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Trash into treasure

Trash into treasure

Could proteins from feathers provide the building blocks for a new fibre to rival polyester and silk? Bloom Labs believes it has found a solution that could be a good fit for the denim sector. “I’m on mission to replace polyester,” says Bloom Labs founder Sim Gulati. The bold statement from the US entrepreneur comes after years of witnessing the material’s impact first-hand through working...
  • The need to increase fibre-to-fibre recycling and lack of progress in achieving this is...
    New fibres in the loop
    The need to increase fibre-to-fibre recycling and lack of progress in achieving this is...
  • We are all familiar with the names of famous Japanese denim mills, located between...
    Telling the tale of indigo
    We are all familiar with the names of famous Japanese denim mills, located between...
  • No sodium hydrosulfite, very little water. High frequency sound waves. This is the new...
    Upending ultrasound
    No sodium hydrosulfite, very little water. High frequency sound waves. This is the new...
  • Cotton always seems to bounce back from challenging times. Here, a senior vice-president...
    Fibre fightback
    Cotton always seems to bounce back from challenging times. Here, a senior vice-president...
  • Political support for linen and hemp is growing in northern France and could result in a...
    Fibres build bridges
    Political support for linen and hemp is growing in northern France and could result in a...

Features

30 May 2023
Sustainability stripes Sustainability stripes
Bestseller ponders some of the key threads that together make up the multidimensional tapestry that is its ever-evolving circularity road map.
23 May 2023
Leading with impact Leading with impact
Epic Group’s executive vice-president of innovation and sustainability, Vidhura Ralapanawe, decodes how its newest ‘green’ micro-factory in Bangladesh leveraged its immediate surroundings to achieve the world’s highest LEED score in its category.
09 May 2023
Fittingly inclusive, ahead of the curve Fittingly inclusive, ahead of the curve
A leather bag designer decided to create a perfect pair of jeans. Her first step? Getting rid of standard industry measurements.
02 May 2023
Infinite colour Infinite colour
Dyeing is considered one of the most polluting processes in the textile industry, and growing garment waste is an issue the industry can no longer shrug off.
25 April 2023
Room for nuance Room for nuance
‘Out-of-the-blue’ denim products make up a small part of the market, but they play an important role in providing variety in the all-indigo world of blue jeans.
18 April 2023
Not so limited Not so limited
If you have never been to Bangladesh, you should be prepared to see quite a difference between its former reputation and expectations and today’s reality. A telling example is the Denim Expert Ltd’s ready-made garment factory in Chittagong.
11 April 2023
Garment workers go legal over Tesco Thai ties Garment workers go legal over Tesco Thai ties
Lawyers in the UK have begun legal proceedings on behalf of garment workers in Asia in a potential landmark case. Retail group Tesco and quality and safety audit body Intertek face action over the alleged treatment of workers at a jeans factory in Thailand.
28 March 2023
A new route forward A new route forward
Advance Denim’s general manager, Amy Wang, takes stock of the competitive advantages of the company’s latest factory, challenging the “common” misconception that Vietnamese-made denim is in any way “more basic”.
21 March 2023
Fair and square Fair and square
With the fashion industry’s complex global supply chain and factories located in low-wage countries, ensuring production workers receive decent pay is not easy.
07 March 2023
Customer care Customer care
Originally based in Syria, Sharabati Denim operates two facilities, one in Egypt and the other in Kadirli, in the south of Turkey, where construction began in 2015. With continued investment in new generation equipment, this site has progressively expanded to double and mirror the production of the Egyptian mill.
21 February 2023
Circular engineering Circular engineering
With growing demand for recycled content of any kind and a pressing need to find suitable and sustainable solutions for waste, excess stock and end-of-life clothes, denim mills are investing in closing the loop themselves.
14 February 2023
Making a way Making a way
His eternal optimism in a world of indigo means one of denim’s leading lights has for the first time taken the brand that started it, Daily Blue, back to the drawing board.
