determination.
he launched in spring 2014 and, as with Brick seoul a couple of
years prior, fully intended to grow into the top denim brand in south
Korea through creating the “perfect” pair of jeans for the Korean
market, in terms of quality, fit and price.

Finding the perfect

pair of jeans is quite
tricky, with so much
32 insiDe DeniM

to consider HOWarD Lee

We want our readership to be as valuable and as valued as our
journalism. It’s why we have left no stone unturned in identifying
key global contacts in the global denim industry.

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will be landing on the desks of those individuals

we have hand-picked to receive our magazine: influencers,
material designers, R&D managers and of course those who are
responsible for sustainability in these businesses across the world.
DENIM IN-DEPTH

The designer’s experiences in Pyongyang, North

Korea left a lasting impression and encouraged her
to actively pursue slow, bespoke and fair
production, inspired by classic vintage styles.
PHOTO: UNITS Of THebe

From DPRK
to Stockholm

T
he now-fabled Noko (as in North
Korea) Jeans brand began in 2007, the
Julia Hederus, the designer behind Noko Jeans,
brainchild of a small group of Swedes:
founders Jacob Åström, Tor Rauden the first (and possibly only) Western denim jeans
Källstigen and Jakob Ohlsson, plus
designer (and denim lover) Julia Hederus and
brand to celebrate making its products in North
photographer erik Wåhlström. Technically active until Korea, diplomatically describes dealing denim
2011, Noko Jeans had a short sales life. Ten years on,
though, the brand’s signature black denim with an enigma, plus making her own way in the
(indigo-dyed jeans were considered too American or fashion industry - via Thebes.
westernised for the North Koreans, Ms Hederus tells
Inside Denim) is coveted by collectors worldwide.
Launched online via the brand’s own website and
at Stockholm’s (since closed) PUb department store
in December 2009, PUb pulled Noko’s jeans from its
shelves within a matter of days, citing potential
political controversy. Remarkably, Noko subsequently Dictating denim
opened its own Stockholm-based museum to exhibit As there was no denim fabric production in
and sell the jeans later the same month. The museum North Korea at the time, Ms Hederus says, raw
soon relocated to another part of Stockholm, but materials were sourced from nearby China as
finally closed its doors in february 2010. necessary, with the denim then cut and sewn in a
Noko Jeans’ intention was always to “tell stories” Pyongyang factory predominantly engaged in
from inside North Korea and “increase [international] mining and app development activities.
transparency, little by little” through making denim Communication with the North Korean factory was
jeans in Pyongyang, the nation’s capital, Ms Hederus “extremely limited”, which made the project
34 INSIDe DeNIM

says. back in the late noughties, being in Pyongyang difficult to manage, the Swedish designer tells us.
felt as though “time had stopped entirely, sometime It was therefore tricky to “get information straight”,
in the 1950s”, she tells us. The group’s aim was to although Ms Hederus describes having had a
create a point of contact between the North-east “good working relationship” with Noko Jeans’
Asian country and the wider world. Pyongyang-based stakeholders.
DENIM IN-DEPTH
I don’t think that we need more
products today, but we will
always need creativity, beauty
and clothes to cover ourselves.”
JULIA HeDeRUS, NOKO JeANS

In total, the Noko Jeans team spent 10 days in the she discloses. However, she also acknowledges that
North Korean capital during July 2009, reaching the project “took a turn [Noko Jeans] didn’t want” on
Pyongyang via train from beijing, with a further three the factory floor.
weeks in China (during which time they did not visit During our exchange, the designer was keen to
their Chinese denim producer). Ms Hederus tells emphasise how, today, she feels that clothes should
Inside Denim the trip left a “deep impression” on her, be made under fair trade regulations and for a living
and while she had felt worried, she describes a wage. However, she remains positive about the
“spacious and clean factory, with good machinery”. founders’ original, perhaps “naïve”, idea of taking part
The workers would have gymnastics each day, in an exchange - not only in terms of business, but
35 ISSUe 3/2021

outside in the courtyard. Palpably concerned about also of culture.

how “hard [sewing is] for one’s shoulders and back”,
Ms Hederus recalls this part of the story with a clear
sense of relief: “I thought [the exercise] was great”,
DENIM IN-DEPTH

