Denimandjeans | Global Trends, News and Reports | Worldwide

Author: Sandeep Agarwal

  • Arvind Sustainability Report

    Arvind Sustainability Report

    Arvind Limited is a USD-1.7 billion conglomerate with an interest in textiles, brands, retail, engineering, water treatment, and advanced material sectors, amongst others. They are also the largest fire protection fabric producer in the country. Garments are also an integral part of their verticalization strategy and they produced over 54 million garments in FY 2018-19.  From being just a textile company, Arvind has come a long way and striving every day to create opportunities. They are focused to drive social impacts by taking up CSR and sustainability initiatives that are surely changing lives and making a difference to thousands. Arvind owns 22 global patents for environmental solutions.

    For Arvind, sustainability goes beyond the usage of environment-friendly products and processes. From farming of crops to finished garments, they are innovating in all aspects to create more synergies in sustainability actions . Arvind considers environmental, social, and economical sustainability as major pillars of its business model .  Their practices and processes are geared not only to optimize utilization of the resources but also to nurture their roots and bring out the best of their innovation and design.

    “ We understand that we cannot fight this alone, and collaboration is the best way forward. At Arvind, we have a two-pronged approach to deal with it. Being fundamentally right ourselves, as an organization, in the issues which are material to our stakeholders and collaborating with our allies to amplify our sustainability efforts. We continue to push our boundaries with our allies across all our six key inputs – Cotton, People, Money, Energy, Water and Chemicals.” –avers  Chairman Sanjay Lalbhai

    Arvind has just published its sustainability report 2019-2020.  The report articulates core ideas of ‘Fundamentally Right’ philosophy by making every stakeholder and input an ally towards achieving larger and long-term sustainability goals. It delves deeper into their sustainability performance and discloses in detail the contributions of their allies and the supply chain for raising the sustainability standards. Arvind has adapted the reporting parameters suggested by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and thus, this report is in accordance with GRI standard guidelines.

    At Arvind’s Denim Business, in addition to driving all the initiatives mentioned in this report, they are focusing on three high-impact initiatives which are: Conservation of water, Recycling of materials, Farming Projects (Organic Cotton, BCI Cotton, and Natural Indigo). We bring some excerpts from their report with special focus on key areas of Cotton, Chemicals, Water and Energy.

    COTTON

    Cotton is the most widely used raw material in the global textile industry. Indian textile industry continues to be dominated by cotton, accounting for nearly 3/4th of the total fiber consumption in the country. So, the consumption of cotton is predicted to increase commensurably.

    Challenges

    • In India, most farms are rainfed and monsoons are unpredictable. Crop failures and under-realization of investment lead to financial impoverishment, and sometimes, farmer suicides.
    • Adopting new agriculture techniques and improving yield are some of the challenges that cotton farmers with small landholdings face.
    • Traditional cotton farming, with its chemical fertilizers and pesticides, also takes a toll on the environment.

    ” Arvind Ltd. along with Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) led the implementation of the Better Cotton Standard, laying the foundation for more sustainable cotton production in the country in 2010-11. We are also ensuring zero child labor in cotton fields and the promotion of sustainable cotton farming“– says Chairman Sanjay  Lalbhai

    Arvind’s Initiatives

    Sourcing sustainable cotton and reducing the negative impact of cotton farming is one of their top agenda. During the period, Arvind has started a new sustainable farming method, Regenerative Organic Farming, which is a more holistic way of encompassing organic practices, animal welfare, and social fairness. Their sustainable farm operations now extend to more than 100,000 acres and they are planning to  expand their farm operations to cover 400,000 acres of farmland and over 100,000 farmers by the year 2022-23. Around 26% of their cotton is sustainable and is being further being scaled up.

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    Arvind’s supply chain consists of 3 types of cotton: BCI, Organic and Conventional

    Better Cotton Initiative (BCI): Arvind is one of the largest implementation partners of BCI as well as the first textile major to partner with BCI in India. It seeks to grow responsible cotton through carefully controlled application of water and use of approved fertilizers and pesticides.

    Organic cotton: Organic cotton farming is the process of growing cotton naturally. The seeds used are non-GMO, and the synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers are replaced by farm-made organic inputs like enriched compost and biopesticides made from on-farm available resources and cow urine. This protects the soil and groundwater and reduces the overall cost.

    Arvind gives an interesting comparison of three types of cotton and their environmental impact. This clearly shows the advantage that Organic Cotton has over Conventional and even BCI cotton. image

    WATER

    Right from the cultivation of cotton, to transforming it into a garment – water plays a key role at every stage in the industry. Arvind is focusing on recycling of water as far as possible. A recycling facility with a capacity of 8 million liters per day, is being constructed at their Denim mill in Ahmedabad. They use currently 65% recycled water and only 35% of water comes from freshwater sources. Several of their production units are operating on 100% recycled water.

    “We are setting up an innovation center and a water treatment facility to eliminate the use of freshwater in making denim with our ally Gap Inc. For the textile industry, wastewater is a major challenge. With Levi’s and the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) program, we are eliminating hazardous chemicals from the value chain. This has helped us in eliminating harmful chemicals from our processes, reduce chemical consumption, substitute hazardous with greener chemicals, and recover salts from wastewater to keep the environment clean“– says Chairman Sanjay  Lalbhai

    Arvind’s conservation journey started with setting up the first Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) plant and an Effluent Treatment Plant, way back in 1998.  They advanced their efforts by setting up a wastewater treatment plant that recycles up to 98% of their effluent, limiting the net withdrawal of water from bore wells.

    “As water becomes increasingly scarce due to climate change and growing human needs, the apparel industry is facing pressure to reduce its freshwater demand. In India, 54% of the population faces high to extremely high water risk” according to Gap

    Initiatives taken up to optimize water use include:

    • Arvind has joined hands with Gap Inc. to set up an innovation center and a water treatment facility to eliminate the use of freshwater in making denim.
    • Freshwater consumption has gone down in the Denim business by 37% over 5 years due to various water conservation initiatives and efficient machinery.
    • The facility will use membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology to treat domestic wastewater drawn from the surrounding community, without the use of chemicals in the treatment process. The facility will replace 100% of the mill’s freshwater use with reclaimed water.
    • By the end of FY 2020-21,3 billion liters of fresh water will be saved and will preserve the local community’s vital freshwater resources.
    • Corrected the countercurrent system with optimum water flow rate in the AE Desizing machine. The initiative led to resource-saving of 5.5 liters/meter to 5.0 liters/meter of water.
    • Set up new connecting valves within the wash tanks for establishing a countercurrent system. The flow of water reduced from 8 liters/meter to 6 liters/meterimage
    • Santej unit is equipped with a Wastewater Treatment Plant which recycles up to 98% of effluent.
    • USING GREENHOUSE FOR SLUDGE DRYING The greenhouse uses sun radiance to heat the surface of the sludge bed and aeration to evaporate the water contained in the sludge. The evaporated water is then evacuated through natural convection, assisted by the ventilation system. Santej unit set up the greenhouse with the capacity to treat up to 10 tons of ETP wet sludge.
    • FOAM DYEING Arvind has invested in advanced technologies such as foam dyeing for denim which uses 90% less water compared to conventional dyeing technologies. The main dyeing element in this process is foam, using air instead of water.
    • REUSING THE PRE-WETTING BATH WATER Water is picked up from the pre-wetting bath when the machine has a non-Sulphur dyeing load. The water is recovered and carried through pumps and a piping system to where the dyed yarn is washed. This water is utilized for washing purposes.
    • RECOVERING AND REUSING WATER ON MONFORTE MACHINES In the zero-zero finish, a huge amount of water is sprayed onto the rubbers of the machine to simply cool them down. This water is clear and it’s quality equal to the raw water. The project aimed at reusing this water for the finishing of fabric at Arvind Mills.
    • HARVESTING WATER FOR WASHING A total of three rooftop harvesting systems with a rooftop area of 65,800 sq. feet and tanks with cumulative water storage capacities of 615 KL of water have been installed at various places for washing purposes. The harvested water is then used in the washing process.
    • JOINING FORCES TO REDUCE FRESHWATER USE Arvind Envisol has designed the state-of-the-art Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) plant based on analysis of composite samplings at pumping stations. The water is treated and further polished at their STP through various technologies such as bar screening, pH correction, flash mixer, primary clarifier, and sand filter. Later, this treated water is disinfected with Hypochlorite to remove the bacterial colony. Once water quality is checked thoroughly for use in domestic usage, the stream is released in H-plant, boilers, and domestic usage.

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    • WATER CONSERVATION AT BOMMASANDRA UNIT
      • Rainforest Machine- The machine is designed with 3mm+ 3mm double layered drum structure which runs with pump-free water circulation technology. When the distance between the inner and outer drum of the machine reduces, 50% of water consumption is reduced for stone and enzyme wash, which results in chemical savings as well.
      • Reverse Osmosis System It is installed to treat wastewater and reuse the same. This initiative led to using 60% of the treated water for the process.
      • Nano Spray Technology The machines use MSIT as a medium to hold the chemicals instead of water which reduces the amount of wastewater substantially as only the amount needed for garment absorption is sprayed and there is no discharge in this step.

    ENERGY

    Arvind is taking up multiple initiatives across their units and offices for reducing their energy consumption.

    “ In the last five years, we have been able to cut down our total direct and indirect emission by around 15%. Our Ethiopia operations are fully powered by renewable energy. Our ally Cleantech Solar has helped us install 16.2-MW rooftop solar at our Santej facility in Gujarat, which is India’s largest rooftop solar installation at a single location. We are also working with farmers to use residues of cotton crop in boilers instead of coal to generate steam from Biomass“– mentions Chairman Sanjay S. Lalbhai

    INITIATIVES

    • They have implemented ISO 50001 energy management system at all their large energy-consuming sites and are also increasing their alternative energy in the total energy mix.
    • Biomass Energy Farmers usually dump or burn the bulk of the cotton stalk in the fields after harvesting the cotton crop, leading to pollution and an increase in emissions. . Arvind undertook a pilot program to check if the cotton crop residues can also be harvested and used in the boilers instead of coal to generate steam from biomass. Based on the results of this pilot, they plan to increase the coverage and quantity of biomass coming from this source further. 
    • Renewable Energy Cleantech Solar is their ally in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Their Santej Plant takes their total solar capacity across various sites to 22MW. Arvind  wants to further take their captive solar generation capacity to 40 MW. Once that capacity is reached, overall generation will exceed 55 million units per year and will reduce carbon emissions by 50,000 tons per annum.
    • Developed an energy strategy ‘Less Watt Per Meter’ to flatten their energy demand curve and reduce their environmental footprint.
    • Introduced daylight harvesting systems and also reused heat and water in processing machines from condensate recovery
    • Ethiopia’s operations are completely powered by solar energy.
    • All their units undergo periodic energy audits to find out newer opportunities to reduce energy consumption

    POLLUTION

    Arvind is reducing GHG and air pollution through various initiatives. They have switched from coal to renewable biomass to the extent of 40%. They have achieved a 13.88% reduction in direct GHG & a 15% drop in indirect GHG emissions in the last five years, considerably reducing their overall carbon footprint.

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    WASTE MANAGEMENT

    • To utilize biodegradable waste and obtain smoke-free fuel which can be utilized for cooking, Arvind installed a biogas plant that transforms the biodegradable waste from kitchen to biogas and in the process creates manure as a by-product.
    • SHIFTING FROM HIGH EXHAUSTIVE (HE) TO MILD EXHAUSTIVE (ME) IN YARN-DYEING MCT (Monochlorotriazine) dyes most commonly called HE dyes are PMF fast which are generally used for dyeing of yarn. The major drawback of this system is less fixation, high temperature of exhaustion and fixation, more salt requirement in dark shades, and limitations in depth. After studying, they shifted towards a bifunctional system, which is more robust, sustainable, generates lesser effluent load due to high fixation, and reduces dyeing temperature by 20°C thereby reducing steam consumption. It maintains the same fabric quality and increases throughput because of high RFT levels

    CHEMICALS

    Arvind is intent at replacing conventional chemistry with green chemistry . Their key allies when it comes to chemicals are Levi Strauss & Co. and the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) program. Arvind became the first textile manufacturer as well as the first company headquartered in India to join the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) program in FY 2016-17.

