Denim mills around the world have proven to be caring and responsible businesses – from funding local schools and healthcare, to providing accommodation and donating to charity. Inside Denim went digging for some shining examples.

Six start-ups from South Korea caught the eye at a recent major exhibition in Milan, none more so than a brand that turns old jeans into tote bags.

There was a time when designers and product developers would, logically and systematically, bring in fresh ideas for trends and fabrics that denim mills and factories would then strive to develop.

We know that shiploads of second-hand clothes are transported from developed countries to Africa, Pakistan, Chile and more, where they are sold in sprawling street markets.

To lower the environmental impact of stretch denim, Yulex, Lycra and Hyosung are harnessing the power of plants.

The software programs developed by machinery makers and chemicals suppliers have given the denim industry a head start in environmental scoring systems.

Enzymes, microbes and such can develop the ability to break down any substance they find in their close environment, including plastics. They are now being screened and tailored to depolymerise PET plastics, polyester textiles and fabrics made from polyamide.

New factories for depolymerising polyester textiles are in the works.

In addition to going into manmade cellulosic fibres, the renewable resource that is pulped wood is also being tapped for other textile industry supplies, including polymers and chemicals, offering a new array of materials that are not derived from fossil fuels.

When digging into the history of women’s jeans, especially the history of the early makers of jeans for women, would it occur to you to look towards Japan? Well the country has a true pioneer in this space, and a formerly very well-known denim label to boot. Today, Betty Smith is more than just a brand.

Mexican fabric developer Tavex argues that the denim industry should have a preferential option for biodegradable fibres.

Finishing is a critical phase of jeans-making to create the industry’s requisite authentic effects but also for its potential impacts on the environment.

Ahead of its thirtieth anniversary this August, Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics still knows how to draw a crowd.

Taking a material from the aerospace industry, a “crazy” idea became Armalith in the hands of the textiles masterminds at Tejidos Royo. Continued investment at the Spanish mill means the price of the fabric has now been slashed in half.

Achieving net-zero in the apparel supply chain by 2050 will require huge investment.

A four-year collaborative project to increase the amount of post-consumer recycled cotton in jeans sold in the Netherlands, the Denim Deal, is now looking to replicate the concept on a larger scale.

In the wide world of agricultural waste lie many long and strong fibres that can be spun into textile yarns.

Hundreds, nearing on thousands, of tonnes per month. While still marginal, the volumes of textile waste recycled into new fabrics by denim mills have dramatically scaled up in recent years.

Learning the value of print, process and photorealism with Prosperity.

The city of Genoa would like to remind denim lovers that it made a significant contribution to the world of jeans, through the very term itself, derived from its historic indigo-dyed fustian fabrics.

The Mills Fabrica’s London exhibition unites companies across the supply chain to promote the positive behind-the-scenes work and innovative solutions for responsible denim manufacturing.

The denim industry is often cited as a driver of change in making fashion more sustainable, through its choice of materials and innovation in processes.

Believed to build the resilience of both farmers and our planet, regenerative cotton farming is slowly gaining ground.