Pyongyang style
Documenting Noko Jeans’ “transparency” during Making garments is
the Pyongyang-based cut-and-sew process for
would-be buyers was a key objective for the Swedish
enterprise, but a “slight crisis” ensued when it
hard work and that
became apparent that this would be “impossible”, Ms
Hederus reveals. With their chosen jeans-making
should be acknowledged
factory already preoccupied with the manufacturing
of winter jackets when the Swedish delegation and appreciated
arrived, they “never really got the chance” to witness JULIA HeDeRUS, NOKO JeANS
much of the jeans’ production, as intended. What is
more, no further visits to the country were possible,
owing to the expense of travel.
Instead, the first – and, as it would turn out, only –
batch of 1,100 pairs of Noko-branded unisex denim
jeans arrived in Stockholm some months after the
brand’s team returned to europe. Two styles were
made: the Kara slim fit (a tighter model, with a
regular waist), plus the Oke loose fit (a baggier jean,
with a regular waist and a drop crotch). The 100%
cotton jeans had been designed to be washed and
treated, but this process was never undertaken due
to the factory in Pyongyang not having the
necessary facilities.
Ms Hederus explains that she did “look a lot” at
hemp fibre during her research process, but the
nascent brand’s budget could not stretch to
accommodate the price of hemp. Moreover,
“convinced that stretch was a bad idea”, for reasons
relating to the quality and long-lasting durability of
the finished jeans, the designer considers her
“old-fashioned” approach to material selection
appropriate to Noko Jeans’ principal concept: to be “I thought, why should
responsible for what they saw as the first Western there not be a unisex
denim jeans produced in North Korea. jean?” Ms Hederus says of
her 100% cotton creations.
Levi’s 501s represent the
A labour of love
“ultimate” in unisex denim
“Making garments is hard work and that should be for the designer
acknowledged and appreciated,” Ms Hederus tells PHOTO: NOKO JeANS
Inside Denim. following a “long in-between phase”,
which included freelance work and assisting other
labels with various aspects of the design process in Today, Ms Hederus says she is against fast fashion
Paris, Shanghai and Kolding, Denmark, as well as in and overproduction and believes that her current
Stockholm, she concentrated her Central Saint premium streetwear offering, which is inspired by
Martins-honed menswear design talent on starting up classic military uniforms and vintage pieces, is “fair
her own (slow) men’s fashion brand, Units of Thebe, trade”, seeing as how every garment is handmade to
in 2017. “Products have a lot of power in society,” she order in Sweden. She hopes all clothing and
says, so with Units of Thebe her aim is now to make accessories will be made under fair labour conditions
fewer products, of the highest quality possible. in the future. Her legacy as a designer, she tells us, will
be “equality, creativity and resourcefulness”. She
continues: “I don’t think that we need more products
today, but we will always need creativity, beauty and
clothes to cover ourselves.
“The art of making clothes is old – and it is an
ancient profession that I am proud to be in. To make
36 INSIDe DeNIM

things is important to people and I think that this will

only grow in importance in the future. I don’t want to
see society saturated, in terms of production, energy,
extraction, workforce and financial resources, but an
equal and balanced place to be.”
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DIALOGUE

new York-based brand Oak & Acorn - Only for the rebelles pays homage
to the untold story of the Indigenous American & the enslaved Africans’
contributions that have shaped American manufacturing and denim.
Founder Miko Underwood explains how she expresses her vision
through her designs and why she feels now is the right time to educate
and inspire to drive positive change.

Miko Underwood is Oak &

Mighty oaks Acorn’s founder and chief

creative director.
ALL PHOTOS: PeTer OSbOrne

from little
acorns grow
Q Why is it important to educate consumers on the history of
denim, and what are the main things that you would like people
to know and understand?
A Today’s consumer expects to be informed of where their clothing
comes from, who the designer is and the brand’s ethos. When I began
to learn the history of the American jean, the information demanded
me to be culturally responsible and share. As a design director with
years of telling brand stories, I was completely unaware of indigo’s
history and its connection to the slave trade. The desire for “blue
gold” otherwise known as indigo propelled global commodification
and the violent exploitation of labour. I want people to know that
indigo was the hidden commodity of the slave trade and that the
jean was born on the plantations of the American south. I would like
consumers to be informed of the abuses that exist today in the US
with labour exploitation throughout the American prison system and
our global supply chain.
I believe education is the key to change and holds us accountable.
by bringing awareness to practices that have brutally capitalised off
the labour and skillset of Indigenous people and continues to exploit
factory workers today, it is my hope that we can begin to institute
real positive change.