    INITIATIVES TAKEN

    • REDUCING WATER FOOTPRINT IN PRINTING They use plastic containers for their printing process as chemical stores for paste preparation and prolonged storage. The container is reused for the same operation after a thorough washing. On the other hand, printed fabrics are washed in a long soaper where the last two chambers contain minimum impurities. The water in these chambers was usually drained. However, the Printing Team devised a novel method to collect water from the last two chambers of the soaper and connect the same to drum washing. After collecting the washed water and filtering it, they utilized it for washing the plastic containers.
    • ONLINE REPOSITORY OF CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT – Through a special drive, they store all related documents in a soft copy format and run the entire system on a paperless process.
    • CONDUCTING LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS Arvind has procured a specialized software, GABI, which will be used to conduct Cradle to Grave, Cradle to Gate, or Gate to Gate Life Cycle Analysis of their products.
    • CHEMICAL-FREE STRIPPING OF SCREENS The photosensitized cured film is removed normally with means of chemicals. Their printing division is equipped with an advanced high-pressure waterjet system that uses only water jets to remove the cured film without damaging the pores of the mesh.

    These were just some excerpts from their long sustainability report which also speaks about various other initiatives that Arvind is working on. Download the full report here .

  • Valentino & Levi’s collaborate to revive Vintage 517 denim line

    Valentino & Levi’s collaborate to revive Vintage 517 denim line

    20200928-valentino-02

    Now the reputed Italian luxurious fashion house Valentino and American Denim super brand Levi’s comes under a single tag. The tag has been designed to celebrate the beginning of a new fashion exploration. The brand introduces up denim pants that re-conceptualized the retro Levi’s® 1969 – 517 boot cut, jean model, to create something completely new. And the result is a classic jean cut with a nod to the Italian flair that Valentino champions. Voluminous chiffon blouses and tailored jackets are styles which go with these Levi’s jeans .

    The collection consists of two parts:

    • The runway pieces, being vintage pants from the ’70s, designs have been limited worldwide to just 517 units. Every item bears a special label that shows its individual number.
    • The Levi’s re-edition 517 jeans, a re-elaboration of the previously-worn variations

    NET-A-PORTER Senior Market Editor, Libby Page, said: “The Levi’s for Valentino collaboration is arguably the most covetable denim to own this season. We love how Pierpaolo Piccioli from Maison  has reimagined the timeless 517 styles to make them fresh and relevant for today. It’s an immediate and clever response to what our customer wants right now and we are thrilled to be the exclusive global partner for the launch.”

    Daniel Todd, Buying Manager at MR PORTER, added: “As if the original styles weren’t iconic enough, these new interpretations breathe life into a classic model, championing the craftsmanship and design we know our customers will respond to.”

    Made particularly for the Maison, it re-signifies an archival design it celebrates  the concept of contemporary romanticism .

     

    In a statement, the team behind the collaboration said both brands embody the same values of “equality” and an “inclusive aesthetic”. They continued: “’resignification’ is a concept that Piccioli has been reflecting on for a long time. It consists of giving new value to symbols, ideas, places, and atmospheres that come from different moments in time, but are still relevant to the contemporary world.”

    Discussing the show in Milan, the team said “by remaining faithful to the 517 renowned styles, Piccioli has created a style that is familiar to all: Levi’s® boot cut jeans that are juxtaposed with iconic elements of Valentino such as rouches and lace. They co-exist harmoniously, creating a new concept of romanticism for men and women.”

    A specialized co-branded again tag has additionally been designed for this collaboration. Every pair of denims will get a particular inside print of the logos and can then be packaged in a particular field to grow to be an especially private piece.

    The Valentino and Levi’s 517 collaboration is now available exclusively on Net-A- Porter and Mr Porter sites.

  • Imports of Denim Fabric In Indonesia In January & February2021

    Imports of Denim Fabric In Indonesia In January & February2021

    A few weeks before, we published a report on denim fabric import by Indonesia for the month of Dec & Feb 2021. In the current report, we’ve listed the major denim fabric importers in INDONESIA for the month of January & Februrary2021 and analysed the volume and average price along with the countries from where they are buying. The contents of this report are as below:

    PARTICULARS

    TABLE SHOWING THE DENIM FABRIC SUPPLYING COUNTRIES TO INDONESIA ALONG WITH AVERAGE PRICE

    TABLE SHOWING THE TOP DENIM IMPORTING COMPANIES OF INDONESIA ALONG WITH AVERAGE PURCHASE PRICE

    GRAPHS SHOWING THE MAIN SUPPLIERS  OF DENIM FABRICS INTO INDONESIA

    GRAPHS SHOWING THE AVERAGE PRICE OF EXPORTS OF DENIM FABRICS BY DIFFERENT SUPPLIERS INTO INDONESIA

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    COUNTRIES SUPPLYING DENIM FABRICS TO INDONESIA IN January & February 2021

    In the month of January  & February 2021, Indonesia imported approx. 1.79 million meters of denim fabrics. , and the table for details is given below .

    CHINA is the biggest exporter of Denim Fabric to Indonesia with a total volume of about 1.1 million mtrs meters, which comprises a 61.6% share in total import of denim of Indonesia during January and February 2021.

    Hongkong with a 22.08% share is the 2nd largest exporting country to Indonesia during this period – this effectively means that China controls about 85% of the market. Also we can see that the average prices of denim fabric coming into Indonesia from China or HK is not bad. Pakistan contributed some miniscule quantity  as well.

    SHIPPER COUNTRY

    QUANTITY

    AVERAGE PRICE ($/METER)

    %SHARE

    CHINA

    11,04,430

    2.91

    61.6%

    HONG KONG

    3,95,830

    2.22

    22.08%

    PAKISTAN

    2,24,900

    2.59

    12.54%

    JAPAN

    14,660

    7.25

    0.82%

    TURKEY

    17,340

    4.54

    0.97%

    BANGLADESH

    16,690

    2.82

    0.93%

    MARSHALL ISLANDS

    8,940

    3.05

    0.5%

    UNITED STATES

    5,810

    2.64

    0.32%

    VIETNAM

    3,680

    3.29

    0.21%

    SOUTH KOREA

    540

    7.03

    0.03%

    INDIA

    10

    3.58

    0%

    TOTAL

    17,92,830

    2.77

    100%

     

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    COMPANIES IMPORTING DENIM IN INDONESIA

    So far as the import of denim fabric by different companies are concerned, PT. Sandang Asa Maju Abadi  and PT Sai Apparel Industries are the two biggest importers of denim fabric in Indonesia with a total import of 4.69 lacs meters and 4.8 lacs meters of denim fabric respectively in this period. The average price for PT Sandang Asia is very high at $3.18/meter.

    CONSIGNEE NAME QUANTITY(METER) AVERAGE PRICE(US$/METER)
    PT SANDANG ASIA MAJU ABADI 4,69,760 3.18
    PT SAI APPAREL INDUSTRIES 4,80,380 2.28
    ERATEX DJAJA TBK. 1,16,540 3.59
    SAI GARMENTS INDUSTRIES 1,15,510 2.64
    PT. KHARISMA LESTARI JAYA 1,29,750 2.33
    PT. KG FASHION INDONESIA 89,370 3.09
    SANSAN SAUDARATEX JAYA, PT. 96,350 2.68
    PT. INTI SUKSES GARMINDO 1,08,000 2.34
    PT. TRINUNGGAL KOMARA 68,470 2.81
    TAINAN ENTERPRISES INDONESIA 36,390 3.41
    PT. BALI NIRWANA GARMENTS 23,060 3.21
    PT DAEHAN GLOBAL 13,800 2.77
    DAEHAN GLOBAL 11,190 2.82
    BINABUSANA INTERNUSA 14,390 2.03
    ZIBEN INDONESIA 8,940 3.05
    TOTAL 17,81,900 2.76

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    PT SANDANG ASIA MAJU ABADI

    PT Sandang Asia Maju Abadi imported 4.7 lacs meter of denim fabrics during Dec & Jan 2021 and it got many suppliers on board. Out of many suppliers, XINGTAI H&J TEXTILES CO.,LTD from China  emerged as the biggest supplier with an export volume of 98,793 meters ($3.07/meter), and Upper Universe is the second biggest supplier from Hong Kong with a total volume of 93,532 meters and supplying at $2.67 / meter.

    Address : Tugu wijaya Kusuma Industrial Estate, Jl. Tugu Industri I No.8, Randu Garut, Kec. Tugu, Kota Semarang, Jawa Tengah 50153, Indonesia
    Phone: +62 24 8664012
    Email: irma@sandangasia.com
    Website: http://ptsaiapparel.com/

    SHIPPER NAME QUANTITY AVERAGE PRICE($/METER) SHIPPER COUNTRY
    XINGTAI H&J TEXTILES CO.,LTD 98,793.00 3.07 CHINA
    UPPER UNIVERSE INDUSTRIAL LTD. 93,532.00 2.67 HONG KONG
    PROSPERITY TEXTILE (H.K.) LIMITED. 79,781.00 3.09 HING KONG
    ADVANCE DENIM CO.,LIMITED. 78,838.00 3.43 CHINA
    BLACK PEONY TEXTILE CO.,LTD. 57,349.00 3.13 CHINA
    INDIGO TEXTILE (PVT) LTD. 24,208.00 2.97 PAKISTAN
    UNITIKA TRADING CO.,LTD. 9,117.00 6.22 JAPAN
    CONE DENIM (JIAXING) LIMITED 7,600.68 3.89 CHINA
    MOU FUNG LTD. 6,680.00 2.67 HONG KONG
    ORTA ANADOLU TICARET VE SANAYI ISLETMESI T.A.S. 6,007.20 5.50 TURKEY
    HAINING BAFANG WEAVING CO.,LTD. 4,850.00 2.80 CHINA
    BOSSA TICARET VE SANAYI ISLETMELERI T.A.S. 2,911.19 4.66 TURKEY
    TORAY INTERNATIONAL , INC. 1,171.00 10.87 JAPAN
    KAIPING UPPER UNIVERSE TEXTILE 100.00 3.13 CHINA
    H. W. TEXTILES CO., LTD. 50.00 1.24 HNG KONG
    SYED ATEEB 3.28 0.14 PAKISTAN
    TOTAL 4,70,991.36 59.48  

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    PT SAI APPAREL INDUSTRIES

    The total import of denim fabric made by PT Sai Apparel Industries during the month of  Dec and Jan’21 was 4.80  lacs meters. Global Century from Hong Kong shipped around 2.98 lacs meters of denim fabric at an average price of $2.11/m while Changzhou Deyi Printing and Dyeing Co shipped around 1.02 meters at an average price of $2.69/meter.

    Address : Jl. Brijend Sudiarto Km11, Bega, Bandungrejo, Kec. Mranggen, Kota Semarang, Jawa Tengah 50194, Indonesia (Factory)
    Phone: +62 24 6701616
    Email: vikash@ptsai.com
    Website: http://ptsaiapparel.com/

    SHIPPER NAME

    QUANTITY

    AVERAGE PRICE ($/METER)

    SHIPPER COUNTRY

    GLOBAL CENTURY (HK) LIMITED

    2,98,266.00

    2.11

    HONG KONG

    CHANGZHOU DEYI PRNTING AND DYEING CO, LTD

    1,02,253.00

    2.69

    CHINA

    REALTEX COMPANY LIMITED

    53,281.00

    2.23

    HONG KONG

    HA MEEM DENIM LTD

    16,687.00

    2.83

    BANGLADESH

    E.8 DENIM HOUSE ,LLC

    5,808.00

    2.64

    UNITED STATES

    JOINT CREATION ENTERPRISE LIMITED

    4,686.00

    3.05

    TAIWAN

    HANGZHOU FEINADA TEXTILE CO.LTD

    10.00

    1.93

    CHINA

    TOTAL

    4,80,991

    2.28

    		  

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    ERATEX DJAJA TBK.

    Cone Denim(Jiaxing) Limited is the biggest supplier to Eratex Djaja during the months of Jan & Feb’21, the company had supplied 1.05 lacs meters at an average price of $3.69/meter which is the highest amongst all the suppliers during that period.