07 February 2023
Closer cotton connections Closer cotton connections
If we want cotton in the next thirty years, we need to support small farmers and their communities. This is not the only reason, but the long-term vision driving the development of direct-to-grower programmes. Their ambition is to bridge the wide gap, a chasm really, between global brands and individual farms.
24 January 2023
That laser focus That laser focus
It is a waterless, non-chemical technology that replicates the varied washing and distressing that the denim industry indulges in.
03 January 2023
The new Denim Authority The new Denim Authority
20 December 2022
Mexico must invest in advanced technology Mexico must invest in advanced technology
Jeanologia’s José Luis García says the denim industry in Mexico has good prospects for growth as western brands scale down sourcing in Asia.
13 December 2022
The quest for common metrics The quest for common metrics
The need to back sustainable practices with bona fide third-party certification has led to the development of countless labels and standards serving the varied environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies of brands and retailers.
06 December 2022
Leaving ‘his or hers’ behind Leaving ‘his or hers’ behind
The growing popularity of gender-free denim design highlights limitations in the traditional men’s-or-women’s approach to retail.
29 November 2022
Science, skill and scope Science, skill and scope
In a 300,000m2 facility located in Inegol, near Bursa, Turkey’s industrial hub, Isko produces some 300 million meters of fabric every year.
22 November 2022
The skinny & elasticity The skinny & elasticity
Skinny jeans remain top sellers, but looser styles are chipping away at their long-standing market dominance. Comfort, which relies on a measure of stretch, remains a top priority for consumers, but goes against sustainable design guidelines that discourage fibre blends.
15 November 2022
Aiming at the ecosystem Aiming at the ecosystem
Mud Jeans has long found favour with its commitment to bettering the denim ecosystem.
08 November 2022
New thinking about dyeing New thinking about dyeing
In their quest to reduce the impacts of their products, brands and retailers are quick to promote a switch to more sustainable fibres. But indigo dyeing is a major industry hotspot that makes headlines when rivers turn blue.
01 November 2022
Forever filtered Forever filtered
An innovative water treatment system at Cone Denim’s facility in Parras, Mexico, takes reverse osmosis to new heights.
19 October 2022
Hemp high and low Hemp high and low
For some, hemp and denim have a strong connection. For others, it is and will forever remain a minor fibre. Both camps have a point. Its place and role in the industry may however evolve as an infrastructure builds up to process this alternative fibre.
05 July 2022
Romans empire Romans empire
Tilmann Wröbel visits 1083, a French brand and manufacturer that is among a growing number of companies showing that, with a little determination, supply chains can be established and textiles jobs created domestically.
28 June 2022
Partners prepare to take AeoniQ forward Partners prepare to take AeoniQ forward
Last year, HeiQ introduced AeoniQ yarn as a climate-positive (the raw materials capture rather than emit carbon) alternative to polyester and nylon. Now the fashion world is paying careful attention.
21 June 2022
Britain’s rich and varied denim landscape Britain’s rich and varied denim landscape
A meander around the UK reveals an enthusiastic core of talented designers, dedicated consultants and skilful makers.
07 June 2022
An anatomy of denim An anatomy of denim
An entire industry is built on one iconic fabric, a twill weave made from a warp-dyed indigo and a weft, left white.
31 May 2022
Pakistan’s proactive pledge Pakistan’s proactive pledge
Half of the signatories to Net Zero Pakistan – which aims for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 – are mills and manufacturers in the denim supply chain.
24 May 2022
Wellthread: Levi’s evolution accelerator Wellthread: Levi’s evolution accelerator
From dyeing with soundwaves, via natural indigo and new fibres, head of product innovation Paul Dillinger explains how Wellthread collections operate as a type of R&D hub, laying the groundwork for successful main line interpretations, including the first Circular 501s.
18 May 2022
Keeping cotton in the loop Keeping cotton in the loop
What would jeans be without cotton? The natural fibre is literally a staple of the denim industry.
11 May 2022
Do old threads pose new threats? Do old threads pose new threats?