Your designs reflect the ethos of the brand. How easy is it to do

that, where does your inspiration come from and how does the
genderless and seasonless design fit into that? How do your
fabric choices reflect the brand?
During the pandemic, I thought to myself, “How will we come out of
this? How will people feel? What will be important to them?” I
understood immediately that people will want to feel held, cosy and
nurtured, they will want to feel empowered and informed and will
38 InSIDe DenIM

prioritise protection and functionality as it relates to their new way

of life. Oak & Acorn - Only for the rebelles’ red White & Indigo
Collection is made up of five sub-collections, each one telling its
own story in connection to the history of denim and combining
messages of inspiration with innovative design.
DIALOGUE
Our Signature rebeLLe Coverall collection pays
homage to the farmer, the worker, the enslaved and
the prisoner and is made of biodegradable and
compostable denim.
Twenty percent of the profits from our Signature
Collection goes to support initiatives of We Got Us
now, a non-profit organisation built by, led by and
about children and young adults impacted by
parental incarceration. The fabric choices connect to
the history of denim but are also future forward,
functional and of course sustainable. The inspiration
for the brand is truly an intuitive process. I don’t look
at trends, I do what feels right and has meaning. My
process is experiential, I want the customer to be
moved by Oak & Acorn, so storytelling is integral to
the design and fabric choice.
I decided the brand would be genderless because I
love the functionality of men’s denim. I’ve always
leaned heavily in the men’s market, but I wanted the
pieces to be wearable for women as well, so
genderless felt right. It also allows for neutrality in
design. Having a seasonless collection is a standard
I’ve held for myself to present a focused product line
and eliminate potential waste in development. The
pieces of the seasonless collection are Oak & Acorn
staples that will carry the brand throughout the year.

What do you enjoy most about working with mills

and suppliers, and how do you choose which ones
to work with?
I love the innovation that happens at the mills. It’s
where my design process truly begins. I’m a natural
problem solver, so going from concept to production Oak & Acorn has worked
is like solving an incredible puzzle. With my brand I You have talked about the need to increase Black with mills including
see sustainability as 360. I look at each touchpoint of and minority representation in fashion and denim, Candiani and Soorty for
the brand ethos: traceability, social impact and particularly on the design side and at managerial its seasonless and
genderless collections.
education and marry the strengths of each supplier level. What steps can those in the industry take to
to the design process. address imbalances?
For Oak & Acorn this equates to working with There’s an opportunity in this moment for businesses to
factory partners that understand the pillars of the connect with community and address the needs of the
brand, are innovative yet responsible makers and largest consumers of our market. The black and Latinx
committed to supporting our work. I lean on them for American consumer spends a combined $2.7 trillion
their expertise and ingenuity in the execution of the annually, but are drastically under represented on the
product. The collection is made of a combination of supplier side. There must be systemic accountability
eco-fibres that include hemp, refibra and Tencel, and economic equanimity. Companies can rectify
recycled and repurposed denim, indigenous artisan these imbalances by creating pipelines of access to
materials and other deadstock fabrics. While we have young designers and entrepreneurs.
great partnerships with overseas mills and factories, As we know, denim is a very niche category of
I’ve simultaneously made a commitment to produce business where there’s a very tight community of
locally, supporting manufacturers at home and makers and gatekeepers. Although the jeanswear
working with small businesses. trends have traditionally risen out of the black
communities – black women in particular had played
a very important role in the birth of textile production
prior to the industrial revolution – black designers
aren’t represented as the businesses owners or
executives in the denim industry. blackness is often
39 ISSUe 3/2021

underrepresented, misrepresented or not at all

present until it is appropriated from a larger design
house and adopted as a trend or political statement
of the moment.
DIALOGUE

Jeanmaking is a beautiful craft with rich roots in

American history that deserves to be shared. I’d like
to see that change. I’d like to see mentorships at the
high school level, paid internships, endowment and
grant programmes for college students. I’d like to see
incubators that expose students to indepth history of
indigo and inculcate training through design labs to
transform the ethical denim space. I believe that it’s
our cultural responsibility to reach back, inform and
inspire the next generation of makers and create
economic equanimity and opportunity.