    Address : Spazio Building 3rd Floor Unit.319-321Graha Festival Kav.3 – Graha FamilyJl. Mayjend Yono SoewoyoSurabaya 60226 – Indonesia
    Phone: +62-31-99001101
    Website: https://www.eratexco.com/

    SHIPPER NAME QUANTITY AVERAGE PRICE($/METER) SHIPPER COUNTRY
    CONE DENIM (JIAXING) LIMITED 1,05,058.08 3.69 CHINA
    MOU FUNG LIMITED 5,656 2.93 HONG KONG
    TUONG LONG LTD 3669 3.27 VIETNAM
    INDIGO TEXTILE 1300 0.3 PAKISTAN
    CALIK DENIM TEKSTIL SANAYI VE TICARET A.S 260 2.54 TURKEY
    KAIPING UPPER UNIVERSE TEXTILE 170 1 CHINA
    GAOQING RUYI TEXTILE CO LTD 130 0.16 CHINA
    BOSSA TIC. VE SAN. ISLETMELERI 104.99 4.45 TURKEY
    LINYI AOTAI TEXTILE CO LTD 70 0.1 CHINA
    HAINING BAFANG WEAVING CO LTD 50 0.3 CHINA
    PROSPERITY TEXTILE (HK) LTD 47 3.01 CHINA
    SYED ATEEB 40 0.15 PAKISTAN
    ZAOZHUANG HIYOUNG DYNASTY TEXTILE 30 1 CHINA
    SHANGHAI FREEDOM TRADING CO LTD 15 0.2 CHINA
    TOTAL 1,16,600.07 3.58  

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    SAI GARMENT INDUSTRIES

    The total import of denim fabric made by  Sai Garment during the month of Jan & Feb’21 was 1.15 lacs meters. Out of many ACE Logistics ( the real exporter name has not been disclosed) from China is the biggest supplier which supplied 65 thousand meters of denim fabric at an average price of $3.03/m followed by Zhongchuang Hiyoung Dynasty Textile CO ./ LTD which exported 36 k meters at an average price of $2.1/meter.

    Address : Jl. Brigjen Sudiarto No.KM.12, Bega, Penggaron Kidul, Kec. Pedurungan, Kabupaten Demak, Jawa Tengah 50192, Indonesia
    Phone: +62 24 76745888

    SHIPPER NAME

    QUANTITY

    AVERAGE PRICE($/METER)

    SHIPPER COUNTRY

    ACE LOGISTICS CO., LTD.

    65,099

    3.03

    CHINA

    ZHONGCHUANG HIYOUNG DYNASTY TEXTILE CO ./ LTD

    35,982

    2.1

    CHINA

    JIANGYIN NEWKING TEXTILE CO.,LTD

    14,227

    2.26

    CHINA

    LUCKY TEXTILES GROUP – ( DENIM )

    100

    0.5

    CHINA

    CHANGZHOU CITY HENGFENG WEAVE CO., LTD

    100

    0.2

    CHINA

    TOTAL

    1,15,508

    2.64

    		  

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  • Sustainability Efforts By G-Star Raw

    Sustainability Efforts By G-Star Raw

    Where would we be without our faithful denim jeans? Jeans are one of the reliable foundations of our closet. Jeans have formed the basis of every man’s wardrobe for the last few decades and their popularity will, no doubt, continue far into the 21st century and beyond. But this is also a fact that in its journey from field to fabric, denim is one of the worst offenders of the environment. Dutch brand G-Star continues to incite positive change in the denim industry with its commitment to the issue of sustainability and transparency in jeans production. With pioneering denim innovations, the brand wants to eliminate waste altogether by focusing on circularity and sustainable materials to contribute towards a sustainable future.

    RAW Factory Tour, Pharrell Williams

    Sustainable materials and a transparent supply chain

    The major issues faced in Denim production are

    • harmful finishing process
    • huge water consumption which causes a massive scale of damage to the environment and scarcity of natural resources.

    To reduce its environmental impacts, G-Star Raw is focusing specifically on circular design targeted for apparel re-use and usage of waste as a resource. It’s their internal target that by 2030 they want to make their entire collection from recycled/compostable materials. Since cotton makes up about 80% of all materials used by G-Star, today, 99% of the cotton they use are sustainably sourced (organic and BCI sourced cotton). It is, of course, now debatable whether BCI is sustainable or not. 

    G-Star Raw has developed a Code of Conduct for its suppliers to ensure that their products are made under fair and safe circumstances. This Code of Conduct outlines the minimum social and environmental standards they expect from each factory to meet. The Code is based on the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ILO Core Conventions, the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) Base Code, the SMETA Environmental Criteria, and ISO 14000.  The Code of Conduct also references the G-Star Raw Materials Policy having banned fur and angora, while other animal products like wool must meet the highest ethical standards for animal welfare and protection. To ensure compliance and worker welfare, they observe environmentally conscious practices in the locations where they operate

    “We work together with skillful suppliers that share our values of respecting people and the planet in order to make a high quality and sustainable product in a transparent manner,” the G-Star website states.

    In line with sustainability, transparency has become an important issue further upstream in the supply chain. The fashion industry suffers from a rising trust deficit. Consumers are demanding to know much more about clothes, from where and how items are made to the design provenance and the item’s quality which gives them the possibility to make conscious choices. Being transparent is key to G-Star Raw: Back in 2014, the manufacturer revealed G-Star suppliers in a map of production locations in its online shop. On the so-called Manufacturing Map, consumers can transparently access information about where the products were made, the number of workers at each factory site, the gender balance, and any sustainability initiatives or certifications in place. The Manufacturing Map included all direct suppliers that they have been working with for at least two years and is updated every six months.

     

    G-Star Raw unveils ‘Most Sustainable Jeans Ever’ G-Star Raw unveils ‘Most Sustainable Jeans Ever’

    Denim innovations

    The cultivation of the materials has a negative impact on the environment, but the further processing of the fabric with washings and finishes is not really environmentally friendly. G-Star, therefore, made a public commitment to prevent the use of hazardous chemicals in its manufacturing processes. Together with its suppliers, the denim brand is also working on rolling out new techniques for dyeing and finishing processes that significantly reduce ecological impact.

    In 2018, for instance, the Dutch company initiated its most ambitious project to date with the launch of its “Most Sustainable Jeans Ever” made from Cradle to Cradle Gold Level-certified denim. They even developed the “world’s cleanest indigo dyeing process”, which is normally a laborious and wasteful process, here, they use no salts, no sulfate bi-products, and 70% fewer chemicals. Additionally, no water is wasted during the entire wash process. Last year, G-Star also made the Cradle to Cradle Gold status possible with black denim and introduced the world’s most sustainable black denim fabric (as they claim it). This is made from pure organic cotton and is produced with a black liquid dye and pigment coating that is harmless to people and the environment. G-Star RAW has long been committed to scaling its sustainability efforts. By using each of its sustainable innovations as a building block for the next — and making these technologies openly accessible — the company also seeks to contribute to positive change in the denim industry.

    Innovations that inspire to go further: On the occasion of Earth Day 2021, G-Star Raw recently presented the art project “Denim for Earth”  in which various designers and artists were invited to design denim couture, taking their inspiration from the brand’s sustainable innovations. The result was a range of fascinating creations, from denim dyed with plant residues to opulent headpieces made from recycled fabric. In this art project, the denim brand wanted to show that fashion, denim, and sustainability can go hand in hand.

    Images: G-Star Raw

    In the above pic, designer Ferry Schiffelers created this couture dress with recycled denim. He used a traditional Japanese weaving technique, a method that breathes new life into discarded rags.

  • Top Sustainable Collections In 2020-21

    Top Sustainable Collections In 2020-21

    When it comes to sustainable collections, we have seen a sense of urgency in many brands and retailers to come out with Sustainable Collections. We have seen a continuously increasing capsules being brought with certain claims of sustainability. However, there is yet no defined way to determine whether a collection can be termed as sustainable or not or whether a certain collection is more sustainable than the other. We try to make a small effort in this direction by giving our own classification of what seems more sustainable than the other.
    We have analyzed collections from Levis, Mother denim, H&M , Weekday, G Star and some other brands who launched full or capsule collections in last one year and have graded them under 3 heads:

    1. MOST IMPACTFUL :
      This category shows the collections from different brands which make the most positive impact on the environment due to the production materials and processes used. The carbon footprint of such collections is the least among all.

    These are the collections from brands that fall into this :

    1) Levis X Ganni – This we feel is the MOST Sustainable Concept as this collection does away with all production and recycles used clothing. Because of this, the Carbon footprint of this collection is the least among all the collections that we reviewed. We did not have to calculate how much energy, water, chemicals, and other inputs were used in its creation. It’s just there and also prevents items from going to landfills. This collection gets maximum points in the DNJ ECO Score.

    2) Mother Denim – The upcycled part of their collection gets as many points as Levis x Ganni. All because of the same reasons mentioned above.

    2.MEDIUM IMPACTFUL :
    This category shows the collections from different brands who have made a good effort and which make a relatively positive impact on the environment due to the production materials and processes used. The carbon footprint of such collections is moderate among all.

    H&M X LEE – This collection is made from 80% recycled post-industrial waste and 20% post-consumer waste material. Also, the brand shared the Life Cycle Assessment of the same online. The usage of recycled waste is wonderful and gets high points for the same. However, it does not declare any mention regarding usage of water, chemicals, energy, packaging, and other aspects of the collection. Hence, though it is a good effort but focuses on only material aspect of sustainability without being comprehensive .

    3. AVERAGE TO LOW IMPACTFUL :
    This category shows the collections from different brands which make the least positive impact on the environment due to the production materials and processes used. However, this categorization is not meant to belittle their efforts but to appreciate them and say that more can be done.

    Collections like Outland denim – which uses hand-loomed denim, or their black denim using 85% less water are a good effort but address only a very small part of production process. Similarly, the ones of Levis Wellthread or those using 60% organic denim have similar shortcomings.

    H&Ms COS and WEEKDAY sustainable collections also take care of one part of input ie rivets, having organic cotton, etc, and are micro focused. Lee’s fully biodegradable jeans and Diesel’s green label using 40% less water and laser also do not provide details which can help evaluate their environmental impact with better data.

    G STAR RAW : During 2020-21, the Dutch denim label and one of the leading denim brands- G Star Raw launched two major sustainable collections. Here are the key sustainable efforts by this brand.

    1. The brand has used Archroma’s sustainable Diresul RDT dyestuff technology for colors and the RFTPi indigo dyeing process, which is claimed to be one of the cleanest indigo dyeing processes.. This collection addresses only the dyeing part of the production process.
    • G Star
    • G Star

    LEVIS X GANNI – MOST IMPACTFUL

    In 2020, The Danish fashion retailer GANNI collaborated with iconic denim label – LEVIS to bring an exclusive collection named- LOVE LETTER, a rental-only capsule collection, and at the beginning of 2021, both the brands came together to launch the sustainable collection. Here are the key sustainable factors of these two collaborations:

    LEVIS X GANNI – Rental
    1. Ganni handpicked each pair of vintage 501’s with Levi’s for the project to upcycle and give them new life making it a personal process. The collection was meant for only rent to discourage the ownership culture, renting offers access to 1 garment to multiple people, thus help to lower down the production by regulating the demand.
    2. Consumers will be able to rent the products by simply tapping the NFC-enabled size patch with a smartphone. Later on, they will be able to unlock the history of each piece. In this way, the collab also pushing the idea of traceability and transparency, key components of sustainability.
    3. The latest collab of both the brand presented a collection which was crafted from cottonized hemp – a cotton alternative that requires 70% less water to produce, to push the idea of a more sustainable future. The hemp blended into these garments comes from rain-fed hemp crops, which reduces water usage even further. It is then treated in a way that softens or “cottonizes” the fiber, making it look and feel indistinguishable from cotton.”
    LEVIS X GANNI Sustainable Collection

    MOTHER DENIM- MOST IMPACTFUL

    The global lockdown due to COVID 19 resulted in a huge unsold inventory of denim in the warehouses, Mother denim was not an exception however the brand adopted the idea of Upcycling and used the leftovers and old denim pieces to make a new collection. The key sustainable efforts by Mother denim are as follows:

    1. A 100% upcycled collection using old or damaged Mother garments
    2. 60 % overstock fabric from past seasons and 40% materials found at wholesale vintage recycling plants across Los Angeles were used to make this collection.
    Mother Denim

    H&M X LEE – MEDIUM IMPACTFUL

    This collaboration is unique and special on many counts, and it is great to see two rivals joining hands at every stage of design and production for one common bigger goal, that is –SUSTAINABILITY. Here are some of the key sustainable factors:

    1. In this special collab, for the 1st time, H&M came with its first-ever 100% recycled cotton jeans, to non-leather backpatches made from cork and jacron paper.
    2. The brands took a holistic approach, looking at every stage of denim production. Fabric is crucial, such as H&M’s first 100% recycled cotton jeans, made from 80% post-industrial waste and 20% post-consumer waste. There’s also denim that’s cotton-free, made instead from renewable man-made fibres, as well water-saving dyes and lower impact denim washes that are 3rd party verified for their lower water usage, chemical, and energy consumption. 
    3. For the first time, H&M also shared Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data on hm.com indicating the water, C02 & energy impact of each denim garment from raw materials to end of use.
    • H&M X LEE
    • H&M X LEE

    AVERAGE TO LOW IMPACTFUL

    A.OUTLAND DENIM

    The Australian Denim Label – Outland Denim, has been one of the most proactive denim brands when it comes to sustainability. The brand’s recent sustainable collection has the following key factors.