An investigation into the presence of harmful chemicals in textile waste seeks to assess whether it is safe or not to recycle old clothes into new ones. Initial findings have found this risk to be low, but not negligible. It is a signal that further research is needed, along with a better understanding, and tracking, of chemical usage.
19 April 2022
Smart oxidising agents Smart oxidising agents
First used to address the troublesome issue of back-staining, the mark of a low-end product, ozone is a powerful oxidising agent that is widely considered more sustainable than conventional chemicals. New developments in machinery and chemicals suggest that it has yet to reach its full potential.
29 March 2022
Properly British Properly British
A next-generation laundry concept is poised to make quite a splash in the UK, ready to bring denim washing, finishing and reprocessing back to the nation’s shores for the first time since 2002. Inside Denim chats to Salli Deighton, the English denim design and development specialist making it all happen.
22 March 2022
Cottoning on: Uzbekistan, now Cottoning on: Uzbekistan, now
Jonas Astrup, the Tashkent-based chief of the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) third-party monitoring project, updates Inside Denim on the state of cotton-picking in Uzbekistan. Particularly, how the ILO now detects a positive – and significant – link between the Uzbek cotton harvest and female empowerment.
08 March 2022
A yarn for the climate A yarn for the climate
Swiss textile technology developer HeiQ has launched AeoniQ, a cellulose­-based yarn that it says offers the ease ­of ­use, the performance levels, the versatility, the affordability and the scalability to allow the textile industry to consign polyester and nylon to the past.
01 March 2022
No-stone future No-stone future
Most consumers have only a vague notion of the repercussions of the use of pumice in denim stonewashing. For the industry, these volcanic stones remain a gold standard, and are unmatched in their ability to achieve what is considered authentic wear and tear. The long-established practice is nonetheless increasingly being called into question, as alternative solutions come closer to reproducing the coveted look and feel of real stones.
22 February 2022
Burning ambition Burning ambition
Denim Dynasty founder Nino Castro believes too much time is wasted starting laser designs from scratch and has come up with an idea that he believes will simplify the process for designers, brands and manufacturers.
08 February 2022
Every drop counts Every drop counts
From cotton farming to fabric and garment processing, the denim industry is often charged with consuming inordinate amounts of water. In reality, much progress has been made to counter these accusations. The latest developments focus on recycling water to achieve zero-liquid discharge.
02 February 2022
Landmark year for synthetic indigo Landmark year for synthetic indigo
The first commercial batch of synthetic indigo came to market in 1897. Its discovery would be crowned by a Nobel Prize for its contribution to the advancement of modern chemistry. Now, 125 years later, it owes its high level of recognition to its ties to the denim industry. In less than a decade, the modern synthetic dyestuff had replaced its natural equivalent, and its dominance continues, despite the specific processes needed to make the pigment bond to cotton fibres.
26 January 2022
Turning momentum into a standard Turning momentum into a standard
The Dutch Denim Deal is a cross-industry partnership between public and private companies that could offer a blueprint for a circular system. What progress has been made in the year since it was signed and what are the implications for the rest of the world?
16 December 2021
Artisans of denim Artisans of denim
When it comes to luxury and premium denim, Italy is a preferred manufacturing and laundry destination. Tilmann Wrobel takes us on a trip to Incom, through the beautiful landscapes of Pesaro, close to San Marino.
08 December 2021
Hot commodity Hot commodity
Cotton won’t lose its crown anytime soon – particularly when it comes to denim manufacturing. As Inside Denim finds out, opportunities abound for getting things right in Africa.
01 December 2021
No place like home No place like home
A community project in the north of England that aims to grow and process flax through to dyed, finished linen could result in very exclusive jeans. It could also inspire a wider revival of textile and clothing manufacturing at a local level.

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