What advice would you give to young people

hoping to get a job in the denim industry?
The advice I would give to young people is be bold, be
creative, be curious, allow invention and advocate for
your talent. be passionate about your creative
process but remember to always be a student with
openness to learn and listen. Last but not least, be an
ethical worker; your work ethic, kindness and
responsibility to your team is everything.

What changes have you seen in the industry in

2020, and/or what would you like to see more of
in the future?
The experiences of 2020 have brought us into a
greater awareness of our place in the global
community. The rise of covid-19 has thrust us into a
technological shift that has transformed our social,
political and environmental interactions. The
pandemic has given us “space” to communicate on a
much deeper level because of our shared experience.
It makes room for authentic and informed
conversation around systemic inequities we’ve
perpetuated for generations via culture, race and
class. It’s dismantled so much of what has been a
familiar way of life and forced us into restructuring.
As a result, we are seeing an evolution of authentic
brands that are born in service to the global
community. And larger brands are lending their
platforms to emerging talent to adopt more
meaningful exchange.
The growing awareness of the effects of our
consumer decisions on the environment is
The new collection
encouraging our buying decisions. I believe we will What aims have you got for Oak & Acorn, and are
includes hemp, recycled
continue to see more domestic curation in effort to there any upcoming launches or projects you can materials and
support small businesses and rebuild our local tell us about? deadstock fabrics.
communities. I predict the emergence of the local The Oak & Acorn - Only for the rebelles collection will
craftsman, the rise of skilled trade work and officially launch in retail chains nordstrom,
eventually apprenticeship programmes – especially nordstrom.com, shopbop.com and via
since the traditional education experience has been oakandacornbrand.com at the start of 2021. In the
compromised, DIY will graduate to skillset and new Year, Oak & Acorn will also be actively working
expertise. I’m looking forward to this evolution. on The Denim Collective, an educational initiative
that will further explore the history of denim as a
social, cultural and political icon throughout history,
educational programming, media and brand
40 InSIDe DenIM

collaborations.
I also have some upcoming articles that I’m
authoring, speaking engagements and other goodies
I won’t mention, but 2021 will be an exciting year!
Discover new
territories

WSA TM (World Sports Activewear), established in 1994, is the Sportstextiles.com® is the news portal to complement WSATM,
only international business-to-business magazine reporting on offering the latest industry news, market intelligence, product
the global sports and performance materials industry. information and much more. It is a comprehensive news site for
Published bi-monthly, it is essential reading for brands, the industry. All news stories are free to read with a searchable
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S U B S C R I B E - A D V E R T I S E
contact Jo Ta i t - j o @ w o r l d t r a d e s . c o . u k
FACTORY TALK

FACTORY TALK: KUROKI MILL

When it comes to Japanese denim fabric manufacturing, there are only a handful
of really great places in the land of the Rising Sun to visit. Kuroki is definitely one of
them. Let me take you on a guided tour…

The Holy Grail of

denim fabrics
hen visiting Japan and

W particularly the Bichu Bingo

area, I always recommend a
visit to the Kuroki denim mill.
I’ve had the chance to go
there twice, and I can tell you it has the ‘wow
factor’ for every denimhead.
The Bichu (or Bitchu) Bingo area is located close
In Bichu Bingo we find the city of Ibara, where
Kuroki Mill is located. It was founded in the 1950s by
Tamotsu Kuroki, and when the first Levi’s jeans
to Kojima Bay, which you might know for its famous were manufactured in Japan, the company started
denim brands such as Momotaro, Japan Blue, dyeing and weaving denim. By the early 1960s,
Kapital and Big John. The area was originally a Japanese denim had begun to grow in popularity
wetland, and the then-Emperor requested that around the world.
cotton was planted to drain the swamps. It became To ensure that the indigo dyeing quality was as
famous for its quality cotton and its textile industry, good, if not better, then the original American denim
42 INSIDE DENIM