    1. Made from 100% hand-loomed fabric, which gives each piece a distinctly unique, beautifully raw, and authentic finish.
    2. Sourced from Five P, who are leaders in social and environmental sustainability and exist to celebrate and protect the textile weaving heritage in Chennimalai, Southern India, these handlooms further connect the consumer to its makers, humanizing garments as part of their social impact mission.
    3. The brand’s iconic ‘Harriet’ black denim, as made famous by the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, is also back in stock as of today, with upgraded manufacturing standards – using “SaveBlack” technology, which uses 85% less water in the dying process.
    Outland Denim

    B.LEVIS

    Levis is one of the frontrunners and has been the leader at Sustainability front. During 2020-21, the brand has come out with various sustainable collections . However, some of their collections do not score that high on sustainability front.

    • Levis – 60+20+20
    • The R Collective X Levis
    1. Made with 60% organic cotton from Turkey and Circulose, a breakthrough material made from worn-out jeans, the jeans was made with 20% recycled denim and 20 % sustainably sourced viscose. Besides that, Levis claimed that the consumption of water, chemical, and CO2 footprint during manufacturing were reduced. However, no details were shared making it difficult to calculate the exact nature of such reductions and savings.
    2. One of the collections was launched by LEVIS in a partnership with The R Collective that was named – The Denim Reimagined, featured a collection of jeans designed by Hong Kong designer Jesse Lee that have QR code labels that can be scanned to obtain information about how to best care for the garment so as to reduce the footprint of fashion.  However, the sustainability impact of the same cannot be termed very high.

    Disclaimer : This post does not intend to belittle the efforts of anyone and we really feel that all efforts in sustainability should be recognized. However, we also feel that there should be some way of ranking the sustainable efforts so that the deserving get the highest recognition.

    Not directly connected with this post , we are happy to declare that we have created a new DNJ ECO SCORE which uses our proprietary DENIM FABRIC SUSTAINABILITY CALCULATOR for DENIM FABRICS . The calculator is able to create Sustainability score for each fabric and RANKS the fabrics. Please do be a part of our launch on April 28th on DE-Brands.com to check out these Ranked fabrics. You will need to download our app from these links to be a part of this launch by registering Free with us .

    iOS http://bit.ly/dbrandsios
    Android http://bit.ly/dbrandsandroid

  • Trend Synopsis AW22 and SS23 – A Presentation By Dr. Dilek Erik

    Trend Synopsis AW22 and SS23 – A Presentation By Dr. Dilek Erik

    During the Denim Re-union virtual event held by us on March 30 & 31 , Dr Dilek Erik from Turkey presented a synopsis of denim trends which will be remaining till SS23 . She brought out various details on the compositions, stylings , structures, dyeing and technologies that will be prominent for next few seasons. She also spoke about seasonless designs which will be valid for multiple seasons and in fact this should be the focus of the companies and consumers. We bring here a first person speech from her talk.

    TREND SYNOPSIS AW22 AND SS23

    I am working in the denim business for ages, I worked as a professional before but now for seven years I am giving a consultancy, and right now I am working with Sharabati denim and Iskur denim and I basically help them to market their products in the right way to the customers.

    Today we’ll talk a bit about what is hot in the market. I didn’t put the name as autumn-winter or spring-summer because now I will talk about the general trends in the market but it’s up to the companies how to implement it into their collections because every company , every factory has some strong points and some weak points.

    So somebody is only doing some part of these trends because the technical or the research and development is not enough to produce everything at the same time . So while I am talking about the concepts or for the elements in the season then you can also think how you can implement it to your products and to your factory.

    Let’s start with comfort because we all know that for a while that the different styles and the sizes are really eliminated between the genders now . If the woman is wearing very loose-fit products or the man is wearing very tight trousers so a gender less style really dominates the fashion for a while . But now we have the COVID and we closed ourselves at our homes and most of us still working from home like me.

    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23

    So we were wearing loose fabrics, lose fitting products, lose garments but when we close ourselves at home then we needed it more and so comfort is more critical . Whatever we buy as a garment we always like to feel comfortable in the same and that’s why we need to apply these ideas to our products ,to our styles or to our collections. So loose floaty flexible and comfortable fabrics are really very important – whether you are at home or in office or when you travel. I will give you some information about how you can use this comfort idea in the products.

    The first thing, of course, is the stretch whether it’s high elastic or medium elastic stretch which is essential in Denim industry and also became popular in the past because it gives the ability to people to move very freely. But we are looking for a more authentic look from the stretch.

    We like to wear stretch fabric but we don’t want to show it as a stretch, we want to show it as a rigid fabric with the performance of the stretch fabric which is a bit of a technical thing. The fabric should be more open and more sloppy but the performance should be high end and also there is another parameter which is crucial for a stretch – it’s the compression level.

    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23

    We wear trousers sometimes from the morning till the evening and we want to be comfortable in that stretched garments and if the pressure of the fabric on the body is high then after a while we feel a bit uncomfortable in those stretched trousers.  If you use Lycra fiber in your fabrics then they are doing the test for the fabrics and they are giving you the test results which will show how comfortable your fabric is. Then you can prove it to your customers that your fabric is truly comfortable and doesn’t put pressure on the body. Comfort is another driving factor of consumers today which motivates people to buy more.

    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23

    The second thing in the comfort is the knit look woven fabric – which we mainly use for the jogging style .Of course, it can be knit but when we talk about denim we usually use a woven fabric. There are great techniques available where we can make them with woven fabric and give it a knit look, then dye it in indigo and make it in different shapes or in different styles. It’s also very comfortable at home and in the street so it’s also very popular in the market.

    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23

    Dobby’s are also very popular for comfort as when we are at home or spending time in closed areas but we would like to see something nice. Also, if we are bored about three by ones or two by ones- Dobby’s are the good alternative, of course, it depends on the machines because some of the patterns need special Dobby machines. But there is also a way to make some herring bones on stripes or checks by the normal weaving machines and to put some nice touch on the fabric. Another thing is to get comfortable fabric is blended fabrics . Tencel, Modal, Linen, Hemp are very popular among blended fabrics. If we talk about the spring summer season, these fibers are getting more attention because they are breathable and temperature controlled fabrics. They give the fabric a drippy dreamy look so it’s good to blend cotton with Tencel or Modal or do 100% Tencel or Modal fabrics and die it in indigo to use it in a dress, skirt or even with pants.

    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23

    I would also like to display another popular denim – Raw denim as industries are under a lot of pressure to save water due to scarcity of sources and if we wash our garments all the time then it means that we are expending a lot of water. So raw denim or raw fabric is getting trendy. These blended fabrics are a good choice to make raw fabric in the soft way because when we make it 100% cotton, it becomes very stiff sometimes and are not very comfortable. However, when you blend it with a Tencel type of fibers then even the raw fabric can be very illusive and comfortable with a soft touch.

    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23

    Another significant issue which needs to be addressed is making a tough looking rigid fabric into soft and comfortable because it’s easy to make the rigid fabric but sometimes it doesn’t feel very comfortable while wearing it. We want to make rigid fabric more wearable, soft & comfortable . It’s not easy to make rigid look comfortable or soft fabric but there are quite good yarn technologies or some finishing techniques available which can make the rigid fabric also very soft and comfortable.

    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23

    The second theme I want to talk about is Optimism. I really liked this word from Chomsky – he says that “Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.”
    So if we don’t believe that the future will be better then we don’t feel to make something good, so we need to be optimistic.
    We had terrible times, some of us lost very close relatives due to the COVID virus or we lost some jobs or we closed ourselves home so and we had a really callous time and still we are having but we need to be optimistic- we need to say “Okay, we will make the future so we will make it better.” So feeling better, feeling good, strong, power that is all we need right now. Whatever we produce, whatever we wear – if we can show some good touch on the garments then we can also feel better.

    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23

    I want to show you how you can use this optimism in denim. One of the area is color denim where you can put color on denim with over dyes, coatings or even you can paint your garments and you can get wonderful colors. Now we are all talking about the Autumn-Winter collection right now but the denim factories already started to work on the Spring-Summer ’23.

    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23

    So if we put some colors on our summer collection, it will be really cheer us and we will feel much better. Again as you can see on the photos you can put even a garment dye or fabric dye, you can put different colors on your denim and you can wash it in a nice way and you can feel much better. You can use luminous colors like red green or pink and can use it as a coating or as an over dye. But the idea is to put some optimism on the collection.

    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23
    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23

    This is also a popular style to paint and put some messages on the garments and make it more cheerful . Even you can do it at home by just grabbing some paint and put some flowers on your trousers, denim or gabardine and put some emojis and create your own denim. The whole idea is about making yourself feel better and more positive.

    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23

    A print or laser is another way to give a pattern on the garments. There are a lot of companies who are printing some patterns on the denim fabric or after wash you can do it by lasers and put some flowers or messages on it.

    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23
    The blues or the trouser all very cheerful. Even when you look at the photo you feel better.
    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23

    With different silhouettes by the garment styles, you can also put some optimism on your garments.

    The third thing is longevity. We are all talking about slow fashion right now. This is critical because we had an insane time when we bought a lot of garments and maybe wore them only once and then put them in our closets. The next season or next week we bought another, the pandemic showed us that, we are really spending a lot and we are using the resources in a very bad way. So, we all now are more conscious about buying, spending money, or using something unnecessarily. Now the collections have become more season less and more durable and we want to have some garments which we can use for years and not leave them on our side. We want to wear it more and more even when we are fed up with it, we want to use it in another way. Sometimes to sell it in a second-hand market or to give it to somebody else as a charity so that we want to make it last longer.

    That’s why I want to give some ideas on how you can make your fabrics and garments more technical because to make a strong fabric or technical fabric you need to make some research and development . For example, functional fabrics, water repellent, or dirt-repellent fabrics. When we have those fabrics it’s easy to wear them in any weather condition like on a rainy day or sunny day and because it’s water repellent or dirt-repellent, you don’t need to wash it frequently and can save some water.

    Just think that you have a garment which you can wear in the hot summer or also in cold winters, you can use the same garment in every season and you don’t have to buy summer pants and winter pants. You can only have one pant and can wear it in each season. Anti-microbial is important nowadays because we are facing a virus problem so think that you have a functional and antimicrobial fabric which protects you from the viruses so you really like to wear it all the time . Or durable and strong fabrics which will not tear very easily which you can use for years and you will not get any holes or any tears in it.

    The idea here is to have fabrics which we can use for a long time even if we give it to someone else. The second hand will also last long. So the idea here is to have functional, durable, strong, veritable, technical fabric .

    The fourth thing that I like to discuss is conscious consumption and it’s another way to stay sustainable and I want to give some hint about how we should be conscious when we are buying something.

    I want to emphasize three things- the environmental cost of producing a product, the potential human cost of manufacturing a product, the potential resale value of the item further down the line which means when we produce something or when we buy something we should take care of the environmental cost.

    We shouldn’t harm our environment and we should protect it. Second, we should not only care about the consumer’s health but also the workers and the employees health. The third thing is that we should think about what will happen to our garments after we use it as I have said before either we can sell it or we can mend it or we can give it to the shops and they can recycle it . So we shouldn’t just put our garments away and forget about it but we should find a way to reuse it. And we should have slower, better, more personnel, more human in exclusive purchasing. I’d like to emphasize again reuse and recycle is truly important.

    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23

    We should reduce our spending, the way that we use natural sources, water consumption, the production of energy consumption . We should reduce all the bad habits that we had before. We should find a way to reuse our garments or if we are producing denim, we should find a way to reuse our waste and recycle it. If we are a consumer we should find a way to give our garments for recycling or if we are a producer then we should find a way to recycle our waste or recycle our garments again.

    Dilek Erik - Trend Synopsis AW22 - SS23

    Patch and Mend is very popular because of this conscious consumption. When we look at all those patches and the mending, it gives positive vibes but it’s a trend. Also when we get some holes on our garments we can put some patches on it and we can continue to use it. We should try to combine different garments with each other and we can create our styles.

    When we talk about sustainability or conscious consumption, raw materials are also crucial. We should find a way to use more responsible raw materials like organic cotton, BCI cotton but there are also some lower impact natural fibers like Tencel, Modal, Hemp, Linen, Cashmere etc because we all know that water consumption of the cotton-growing is very high. So everybody is trying to look for alternatives to the cotton and natural fibers are a good resource for that reason, especially hemp is very popular these days.

    Everybody is putting hemp in their collection because hemp acts as a carbon sequester and helps in regenerating the soil. Growing hemp is quite simple and you don’t need to use pesticides to get rid of the pest. So hemp becomes more popular and we are using more hemp like cotton blended hemp fabrics in our collections.

    Smart dyeing is also essential in that concept. Water saving, energy efficiency, not using any harmful chemicals and laser-friendly, indigo dyeing are becoming more popular because when we are using chemicals for the indigo dyeing, we should be careful not to spoil our water resources and find a way to reduce the water consumption.

    Lasers are a big thing right now, in the finishing we are using lasers more and more so every denim producer is trying to find a way to make more laser-friendly indigo dyeing. When the garment producers use laser, they need to get a nice laser effect from the garment and in order to do that you need to have laser friendly indigo dyeing. Sometimes some indigo or some black colors don’t give a good laser performance and the garment producer don’t want to use that fabric. So it’s a big thing to have laser-friendly indigo dyeing and to make good laser finishing. It’s easy enough to give nice patterns like flowers on the fabric by laser. It’s a trend to have lasers on the production not only because it’s more water-saving but also it gives a great variety of patterns not only as a mustache or as a scrubbing but also as print patterns.

    The last thing that I want to talk about is traceability and transparency. For the sustainability, we worked hard and we are doing lovely things but we need to prove it to the customers and it’s a good thing that more and more end users are asking about the certifications about water consumption of the production or about carbon dioxide emission.

    The end-users are becoming more responsible so that the companies should also find a way to show the customer that they are doing everything in the right way. We see that the companies are showing their data to the customers like how much water or energy or carbon dioxide they are consuming while they are producing their fabrics or garments and it should be proved or confirmed by the third parties as we always hear that some company is saying I saved 60% water or other says that I made a 100%  sustainable product but we need to ask for more proof. People should be sure that the production or the garment that they are buying is a responsible production. I know that every company is working on it and are finding ways to prove to their customers that they are doing everything in the right way.

    Dr Dilek Erik, Turkey
    Dr. Dilek Erik

    Dr. Dilek Erik is a marketing consultant from Turkey. She has a marketing experience of over 32 years in the denim industry and she worked with most of the leading denim producers of turkey as a sales and marketing professional for the last seven years. She has been working as a marketing consultant and helping companies to develop and implement marketing strategies and increase their knowledge in this area. She also teaches marketing . Major areas are marketing planning, digital marketing, and integrated marketing communication.

  • Denim Import By Vietnam – January 2021

    Denim Import By Vietnam – January 2021

    Vietnam is an increasingly important denim apparel production and export center. With various factors going against China, Vietnam has come out to be the biggest beneficiary. Denim production started slowly but surely and with strict Vietnam laws, eco-friendly production methods and technologies have been employed in most factories. With its FTA with the EU, we see a great increase in production in this country and the same can also be visible with increasing imports of fabrics – one department where Vietnam is weak and is an opportunity for suppliers. In this report, we are covering the denim fabric imports in Vietnam during January 2021.

    The analysis will be in three parts

    1. Countrywise Import Analysis
    2. Leading Suppliers
    3. Leading Denim Buyers
    #Particulars /Content of the report
    1Table showing country-wise Denim Imports along with Average Price and % Share of countries during January 2021.
    2Graphs showing month-wise Denim Imports, Average Price, and %Share of countries during January 2021.
    5Table showing Leading Denim Buyers along with Average Price during January 2021.
    6Graphs showing Leading Denim Buyers along with Average Price during January 2021.
    [private_special]

    COUNTRY WISE DENIM EXPORTS JANUARY 2021

    There are 14 countries from where Vietnam imported denim fabric in the month of January 2021. 82.76% of denim imported from China at an average price of $2.96/meter while other countries that are exporting denim to Vietnam include Turkey, Taiwan, Pakistan, South Korea, and Japan. Vietnam imported 7.5 million meters of denim during January 2021 at an average price of $3.09/meter.

    Note: This figure is likely to be much higher as the full data is normally not captured in the figures received from various authorities.

    Japan exported the denim at the most expensive average price of $9.20/meter and India exported at the cheapest average price of $2.04/meter.

    COUNTRYQUANTITY(METER)Average Price($/Meter)% Share
    China6,261,5292.9682.76%
    Egypt4,6934.040.06%
    Hong Kong 2,9034.590.04%
    India56,0472.040.74%
    Indonesia19,7243.320.26%
    Italy12,8447.530.17%
    Japan49,3099.200.65%
    Pakistan234,8443.723.10%
    South Korea146,5792.701.94%
    Spain5,0817.270.07%
    Taiwan413,3033.205.46%
    Thailand202,0553.502.67%
    Tunisia3,0383.830.04%
    Turkey153,8394.902.03%
    TOTAL7,565,7873.09100%

    Leading Exporters Of Fabric To Vietnam – June 2020

    TOP SUPPLIERS

    Crystal Apparel Limited, one of the biggest denim manufacturers in the world, is the biggest supplier to Vietnamese companies and during January 2021, it exported more than 1.18 million meters at an average price of $3.23/meter. Crystal Apparel is the world’s largest denim apparel producer and also sources fabrics from its suppliers and exports to Vietnam. The list of suppliers also includes Nien Hsing Textile, GR Group Holdings, and Shragatex Luxury Denim.

    Most of the top exporters belong to China which shows the great dependence of Vietnamese companies on China. Many of these suppliers like Texhong are apparel producers and supply to their own units in Vietnam.

    SUPPLIERSQUANTITY(METER)Average Price($/Meter)COUNTRY
    CRYSTAL APPAREL LIMITED1,183,8133.23China
    NIEN HSING TEXTILE CO., LTD709,4493.53China
    GR GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED441,8913.06China
    SHRAGATEX LUXURY DENIM INC/CHU HANG : GTEX INC.,326,8023.54China
    GOLDENROAD CO.,LTD303,9483.67China
    CONG TY TNHH MAU DICH QUAN KIET THANH PHO TINH TAY286,0000.80China
    TEXHONG FASHION INDUSTRIAL LIMITED260,2173.36China
    EK LINE INC252,2501.98China
    Y.H. TEXPERT CORPORATION240,2284.23China
    GUANGXI PINGXIANG CITY TIANBANG TRADE CO.,LTD163,9000.77China
    FUSION TEX LIMITED149,4953.51China
    ADVANCE DENIM CO.,  LIMITED146,5293.96China
    GTEX INC.,129,7303.74China
    H.W. TEXTILES CO., LTD121,1223.48China
    FOSHAN BLUE DENIM TEXTILE IMPORT & EXPORT CO.,LTD114,1133.34China
    CONE DENIM (JIAXING) LIMITED106,3223.42China
    EUNINA INC90,5443.40China
    OTHERS2,539,4323.01 
    TOTAL7,565,7863.09 

    Leading Fabric Buyers

    So far as the leading denim buyers are concerned, During the month of January 2021, the top five denim buyers are as below:

    1. YDVL: YDVL bought 1.08 million meters at an average price of $3.32/meter. All fabric was bought from Crystal Apparel Limited, China as it is a part of that group.
      Address: Nhà Máy May YI DA Việt Nam (YI DA VIET NAM LIMITED- Crystal Group , TT. Lâm Thao, Cẩm Khê, Phú Thọ, Vietnam
    2. NIEN HSING (NINH BINH) GARMENT: Total denim was bought by Nien Hsing Garment was 9.09 lacs meters at an average price of $3.32/m. All the fabrics were bought from NIEN HSING TEXTILE (CHINA) and TEXHONG FASHION INDUSTRIAL LIMITED(TAIWAN).
      Address: Ngô Gia Khảm, P. Phú Khánh, Thái Bình, Vietnam
    3. TRUC XANH CLOTHING ONE MEMBER COMPANY LIMITED: Truc Xanh bought 7.95 lac meters at an average price of $3.83/meter. Y.H.Texpert and Goldenroad are the main suppliers to Truc Xanh Clothing Company.
      Address: Tân Phước Khánh, Tân Uyên District, 빈둥 주변, Tân Uyên, Bình Dương, Vietnam
    4. PPJ International : The company bought 7.94 lac meters during the month of January 2021 at an average price of $3.06/meter. H.W. TEXTILES, YIXING LUCKY G & L DENIM, JINAN FREEDOM TEXTILES, and ADVANCE DENIM are the main suppliers for PPJ.
      Address: Phong Phu International JSC (PPJ,48 Tang Nhon Phu Str, Tang Nhon Phu B Ward, District 9, Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM. Tel. (848) 7305 6886 | Fax (848) 3728 1846, email- info@ppj-international.com
    5. SAITEX: Total denim was bought by SAITEX was 2.80 lacs meters at an average price of $4.95/meter. ADVANCE DENIM, ARTISTIC MILLINERS, and CANDIANI are the major suppliers to SAITEX.
      Address: 13 Khu Công Nghiệp Amata, An Bình, Thành phố Biên Hòa, Đồng Nai, Vietnam
      Telephone: +84 251 8877 100
    BuyerQuantity( Meter)Av Price($/Meter)
    YDVL1,008,5023.32
    NIEN HSING (NINH BINH) GARMENT909,7403.46
    TRUC XANH CLOTHING ONE MEMBER COMPANY LIMITED795,6083.83
    PPJ794,7633.06
    SAITEX280,4574.95

    [/private_special]

    The importance of Vietnam is going to increase over the next few years as the effect of FTA with Europe becomes more visible and import duties into the EU become zero. We are going to see more and more exports from Vietnam in the coming years. Would be interesting to watch the details in the upcoming quarters of 2021!

    Keep on watching for details !

  • Growth; Why? – A Conversation Between Stefano and Maurizio At Denim Reunion

    Growth; Why? – A Conversation Between Stefano and Maurizio At Denim Reunion

    During the Denim Re-union and AW22 talks virtual show held by Denimsandjeans on March 30 &31 , an interesting conversation took place between well known denim veterans – Stefano Aldighieri and Maurizio Donadi . They raised questions on the growth model that the industry is following and suggested that alternatives are there if we want to look at them. We bring their talk in a conversational format – a more informal way of understanding in detail what they talked about.

    WHAT IS GROWTH

    Stefano Aldighieri :

    Economic growth is something that we’re all very familiar with. It’s that concept that to me is based on the false premise that it is possible to have an infinite wealth growth in a world that is actually the opposite of finite. Our environmental resources are not infinite, our human resources are not infinite.

    I want to say that it’s almost like a Ponzi scheme . It works very well for the people who are at the top and it works very well only as long as you have additional resources or additional people who buy into it . Once these dry up , then the whole thing collapses but that’s the nature of such schemes and I think what we want to do is to try to analyze what is growth doing to us , to our industry . Where we are right now , how we got there . The numbers are there – we all know them we keep repeating them ad nauseam.

    We make a hundred billion garments a year for just seven billion people on the planet. You go to any department store , you look around and you realize that there’s no way that all that stuff is going to be sold. As a matter of fact, about 30 percent of everything that we produce will never be sold to anybody . No customer is ever going to pick it up so that’s a complete and utter waste . On top of that maybe two-thirds of what we do sell will end up being discounted within a year or even less.

    It’s absolutely beyond discussion that we are overproducing which means there is over capacity which means that there is a very strong pressure on cost because when you have so much product capacity the cost has to come down . There’s so much competition, there is pressure on wages and so a lot of people in our industry do not make a living wage and there is a pressure on quality because if you have to keep making your stuff and making more and more and more and people are not expecting it to last a long time that’s the first thing you’re starting to cut – you compromise on quality.