and this industry, and subsequently denim, is a fabrications, Kuroki began indigo rope-dyeing around
reference point around the world. 1965. It quickly became known for its deep and rich
indigo rope-dyed denim fabrics, and focused
exclusively on these from the 1970s.
FACTORY TALK
Warm welcome
Arriving at Kuroki in Ibara’s outskirts, I received a
warm welcome from Tatsushi Kuroki, the current
president. If you are a regular visitor of denim fairs, Couture clients (Left) Mr Kuroki and
you will probably recognise him,with his light grey Kuroki could simply focus on this exceptional Tilmann Wrobel.
hair and smiling face. He travels the world, know-how in heritage denim fabrics, but to stay (Right) 24oz warp yarn.
presenting his innovative and heritage fabrics, ahead in fabric innovation, it also offers a wide variety ALL PHoToS: T. WRoBEL

sharing his passion for the well-made blue wherever of trend-driven fabric, blending metallics, colours and
he can. But seeing him in front of his factory, and bi-stretch fabrications, for clients including luxury
having a personal guided tour, is a wonderful couture houses. There is also a hidden section in the
experience that I’ll never forget. weaving department, where the famous jacquard
It goes without saying that water treatment is machines are set up. This is the place where, for
perfect at Kuroki, and that the entire dyeing plant is example, the LV monogram denim fabric comes from,
extremely tidy and clean. fabric dyeing and fabric and Kuroki is constantly working on new versions of
weaving are set up in two different factories, so one of this jacquard denim, on new jacquard techniques and
the first things you notice in the dyeing section is the novelty selvedge borders.
huge space given to the rope preparation and rope So much to see, so much to discover. And if you
dyeing. It is the heart of the company. The can’t get the keys to enter the factory for a glimpse,
rope-dyeing machine has a few “secret tricks”, that then stop off at the Kuroki showroom in Ibara, and go
I’m afraid Mr Kuroki would not want shared here! through the thousands of fantastic denim hangers
In the weaving plant, which is located a few and samples.
kilometres away, Tatsushi Kuroki welcomed me into All this excitement makes you hungry, so Tatsushi
his office with a hot tea and a seat on his comfy Kuroki took me for a fantastic lunch. Not to a fancy
vintage sofas. In the main weaving halls, I saw an expensive restaurant, but a really good,
impressive number of rare and collectible Toyoda down-to-earth ramen take-away. Because this man
vintage weaving machines. These wooden shuttle was so eager to head back to his factory and create
looms are alongside groups of more modern and more exciting denim fabrics!
faster selvedge looms. It’s from these looms that
some of the world’s best premium and heritage
brands get their fabrications. Tilmann Wröbel is the founder and
There are different looms for a range of fabric creative director of Monsieur-T, the
weights, going from 6oz to 24oz. And, let me tell you, ‘Denim Lifestyle’ studio. He started his
the 24oz selvedge loom uses some impressively thick career as a haute couture designer and
indigo warp-yarn, which could almost be called segued into streetwear and denim
‘cables’. It’s fantastic to hear the humming of the through his love of skating. He has
vintage looms. Even the modern ones transmit the
worked as a designer and consultant for
43 ISSuE 3/ 2021

some of the world’s top brands, and is

sound of quality.
based in Paris, France.
MoNSIEuR_T_offIcIAL/PHoTo: cHRISTIAN GEyR
FACTORY TALK

FACTORY TALK: AGI

The Pakistan-based mill is embarking on an ambitious expansion programme that includes

a new LeeD-certified spinning mill, a denim factory and a shredding facility, which will
enable it to boost fabric offerings while minimising environmental impact.

Building resilience at AGI

t shows tenacity to forge ahead with LEED certified A rendering shows AGI’s

I expansion while many are scaling back, but AGI Denim was born from the Artistic family of new facility. It will be on
denim companies, having been set up in 1949 by stream this year.
Karachi-based AGI Denim is confident its
ALL PHOTOS: AGI DenIm
investments will help it stand out as a Hasan Javed’s grandfather. The group has now
responsible and forward-thinking denim divided into a number of separate companies and at
and jeans manufacturer. The groundwork has the start of 2020 AGI went through a corporate
begun on a new spinning mill that will have a restructuring and rebranding to have a leaner and
capacity of 60,000kg of yarn per day when it is more agile structure and lessen some of the
completed mid-year, and this will be followed by a confusion in the market. Its two manufacturing
plants will produce more than 50 million metres of
fabric weaving mill and recycling facility in the first
denim per year by the second half of 2021.
stage of a multi-year initiative.
The spinning mill is being built to LeeD (Leadership
The addition of the spinning mill means AGI will
in energy and environmental Design) standards,
become fully integrated – it already operates fabric
which mr Javed says represents the company’s
and garment facilities – and executive director Hasan
mindset. LeeD certification provides verification of a
Javed says this will have many benefits including
building’s green attributes, and includes metrics
increased speed, quality control, better control over
such as energy savings, water efficiency,
raw material and cost, and reducing the carbon
reduced CO2 emissions and improved
footprint. “I think verticality is the key in the denim
indoor environment quality.
business and Pakistan is a leader when it comes to
having fully vertical set-ups,” he says. “In less than a
100-mile radius you have everything from the cotton
farming to ginning, spinning, dyeing, weaving,
stitching, washing, packing and shipping,
especially here in Karachi.”
44 InSIDe DenIm
FACTORY TALK
Executive director Hasan Javed is
spearheading the spinning and
denim mill investments.
(Left:) Breaking ground on the new
spinning mill.