     So, Maurizio, what do you think about the situation?

    Maurizio Donadi:

    I think that to me this is central to our industry that we are producing more than what we need, it’s a fact. It has been going on for a really long time, the other side there is this false idea that happiness has something to do with seasons and prices and buying the need for showing.

    For example your personality via clothes instead of using your brain for that and so it’s a combination of things that we are also responsible for . Because we have worked with companies and we have done our damage here but we are also at a point in our life where we think what it’s right and what it’s not and when I’m thinking about growth and all the complications that that comes with it . The best being maybe profit and the worst being destroying the planet and the people and these are the two elements that I always look at you know how much do I make what is my yearly profit with this growth and how many people I am responsible for there and what is the damage my factory or my operation does to the environment

    So when I think about growth right now, instead of thinking about growth I’m thinking about reduction . The opposite it’s like what can I do less of that will be less disruptive and less negative what is the least impossible impact negative impact I can do to society to the people and the planet and I think this is a question that everybody needs to ask particularly when you have your own factory and when you are responsible for strategies and commercial strategies and the relationship that you need to have with people that are coming to you for certain products at a certain price point . We need to ask ourselves really what is right and what is wrong and how do we feel when we go home at night.

    OUR RESPONSIBILITY

    Stefano Aldighieri :

    You’re touching on an interesting point that we’re a little bit responsible for all this because fashion is an interesting beast because you , on one side , have the artistic expression of something that is beautiful and we all love to develop beautiful fabrics, we love to develop beautiful garments, we love to see beautiful people looking beautiful wearing great stuff, so there is an artistic component in that . But what happened I think is that it’s become a tool for the marketing people of brands and retailers to basically keep selling stuff that the people don’t need.

    You’re creating enormous psychological pressure on people you make people feel that unless they have the latest and the most beautiful sneakers that are out there you’re worthless, if you’re not wearing that jacket there you really don’t know what’s happening in the world if you don’t have the latest phone you’re a loser we’re basically creating this tremendous pressure and because people don’t really have the means to buy the really nice stuff but they still have to fulfill this pressure.

    Then you feed them with cheap substitutes and you kind of create a monster that they keep getting bigger and bigger and I think it was acceptable to a certain point when you still had plenty of resources when you had an increase in demand because there were more people who had access to the more disposable income and they wanted to spend more and more.

    So i think there was a point in time where it was okay it was not great probably but it was okay it was acceptable what if you bought three t-shirts instead of one when you really needed one it’s okay, it’s human nature . But it became something far worse than what it should have been and then we got to the point with this overproduction that has become counterproductive for everybody because people don’t get excited about new clothes anymore because there’s a barrage of stuff that keeps hitting them from every side.

    It’s not great for the retailers because they have to keep chasing the new idea or whatever that might be , it’s not great for the factories because they have to keep producing new stuff and knowing that they’re producing things the people we probably never even look at and so we got to the point where it’s just too much . So the solution is that we should try and do is to look at it from the point of view of every component of our business let’s see how slower growth or a no growth or a reduction would affect all the components in the system.

    Maurizio Donadi:

    Stefano, sorry to interrupt you, we’re not trying to be a downer here, we want to inject some optimism, we’re here to share ideas, we’re here to think out of the box. I’m feeling that we are trapped, in my consulting work I hear what companies and brands and factories and then there is very little happiness happening when I talk to people that they’re doing good business . So they have changed their business in order to survive and to prosper and to ensure a future for themselves and for the people working there fundamentally there is a lot of unhappiness.

    People are not enjoying what they are doing and it’s a race. There’s no way it’s like the number of complaints and buyers are not buying property. Why do we need 20 t-shirts seasons and why do we need to buy all? We are trapped as producers and we are trapped as consumers and I want to rebel against that, I really want to make sure that people understand that when you’re not happy with something you need to walk away and we do have solutions, By the way, there are solutions there are ways and probably we need to be more opinionated and stronger with our government, with our ministers We should be collaborating and having intelligent collaboration between companies because there are ways of doing things differently.

    THE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

    Stefano Aldighieri :

    I think we should try to come up with some realistic and pragmatic ideas because otherwise, it’s a philosophical conversation, I think from the end-user point of view we see some signs that although we’re not even close to reaching the tipping point. I think there’s a growing sentiment among people that this is not fun anymore.

    We don’t need to keep buying trash, some people are starting to reject the notion of just buying for the sake of buying new stuff so that’s one step in right direction . Sure now that brings us of course to the other side of the coin , there’s a whole industry living and surviving and driving on the assumption that people are going to buy something with all the talk of sustainability that people are having nowadays.

    I don’t think any one of them is really serious until they tackle the real issue which is we are wasting resources that we cannot afford to waste unless we tackle that one we just greenwashing everything . You tell me that it’s sustainable because it’s using recycled plastic bottles – give me a break – it doesn’t do anything you’re basically taking away plastic that should be used to make new plastic bottles until we finally are mature enough to go back to using glass bottles or aluminum containers which are recyclable and we keep putting a plastic substance in our clothes which we know is going to generate a whole number of additional problems millions of tons of plastic being dumped in so-called third-world countries because we don’t really know where to put it anymore.

    The real sustainable approach is to say we know that resources are limited and we know that we’re making too much so let’s see what we can do to limit that without destroying uh the whole business I’m not advocating that the brands or retailers have to close . I think we need to work smarter – so let’s say you’re a brand what do you do if you if you’re a brand . First of all, I think you should become a lot smarter in your planning and you know how much you’re actually making everything that you’re making in excess is a loss and better planning and maybe less by in the sky expectations of what we could sell but a pretty good place to start.

    I remember Ferrari, he was not only a genius in making cars but he was a genius in marketing too because his thinking was always well I know that I could sell 1000 of this new model that I’m making now so I’m going to make 999 of them because I don’t want to fulfill the whole uh demand . I want people to want to buy my stuff and I want people to buy right now because they know that if they wait they probably be left with nothing . Some better brands used to do it in the past . They had smaller production . You knew that if you walked into the store and you liked something – you had to buy that and then because otherwise, it would never be there again.

    I think that would be exactly one starting point . Let’s say you’re a retailer and you have a huge space and you have to fill it up with merchandise and you know that a lot of that stuff is never going to be sold but you also know that a lot of people now are looking for uh for vintage garments or second-hand garments so why don’t you take some of your space there instead of making disposable crap why don’t you take good used garments and make a whole section where you’re only selling used garments for sure.

    You’re still filling up your store you’re still making a profit you still have a margin you’re probably going to spend less on your procurement than you did before because you don’t have to go through the whole process and for sure you’re going to have a lot less waste at the end of the season . If you’re a factory then it’s a different story, of course, you have people that you got to keep employed and hopefully give them a living wage but even for a factory if you start taking old production secondhand stuff second quality goods and you mend them and you repair them and you make new fashion out of those you can keep a lot of people occupied by doing that.

    Maurizio Donadi:

    There is plenty of opportunity of improving and changing your current business and finding new ways of business ways of correcting some of the mistake and some of the issues but I think that in the end is you know it comes down to people and their companies and their values and principles because there are plenty of solutions . I mean you have listed some very intelligent one at a brand level at the retail level and also at the manufacturing level and I think at the end is it’s all about what feels right for people and the environment.

    If I had a brand what will make me happy that I do a product that it’s relevant, that it’s price right that actually the balance between quality and price is excused towards quality because that will give you longevity and durability . I will want people to be paid right price and actually, I don’t need to make a hundred million dollars a year . I don’t need to . I would be very happy with a few and if I have access in my earning which I need to be intelligent enough to say I can live with this and all of this is superfluous and I will try to help people that actually need that in order to survive and I think that’s part of the injustices that we see all over the world and I think I don’t have a technical solution but I’m thinking that we need to contribute towards the education of citizens.

    We call a consumer I call it citizens and I believe that they have this incredible power of destroying a brand.

    RESPONSIBLE GROWTH

    Stefano Aldighieri

    I wish Brands retailers started charging the true cost of product that instead of panic in thinking that if I raise my price by two dollars are never going to sell anything and they should stop that and should understand that people will still buy and will appreciate better quality it’s more about the value.

    If you have something that you know is valuable you pay more for it and if you pay more for it then you don’t need to make that much because if you’re making a hundred thousand garments to make one dollar a garment or if you make ten thousand garments and you make ten-dollar garment at the end you have the same net result with much less work with much less waste and everything.

    I think if you want to find an answer we can find it my appeal to all the companies that are claiming to be so sustainable and so worried about the future of the planet is that they start thinking about a more responsible growth

    Maurizio Donadi 

    It’s a good point even though I think that responsible growth is quite what can we quantify for a company, it’s a free for all type of market where we have the idea of building a 10 million dollar company, and all of a sudden you get there quicker than you thought and all of a sudden you want to be a 20 million dollar company.

    Stefano Aldighieri

    That’s the thing that I struggled the most with once you have a successful business whether it’s a 1 million, 2 million, 5 million what is the obsession we’re making the 10 become 15 and become 20 become 25 and become 30. why can’t you stop?

    Maurizio Donadi

    I’m not a successful entrepreneur fortunately or unfortunately but I would say that I do want to make money, I do want to generate profit for my company and it’s the profit that I see is the investment that I will make to prolong the life of a company.

    I hope that brings me joy that makes people happy that I can create careers for people that eventually will take over my role and I think that the idea of building something that is interesting and relevant and also the profit will be definitely utilized to pay back.

    You can watch the complete discussion here and follow our Youtube channel for more interesting discussions !

    About :

    Stefano Aldighieri is an Italian born American design, branding and marketing expert who spent most of his working life in the world of denim. He worked with Levi Strauss in San Francisco as design director, 7 for all mankind and Hudson Jeans in Los Angeles as Creative Director, co-founded Tuff Gong Clothing with Bob Marley’s family and for the last years has collaborated with some of the major apparel manufacturers, brands and retailers worldwide. A strong participant in the movement to clean up our industry since several years.

    Maurizio Donadi , creative Director and Vintage Collector , continues his mission to share his passion of vintage and archival clothing with the world and, in the process, promote new responsible thinking and practices through his latest consumer e-commerce venture, Transnomadica

  • Post Show : Denim Reunion & AW22 Talks

    Post Show : Denim Reunion & AW22 Talks

    With over 30 participants from the global denim industry, Denim Reunion & AW22 Talks by Denimsandjeans virtual concluded on March 31, 2021. This limited-time show which ran for 3hrs on 1st day and 5 hrs on the 2nd day brought participants from more than 10 countries who joined the show and presented their latest innovation and designs at the show for buyers and gotten an opportunity to meet their buyers virtually who joined the platform from Asia, Europe, and the USA. The complete list of participants is here.

    The show ran on the lines of a new theme which was – Denim Reunion . The show had all the elements which a physical trade offers, the exhibitors were allotted a virtual booth and some companies and designers/consultants were offered virtual tables, a few of our visitors felt nostalgic as it reminded them about the physical trade shows as all seem to be missing them! This edition of Denimsandjeans Virtual Show had some interesting new features which helped participants to cater to multiple buyers at the same point in time.

    Likewise the Denimsandjeans Virtual show’s previous editions – Denim Reunion tried to offer all benefits to the users at par with a physical trade show in the simplest way. Being a boutique and niche kind of b2b virtual trade show, a limited number of suppliers and international designers and consultants from around the globe were invited to showcase their products and services. Buyers primarily from the USA and Europe joined the show besides some other locations.

    Representatives from many US, SEA, and EU brands, factories and retailers including Woolsworth, Levis, Marks and Spencer, Next PLC UK , Myntra, Reliance Retail, Levis, H&M, Group Kaybee, Shahi Exports, Gokaldas Exports, Espirit, Epic Group, Columbia Garments, C&A, Bestseller, and Aditya Birla Fashion have visited the show along with their team.

    Talks and Presentations

    At the virtual event, 7 different sessions and talks were organized in a two-day show. Leading denim experts including Stefano Aldighieri, Dilek Erik, Beau Lawrence, and Maurizio Donadi shared their insights during their sessions. Apart from that, three leading names in the denim industry presented their talks on different topics. These companies were – Orta, Naveena Denim Mills, and Coats.