AGI had been targeting LeeD gold at a minimum level, but initial
assessments have shown the building should fall into the higher “Sustainability starts from the fabric R&D stage and from the fibre
platinum category, with investments including solar power, an and yarn,” explains mr Javed. “We spent a lot of time customising
air-conditioning plant and a central vacuum and air circulation system our machines for running these short fibres, and we want to close
throughout the facility to improve worker comfort. “The industry has the loop ourselves and have a circular approach.” The circular
changed so rapidly – sustainability, traceability, these are no longer approach will be enabled in the first half of the year by a new system
just buzz words – you need to take tangible steps and actions so you for converting post-industrial waste, as well as a new jeans
can be known as a responsible company,” says mr Javed. shredding facility, which will be operational in the second half.
Working with Swiss, Japanese and German technology providers, The expansion plans also include a LeeD-certified denim mill
the mill will follow Industry 4.0 specifications, which means which will be built later in the year and a new effluent treatment
machinery will be linked through cloud-based computing and plant that will enable 85% of the water to be recycled. Phase two
software and it will include a high degree of automation. This will will begin in 2022 or 2023 and will double the spinning capacity by
enable workers to be trained in more highly skilled roles, says mr 2023. By 2025, the aim is to be “fresh water neutral”.
Javed, taking the pressure off manual jobs, such as lifting of heavy
bags of yarn. It also means the machinery can be operated and Technology-driven
monitored remotely; something the pandemic has increased the Such investment and expansion would appear to go against the
need for, as more people began working from home. “I could be grain of companies that are reining in spending while they assess the
sitting outside the country and control the technology; everything is pandemic’s fallout on consumer spending. While mr Javed admits
based on smart phones and tablets,” he explains. “You can get the the plans were made pre-covid, he believes companies that have
complete rundown of your production, so it becomes a more invested in technology have tended to show the most resilience.
transparent system where we can monitor everything that’s coming “We put everything on hold for about for three months, but we’re
into the mill without physically being present.” fortunate in that the denim industry – while it did have a severe
impact – was also one of the faster ones to recover. The world has to
Yarn strength bounce back and, with the vaccines, there’s a lot of optimistic news.”
The past few years have seen a growing demand for recycled He also points to a shift in sourcing, where some countries might
content in denim, as well as for new blends or for fibres such as be losing market share, and suggests Pakistan’s long-term
hemp. There is currently a maximum amount of recycled content investment strategies are making it increasingly attractive. An
that can be added before the yarns become weakened, as the improvement in the political and law-and-order backdrop is also
shorter fibres are more likely to create imperfections in the fabrics helping. “When I joined the company in 2010, people seemed
and quality issues in the process. AGI has worked closely with reluctant to visit but now we often host US and european companies
machinery companies to design equipment that is better able to and they are pleasantly surprised with what they find on the
cope, which should increase the percentage of recycled material
45 ISSUe 3/ 2021

ground. For a long time, we weren’t able to grow the business as a

that can be added without reducing quality. country,” he concludes. “But this is Pakistan’s time, we feel, to grow,
and in order to grow you need to differentiate yourselves. And you
can differentiate yourself by going green and investing in your
company’s core values.”
FACTORY TALK

FACTORY TALK: CONE DENIM

An important part of Cone Denim’s commitment to reducing water useage is a
new zero-liquid-discharge effluent treatment plant at its production facility in
Parras, northern mexico.

Liquid assets
ike all the companies that form part of

L
Progress, despite covid-19 The factory in Parras is
elevate Textiles, fabric manufacturer vertically integrated and
Steve maggard joined Cone in 1994 and went to
Cone Denim has an important has the capacity to
Parras as a management trainee in the early part of
contribution to make towards reducing process raw cotton, spin
his career, arriving soon after the 1995 production yarn and weave and dye
the group’s greenhouse gas emissions
launch there and staying for about seven years. The up to 30 million metres of
and water usage by 2025. elevate’s stated aim is to town, its people and the factory are all close to his denim fabric per year.
reduce the water intensity of its manufacturing heart. Plans were in place to invite friends and ALL PHOTOS: COne Denim
operations by 25% per unit of production by 2025, customers to Parras for a twenty-fifth anniversary
compared to a 2016 baseline. it has said it will celebration in September 2020, but covid-19 put a
publish annual figures on the way to meeting the stop to this, as it did to so many gatherings last year.
target. The group published its first sustainability The pandemic caused some hold-up in the
report in late 2020 and showed that between 2016 installation of the new effluent treatment plant too
and 2019, its water usege reduced by 7.5%. because engineers, technicians and equipment
As part of the collective effort to improve this suffered delays, but the project has made steady
further, Cone Denim is installing a new progress in spite of this.
zero-liquid-discharge effluent treatment plant at its Cone Denim Parras is a vertically integrated
factory in Parras de la Fuente, in the state of Coahuila operation that has the capacity to process raw cotton,
in northern mexico. According to Cone Denim
46 inSiDe Denim

spin yarn and weave and dye between 30 million and

president, Steve maggard, investments of this kind 32 million yards (27.5 million to 30 million metres) of
are a clear demonstration of the denim mill’s denim fabric per year. Around 900 people work there
commitment to sustainability. “We’re not just dipping in four shifts and the whole process runs 24 hours per
our toe in,” he says. day, seven days per week.
FACTORY TALK
Aerial view of the Cone
Denim site at Parras de la
Fuente, Mexico.

Water supply
north Carolina-based Cone first set up its operation in Parras with a local
joint-venture partner, Cipsa, but it bought this partner out 12 years ago and now
has full ownership. its biggest reason for being there, Steve maggard explains, is
that Parras has a long history, more than 100 years, of textile production. The
town is relatively small, with a population of around 45,000, meaning the
competition for workers is less intense than in many other locations. “We are the
biggest employer in town,” mr maggard says. He also points out that the water
supply is good.
Water supply is the subject of frequent debate among politicians in the state
congress for Coahuila, but Parras de la Fuente is something of an oasis in the President of Cone Denim,
Steve Maggard.
desert, the Cone Denim president continues. There are several wells on the factory
site and the company has all the necessary licences and permits in place to use the
water. But it still wants to make its water-use more efficient, here and across the
whole of its manufacturing network, and the zero-liquid discharge idea is an
important part of the strategy. “We know our customers are looking for the The other 7% will be contained in solids that will
opportunity to tell stories of good sustainable practice to consumers,” mr maggard dry out at the site with the water evaporating into the
says. “We want to provide them with the most sustainable option we can because air and returning to the water-cycle in that way. The
we know it’s the right thing to do, ethically, and also because it will help our dried sludge will then go for disposal, but no water
customers see us as the supplier of choice.” will leave the site, Steve maggard points out. To
compensate for that 7%, the Cone Denim Parras
Another step operation will continue to draw some of the water it
Wastewater treatment has always been an important part of the operation in needs from the wells on site. Allowing for
Parras. After an investment of millions of dollars, an integrated wastewater evaporation, it will take between 10% and 15% of its
treatment plant that met all US as well as mexican regulations was part of the water from that source; the rest will be water it has
operation from the very beginning, with chemical and biological treatment taking recycled. Construction of the new treatment plant is
place on site. For 25 years, Cone technicians treated the water that the factory used at an advanced stage as this issue of Inside Denim
and discharged it into a nearby creek and, onwards, back into the environment. goes to press and it will be in operation by the early
The main difference now, when the zero-liquid-discharge project is complete, will part of the third quarter of 2021.
be that all of the water will go through ultra-filtration and reverse osmosis, leading This new initiative is a source of pride for mr maggard
to 93% of the volume coming back into the operation to be used again. and his colleagues, but he insists that sustainability
and, specifically, water-saving ideas are not new for
the Parras plant. “We already have condensation
recovery from the steam lines,” he says, “and the
47 iSSUe 3/ 2021

process water is already being reused multiple

times before it reaches the wastewater treatment
plant. What we are doing now is just another step
on the journey.”
CLOCKING ON...