    On day 1 – March 30, Coats representative Mr. Halil Demir presented the 1st session titled – “Redesigning Thread For A Green Future” where he talked about the latest products of Coats and how’s they are contributing to Sustainability. You can watch the entire presentation here.

    The next presentation was by Orta Anadolu from Turkey, titled – ” The Growing Innovation: Eco-Wise Hemp”. This presentation had five panel members including Zennure Danisman (Marketing and Washing Manager), Ozgur Can Yazkurt (Product Development Manager), Nezahat Boni (Asia Region Sales Manager), Céline Riviere (Fibres Sales Manager at La Chanvrière). The panelists discussed some pertinent issues of sustainability and the relevance of Hemp in the same. To watch this insightful presentation, click here.

    “Humanity Centered Design: Holistic Denim & Wraptech 2.0” was the topic of our next denim discussion moderated by Sandeep Agarwal and presented by Berke Aydemir (Head of R&D and Technical Sales) and Gulsun Ocak (Head of UK Sales). The complete discussion is available on the official youtube channel of Denimsandjeans.

    Stefano and Maurizio Donadi came together to raise a question about whether we really needed growth ! “Growth: Why?” was an intriguing topic which generated certain important points to ponder over for the industry. This session was the last session on Day 1 and can be watched here.

    Day 2 started with the most awaited denim talk by Dr. Dilek Erik where she presented the “Trend Synopsis for 22-23 Seasons “. The presentation brought out some interesting perspectives on the trends to watch for in 2022-23 . Check out the presentation here.

    De-Brands, the world’s first denim B2B sourcing application and platform, has introduced a lot of new features on the platform to make it more engaging and user-friendly in the past few months. In an extension to this, De brands introduced a new concept of Denim Fabric Sustainability Calculator to rank the denim fabrics of different denim suppliers. It has been long felt that the complete sustainability aspect of denim fabrics have not been brought out in a unified manner for the buyers to understand the entire environmental footprint of a fabric. With DE-Brands’ new Calculator , this missing gap has been tried to be addressed. Sandeep Agarwal, founder of Denimsandjeans & De Brands presented an insightful session, click here to watch this.

    Another very interesting presentation was by Beau Lawrence of his store in Santa Barbara, USA. He took Sandeep Agarwal on a tour of his shop and explained how he was trying to create a 80s service experience for the jeans buyers . Beau is a well known denim expert and runs his ACE RIVINGTON brand for quite some time now and his session “Retailing Like It’s The 1980s” (when service was a thing)” brought out some important aspects of customer service orientation in current times ! Watch the complete talk here.

    The platform and the new engaging features had been appreciated by all the participants and most of them found this a helpful tool to connect with their buyers. There were a number of feedbacks from exhibitors and visitors and these will be worked upon to make the next show even better.

    A session was dedicated to present the latest SS21/AW21 Denim look from different brands .Alongwith some well known retailers , the designs by some upcoming designers caught attention..

    We’d like to thank Cotton Web Limited From Pakistan, one of the leading denim garment manufactures, for being a supporting partner to the Denim Reunion & AW22 Talks.

  • Denim Re-Union And AW22 Talks On March 30-31

    Denim Re-Union And AW22 Talks On March 30-31

    The Denim Re-Union event announced by Denimsandjeans shapes up with a number of new developments which will encourage the industry to be a part of it and create a REAL RE-UNION. The event has been so designed that it becomes a Very Interactive way to connecting with friends, business contacts, and others in the industry – with the hope to do away with some of the boredom that we are all feeling these days!

    Participating Companies

    A number of companies confirmed their participation including the following:

    ParticipantsCountryProducts
    Anubha IndustriesIndiaFabric
    CoatsThe UKThreads, Yarns, Zips, Trims
    Cotton WebPakistanGarments
    Deridesen EtiketTurkeyAccessories
    Iskur DenimTurkeyFabric
    JeanologiaSpainMachinery
    JDSJapanFabric + Garments + OEM
    Kilim DenimTurkeyFabric
    Naveena Denim LimitedPakistanFabric
    Naveena Denim MillsPakistanFabric- (Presentation)
    Nearchimica S.p.aItalyChemical
    Officina+39 ItalyChemical
    Orta AnadoluTurkeyFabric- (Presentation)
    RamsonsIndiaMachinery
    RibbontexItalyAccessories
    Sharabati DenimTurkeyFabric
    ZaitexItalyChemicals

    Designers & Consultants

    A number of designers and consultants shall be present on the show from different countries – enabling interaction on various aspects of the industry from designing, washing, marketing, etc. This community plays such an important role in our industry connecting us with each other, filling knowledge gaps, and upgrading our offerings. We are privileged to have the following friends with us :

    NameBrief ProfileCountry
    Dilek Erik An expert in marketing in the denim industry for 32 years and worked with most leading denim producers of Turkey as a sales and marketing professionalTurkey
    Michelle BranchFounder of Mark & Twigs, Inc, a global creative firm since 2007, Michelle Branch tells indigo stories via responsible product + process + presentation for companies all along the supply chain, brands, and retailers looking to define (or refine) their DENIM messageUSA
    Stefano AldighieriAn Italian born American design, branding, and marketing expert who spent most of his working life in the world of denimUSA
    Gioielli MassimilianoA native of Italy and grown up in the Denim world and passionate about denim innovations, Massimiliano has been in the denim industry for almost the last 25 yearsItaly
    Laura DixonIndependent consultant to the fashion & denim industries, Laura Dixon works with brands, retailers, mills, suppliers, manufacturers & education establishmentsBelgium
    Levent KorkmazerA denim consultant and the founder of Denimtek . Denimtek is a professional consultancy company for denim fabric manufacturers Turkey
    Makala SchoulsA fashion designer and product developer who has extensive, hands-on production knowledge after working for nearly a decade in Asian manufacturing hotspotsNetherland
    Neha CellyFounder of Denim design and research house called Bluehemia (https://bluehemia.com/) and has been working in the denim industry with some big denim mills and some small arty brands for many yearsIndia
    Neil TopiwalaA London-based Denim Designs Studio working closely with UK and European High Street retailers and some of the premium brands, one shop stop solution for Denim Supply Chain businessUK
    Piero TurkA well-known designer from Italy who has worked with some of the most reputed brands and manufacturers as a freelance designer during his long career since 1983.Italy
    Rui LimaFounder of Nîmes Studio, an independent office with design and consultancy services based on 19 years of experience in the denim businessPortugal
    Miguel Angel Andreau Miguel has a long experience in the textile industry in Mexico and has been associated with many denim companies. Currently working independently  conducting market research for domestic  and foreign companiesMexico
    Prem KumarBased in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, Creative Resources is a denim manufacturing and denim supply chain management company, primarily into making High-end deny creative. Mr. Prem is Creative Head of Creative Resources(HK) Limited.Vietnam
    Masud HassanCEO of BD Tex, Textile Agency BangladeshBangladesh

    Talks

    Besides real-time interactivity, there will some interesting talks from different industry players which will enable us all to know what’s happening at the latest!

    DateTime (CET)TopicPresenters/Speakers/PanelistCompany
    March 3004.00 PMRedesigning Thread For A Green FutureMr. Halil Demir Coats
    March 3004.45 PMThe Growing Innovation: Eco-Wise Hemp By OrtaMs. Zennure DANISMAN
    Mr. Ozgur Can YAZKURT
    Ms. Nezahat BONI
    Ms. Céline RIVIERE    		Orta
    March 3005.30 PMHumanity -Centered Design: Holistic Denim & Wraptech 2.0 by Naveena Denim Mills Mr. Berke Aydemir
    Ms. Gulsun Ocak
    Mr. Sandeep Agarwal    		Naveena Denim Mills
    March 3006.00 PMGrowth: Why? – A Discussion By Stefano Aldighieri and Maurizio DonadiMr. Stefano Aldighieri
    Mr. Maurizio Donadi
    March 3104.00 PMTrend Synopsis For 22-23 Season By Dr. Dilek ErikDr. Dilek Erik
    March 3105.30 PMAW22 Launch of Denim Products on DE Brands Platform – A synopsis of How U can use it?Sandeep AgarwalDenimsandjeans
    March 3106.30 PMRetailing like it’s the 1980s” (when service was a thing) Beau Lawrence Ace Rivington

    We invite the community to be a part of this event with the following timings. The timings are specially targeted to enable European and US visitors to join conveniently.

    CET – March 30 – 3.30pm to 6.30pm | EST 10:30 Am to 01:30 PM | PST 07:30 am to 10:30 AM
    CET – March 31 – 3.30pm CET to 7.30pm | EST 10:30 Am to 02:30 PM | PST 07:30 am to 11:30 AM

    How to join the event

    For the best experience of the platform, use the GOOGLE CHROME browser on your laptop or PC. The joining link of the show is – https://virtual.de-brands.com/cast/ (Click this to enter the platform on March 30 &31 as per the timings given above)

    Steps :

    1. You should be logged in to your Linkedin account in Chrome browser.
    2. An option for sign-in with Linkedin will come, click on that link and you will either be automatic logged-into our platform or you may have to log in to your LinkedIn again. NO LOGIN DETAILS WILL BE SAVED BY US. 
    3. Please allow camera and microphone access to the platform to have a one-to-one video call with the participants.
    4. You’ll see four options on the left: Floor, Stage, Attendees, Tables, and Booth.
      1. Floor – Click on Floor to get the brief layout of the show including talks, booths, sessions, and sponsors
      2. Stage– Click on Stage to join the different sessions and talk, one needs to click on the Join button to see the sessions, timings, and details are given against all the sessions.
      3. Attendees– Click on Attendees to see who all are on the platform, you can see the name, designation, and company name of the people online on the platform. You can chat with them by clicking on the chat icon on the right. You will receive a green notification on the Attendees tab if you receive any message from anyone.
      4. Tables – Click on Tables to check to meet the companies and designers who have taken the table at the show. One needs to click on the GRAB SEAT button at the bottom of the table to have one to one video chat with the people sitting at the table.
      5. Booths– Click on Booths to meet the exhibitors. Click on Enter button and wait for approval from the exhibitor, meanwhile, you can check the handout and other images uploaded by the exhibitor. Once the exhibitor approves, you will receive a pop-up message, you just need to approve the invite, and the very next moment you’ll be one to one video call with the exhibiting team.

    In case of any issue, please reach us at info@denimsandjeans.com mktg1@denimsandjeans.com

    April 7th AW22 and Latest Collection Launches on DE-Brands

    We will also have another event from April 7th onwards where the buyers would be able to look at the AW22 and other collections of over 35 companies from the global denim world. Please do join us for the same also on our unique WEB+APP-based platform – DE-Brands. Besides, the denim fabrics on the platform will be RANKED WITH A SUSTAINABILITY CALCULATOR to enable visitors to see fabrics ranked with sustainability criteria. To download the app, please click on the following links:

    iOS: http://bit.ly/dbrandsios
    Android: http://bit.ly/dbrandsandroid

  • Q&A With Michael Kininmonth About Lenzing’s Modal fiber with Indigo technology

    Q&A With Michael Kininmonth About Lenzing’s Modal fiber with Indigo technology

    The Lenzing Group is enhancing sustainable offerings for the denim industry with TENCEL™ branded modal fibers with Indigo technology. The pioneering Indigo technology behind this new market offering incorporates indigo pigment directly into TENCEL™ branded modal fibers using a one-step spundyeing process.

    This delivers superior colorfastness relative to conventional indigo dyeing whilst using substantially fewer resources. This innovative offering is awarded the EU Ecolabel1 a label of environmental excellence awarded to products meeting high environmental standards throughout their life cycle.

    Development of Indigo technology to enhance denim sustainability

    The denim industry’s demand for eco-responsible alternatives is growing rapidly, as brands and supply chain partners seek greater sustainability. Lenzing has been working closely with such partners to counteract environmentally harmful denim production processes via the botanic origin of its raw materials and responsible production processes.

    Denim remains an important market for Lenzing, and the introduction of TENCEL™ Modal with Indigo technology is designed to help reduce the ecological footprint of denim fabrics and garments. Produced in Austria, predominantly from beech wood derived from sustainably managed wood sources, this new offering has been designated BioPreferred® by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

    “Innovation is at the core of what we do, from sustainable fiber sourcing through industry-leading features and production processes, with the ever-present goal of safeguarding our environment,” says Florian Heubrandner, Vice President Global Textiles Business at Lenzing AG. “


    By upending traditional manufacturing processes and implementing our pioneering technology along with renewable and eco-responsible materials, TENCEL™ Modal with Indigo technology sets a new benchmark for indigo application and sustainability in the denim industry.”