CLOCKING ON...
The Lycra company’s Denise Sakuma considers herself lucky.
“Work is 80% of the day, so you need to love what you do. if you
love what you do 80% of the day, you will be a happy person.”

Comfort and performance

Denise held the position of
top the agenda
global ready-to-wear and
denim director at The Lycra
Company. She has been
6.00am
recently promoted to i wake up, check emails and scan the news while sipping
vice-president of brands, my first cup of Nespresso. Then it’s time to get the kids
marketing communications up (yes, this is a drama every morning!) and get them
and merchandising. ready for school.
She has been with the
company since 2004. She is
based in Barcelona where 7.30am
she lives with her partner after leaving the kids at the bus stop, i go for a 5km run.
and children. Denise has an i usually cross Barcelona’s arc de Triomf, head through
MBA in marketing at the ciutadella Park and then reach the beach, see the
University of Michigan, and sun rise and then back home.
and a Business BA.

8.30am
i am lucky to live close enough to work to walk, so i have PHOTO: Lycra
cOMPaNy
another Nespresso and put on a good pair of jeans with
Lycra fibre with, most likely, an adidas Originals top and
trainers. i make my way to the office at Paseo de Gracia, 3.00pm
which hosts most of the fashion, sports and luxury brand Our head office is based in Delaware, Us, so this is the
stores. Being based here is a great way to stay close to the time to have those important discussions with the
flavour of colours, textures, look and feel of latest apparel. sustainability, marketing and innovations teams in the Us
and europe. This is when we can go through the research

9.00am
reviews and discuss the latest consumer insights –
essential for developing consumer-led solutions and
i answer my emails and have video calls with my asian technologies, such as our Lycra anti-slip. This is also a key
and european team members. innovation is extremely time for catching up with customers, new suppliers, our
important and is one of our key strengths. With our agencies and doing one-to-one coaching sessions with
newest advanced Textile innovation centre based in the team. i love meeting customers and suppliers in
china, many of the latest developments are coming out person, but for now, video calls will suffice!
of asia, so it’s important to dedicate quality time to asia
and i reserve my mornings to go through the latest
denim innovations with the teams. 6.30pm
i walk home, perhaps still on some calls and finalise a

1.00pm
few emails. Time to hug the children, check on their
homework and after taking care of them, it is my time. as
as a global company, 1pm and 2pm are really busy times much as i love what i do, it is important to switch off and
because this is when we are able to get all the teams on have enriching experiences outside of work too. i learn
one call. We work collaboratively so these discussions as much as i can about something new each week –
range from innovation and development updates, cryptocoins (bitcoins) is my latest. i usually have a nice
through to marketing and communications planning. dinner with my partner, talk about our day, laugh,
When i get time, i go for a quick walk and grab some sometimes a glass of wine, a movie or a book. i also
lunch. My favourite is Japanese. video call my mother every evening.
48 iNsiDe DeNiM

10.30pm
PHOTO: Derick MckiNNey / Off to bed for a good night’s sleep and ready to face the
UNsPLasH new day.
MAGAZINES
VOLUME 26 ISSUE 6

W
ISSUE 3: 2021 BEHIND THE SEAMS OF THE GLOBAL DENIM INDUSTRY
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020

THE WORLD’S NO.1 MAGAZINE FOR THE LEATHER INDUSTRY

December 2020/January 2021 | [Published 25th January] Volume 33, Number 6

Boldness,
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collide

Recycled polyester barely

scratches the surface
Water and chemical use can come down Leather Leaders: Dr Luis Zugno
What a year!
Plastic: 5m tonne chance for other fibres Nothing To Hide update
Dialogue with Gavin Thompson, Canada Goose
Toe spring’s effect on the foot
Answers to demands for sustainable leather
Cotton industry takes a stand / Colour’s natural chemistry Shared concern over Higg Index
Boda Skins: too cool for fast fashion
New microfibres warning / UK denim’s comeback / Factory Talk The most sustainable shoe fibre

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