    To understand more about TENCEL™ Modal with Indigo technology, Sandeep Agarwal from Denimsandjeans had a quick Q&A session with Lenzing Project Manager Michael Kininmonth.

    Q. Modal with Indigo is an amazing innovation. Can you let us know, first of all, why you felt the need for this product?

    Of all the environmental issues that the denim industry is wrestling with, indigo manufacture, indigo dye chemistry, and indigo application have witnessed the least progress. We decided to focus on the area that we could actually influence directly – dye application.

    Q.How does the process of injecting indigo into fiber work. Does it not affect the strength of the fibre?

    In order to form a fiber it is necessary to convert the cellulose into the liquid phase. This is called the spinning dope. It is at this point the coloration is added to make a homogeneous mixture. The dope is then extruded and reverts to a solid form in the shape of a continuous filament.

    The pigment is trapped in the solid structure. Any additive in the dope can affect the final strength of the fiber and so there is always a balance to be struck.

    Q.You mention that crocking is taken care of and the product will not wash down the in-home laundry. Does this not take away some character of Indigo.

    With traditional indigo warp dyeing, control of chemical concentrations and control of machine conditions such as immersion times, tension control, and dye box design can result in an excess of indigo dye deposited on the surface of yarns resulting in poor rub fastness and relatively rapid color loss. In contrast, the indigo pigment and a Modal indigo fiber are entrapped and penetrated to the core.

    There it takes much more wet and dry aggression to start removing pigment. Crocking and home laundry tend to be low aggression activities. More aggressive finishing techniques, physical or chemical, are able to remove color, and so it is possible to achieve a distressed look.

    Q.Have you calculated the reduction in carbon footprint for those who are using this fiber instead of regular indigo dyeing?

    As compared with conventional indigo dyeing, TENCEL™ Modal with Indigo technology typically has a smaller carbon footprint and offers savings of water (99%), chemicals (80%), electricity (99%), heat energy (100%), and wastewater (99%). These savings were calculated by comparing both conventional indigo powder dyeing and conventional pre-reduced liquid indigo dyeing.

    In both cases, we assumed a standard commercial concentration of indigo at 3% on weight of the fabric and a set-up of pre-wetting, warm rinsing, (2 boxes), cold rinsing (1 box), indigo dyeing (6 boxes), and rinsing (3 boxes). We cannot be specific about carbon footprints because that depends on the individual customer energy supply set up (type of fuel for boiler, steam generation, electrical power, etc).

    Q.Do you see a bigger market for such a unique material lies denim or in knits for this innovation?

    Difficult to predict.

    Back in the early 1980s, I worked on the first-ever commercial production of warp-dyed indigo yarn back onto the cone, for use in the knit market. This was patented at the time by IKI (Indigo Knitwear Industries) in the UK. Nearly 40 years on and there is still a limited supply of this type of product available to the market. TENCEL™ Modal with Indigo technology provides an easy route to market and Modal is well established in the knit market and so I see that there is a significant opportunity here.

    For wovens, our Modal Black made headway into the jeans sector some 3 or 4 years ago, particularly into the super soft super stretch product area, so I see no reason why a product with such a great environmental footprint cannot do the same.


    The Denim Re-union- a virtual event to be hosted by Denimsandjeans, is going to witness the presence of some of the leading companies, denim designers and consultants around the globe who’ll be showcasing their innovative and sustainable designs and solutions.

    Do not miss to join the show on March 30 & 31,2021.

    Timings:
    Day 1- March 30: 3.30 pm CET to 6.30 PM CET, EST 7.30am – 10.30am
    Day 2- March 31: 5.30 pm CET to 8.30 PM CET , EST 7.30am- 11.30am

    To visit the show, please download our app and register here

    iOS : http://bit.ly/dbrandsios
    Android : http://bit.ly/dbrandsandroid

  • Colombia Denim Import In December 2020

    Colombia Denim Import In December 2020

    In this report, We analyze all the imports into Columbia besides listing major denim fabric importers in COLOMBIA during December 2020 and analyzed the volume and average price along with the countries from where they are buying. The contents of this report are as below:

    Particulars
    Tables and Graphs Showing Leading Denim Exporting Countries To Colombia.
    Table And Graphs Showing Leading Denim Importing Companies Of Colombia.
    Table and Graphs Showing Denim Exporting Companies to Top Denim Importing Companies Of Colombia.
    [private_special]

    TOP COUNTRIES SUPPLYING DENIM FABRICS TO COLOMBIA

    In the month of December 2020, Colombia has imported approx. 4.2 million sqm of denim fabrics. With 1.84 million sqm of denim fabric export, India strongly positioned itself as the #1 exporter of denim to Colombia, China is at #2 with 34.42% share in the total import.

    China exported 1.84 million sqm of denim fabrics at an average price of $1.51/sqm.

    (Note: this data has been captured from various govt organizations including customs. the actual imports are likely to be higher than this figure .)

    Country of OriginQuantity Sum (In SQM)Avg Unit Price($/SQM)Quantity Sum(%)
    INDIA                                     18,43,4201.0343.16
    CHINA                                     14,70,0701.5134.42
    MEXICO                                        4,33,4102.2410.15
    VENEZUELA                                        1,95,6101.314.58
    BRAZIL                                        1,58,7001.523.72
    PAKISTAN                                        1,07,9901.802.53
    OTHERS                                             62,3502.291.44
    TOTAL                                     42,71,5501.39100

    As far as the average price is concerned, India’s average price turned to be least average price amongst all i.e, $1.03/sq meter. Mexico exported the fabric at the most expensive average price of USD 2.24/Sqm. Venezuela exported the fabric at the 2nd most competitive price i.e, $1.31/sqm.

    India is at #1 with a 43.2% share and China at #2 with a 34.4% share.

    TOP DENIM EXPORTERS TO COLOMBIA

    So far as the denim exporters are concerned MPVR Trading (Mexico) and Zhejiang XInlan (China)  are the biggest exporters of denim fabric to Colombia with a total import of 398 thousand sqm and 308 thousand sqm of denim fabric respectively. MPVR Trading supplied at the most expensive average price i.e., $2.14/sqm.

    Shipper NameQuantity Sum (In SQM)Avg Unit Price($/SQM)
    MPVR TRADING COMPANY S DE RL3981502.14
    ZHEJIANG XINLAN TEXTILE CO LTD3086201.48
    LOYAL KINGDOM CORP3741000.96
    ZHEJIANG TENGMA TEXTILE CO LTD2213301.47
    SANGAM (INDIA) LTD2969900.94
    JALSEN INC1956101.31
    MANOMAY TEX INDIA LTD2484500.96
    ZHEJIANG BLUEDREAM TEXTILE CO LTD1222501.50
    INDIGO LOVERS SA1281201.35
    NANDAN DENIM LTD1782600.96
    OTHERS17996401.46
    TOTAL42715201.39

    TOP DENIM IMPORTING COMPANIES OF COLOMBIA

    So far as the import of denim fabric by different companies are concerned, JOHN URIBE and PERMODA LTDA are the biggest importers of denim fabric into Colombia with a total import of 648 thousand sqm and 398 thousand sqm of denim fabric respectively. PERMODA LTDA is the buyer which has imported the denim fabrics at the most expensive average price i.e., $2.14/sqm.

    Consignee NameQuantity Sum (In SQM)Avg Unit Price($/SQM)
    JOHN URIBE E HIJOS SA                                              6,48,3101.41
    PERMODA LTDA                                              3,98,1502.14
    COLOMBIANA DE COMERCIO SA                                              4,55,9901.02
    SURTIJEANS SA                                              2,74,4001.39
    TRAMAS COLOMBIA INTERNACIONAL SAS                                              3,74,1000.96
    POLJEAN SAS                                              2,48,6401.27
    INTERNACIONAL DE DISTRIBUCIONES DE VESTUARIO DE MODA SOCIEDA                                              2,49,9400.99
    PRIMATELA SA                                              1,40,1701.63
    STILOTEX SAS                                              1,34,9201.65
    C I JEANS SA                                              1,00,1701.87
    COLECCIONES EXCLUSIVAS DE TEXTILES SA                                              1,28,1201.35
    COLTEANTIOQUIA SA                                              1,19,7201.30
    OTHERS                                              9,98,9201.42
    TOTAL                                           42,71,5501.39

    JOHN URIBE E HIJOS SA

    The total import of denim fabric made by JOHN URIBE during December 2020 was 648 thousand sqm. ZHEJIANG TEGMA Industries and ZHEJIANG BLUEDREAM TEXTILE from China are the two biggest suppliers which supplied 2.12 lacs sqm and 1.02 lacs sqm of denim fabric respectively.

    AddressNIT: 800.147.745-2 CARRERA 52 NO.19-80 COD.UAP 600 MEDELLIN COLOMBIA CO

    SuppliersQuantity(SQM)Average Price($/SQM)Country
    ZHEJIANG TENGMA TEXTILE CO LTD2,12,8251.46China
    ZHEJIANG BLUEDREAM TEXTILE CO LTD1,02,6841.51China
    ZHEJIANG XINLAN TEXTILE CO LTD98,8881.53China
    SIGNET DENIM PVT LTD86,0190.95India
    RB INDUSTRIES61,3171.11India
    WINWIN TEXTILE CO LTD41,8791.76China
    SHAOXING FEIFANLAN TEXTILE CO LTD30,2251.53China
    TEXTIL CANATIBA LTDA14,4711.80Brazil

    PERMODA LTDA

    MPVR Trading from Mexico emerged as one of the biggest suppliers to Permoda Ltda during December 2020, the company supplied 3.98 lacs sqm of denim fabric at an average price of $2.14/sqm.

    Address: #69b- a, Cl. 20 Sur #6998, Bogotá, Colombia
    Contact Number: (57) 1 – 2948999
    Website : https://permoda.com.co

    SuppliersQuantity(SQM)Average Price($/SQM)Country
    MPVR TRADING COMPANY S DE RL3,98,149.462.14Mexico

    COLOMBIANA DE COMERCIO SA

    Indian companies supplied most of the fabric to Colombiana De, Manomay Tex supplied 248 thousand sqm fabric at an average price of $0.96/sqm, Sangam on the other hand, supplied 175 thousand denim fabric at an average price $1.02/sqm.

    SuppliersQuantity(SQM)Average Price($/SQM)Country
    MANOMAY TEX INDIA LTD2,48,4460.96India
    RAJWANI DENIM MILLS (PVT) LTD31,7141.51Pakistan
    SANGAM (INDIA) LTD1,75,8301.02India

    SURTIJEANS SA

    Zhejiang Xinlan Textile Co Limited is the biggest supplier to Surtijeans and supplied 1.43 lakhs sqm of denim fabirc at an average price of $1.43/sqm.

    SuppliersQuantity(SQM)Average Price($/SQM)Country
    JINDAL DENIMS INC (A DIV OF JINDAL WORLDWIDE LTD)57,6681.26India
    ZHEJIANG XINLAN TEXTILE CO LTD1,43,6941.43China
    GB UNION CO LTD73,033.951.40China

    TRAMAS COLOMBIA INTERNACIONAL S

    Tramas Colombia imported all its fabrics – 3.74 lakhs sqm from Loyal Kingdom Corp based in India. The average price seems very low at $0.96/sqm.

    Address: ID: 9011520301 AV. CALLE 26 NO 69-63 EDIFICIO TORR OFIC. 205. BOGOTA COLOMBIA.
    Contact Number – 57-47469603

    SuppliersQuantity(SQM)Average Price($/SQM)Country
    LOYAL KINGDOM CORP3,74,098.210.96India
    [/private_special]

    The Denim Re-union- a virtual event to be hosted by Denimsandjeans, is going to witness the presence of some of the leading companies, denim designers and consultants around the globe who’ll be showcasing their innovative and sustainable designs and solutions.

    Do not miss to join the show on March 30 & 31,2021.

    Timings:
    Day 1- March 30: 3.30 pm CET to 6.30 PM CET
    Day 2- March 31: 5.30 pm CET to 8.30 PM CET

    To visit the show, please download our app and register here

    iOS : http://bit.ly/dbrandsios
    Android : http://bit.ly/dbrandsandroid