Arvind X Textile Genesis

The new tie-up with Textile Genesis will enable the company to create digital “Fibercoins” for their sustainable collections and which allow brand and retailers full value chain traceability and visibility along with ESG (environmental, social and governance) credentials of the Supply Chain Partners from fiber-origin to retail. The Textile Genesis platform has won innovation awards & recognition in the industry from H&M Foundation, Accenture and Fashion for Good.

Aamir Akhtar , CEO of Arvind Denim mentions about the push from customers :

“There is a clear feedback from consumers that they are looking for transparency in supply chains. They are wary of buying products made from raw materials that originate in conflict zones. This is the reason we have decided to partner with Textile Genesis to offer block chain based traceability in our denims.”

Why Textile Genesis

Textile Genesis is an award winning startup which creates traceability for all sustainable fibers – natural, man-made and recycled .

• Cotton fibres – 15-20% of global cotton supply is covered by them with leading recycled cotton producers on board.

• Cellulosic fibres – 50% of viscose and 80% of lyocell tracked by TG. Long term commitments with Lenzing.

• Top 10 recycled polyester players on TG platform

• Long term partnership with #1 wool & cashmere producer – Schneider group

How it works

The fibercoins issued at various stages of manufacturing will be visible to the brands and retails across the value chain, enabling them to trace how and from where the materials are being used.

“As this is a block chain based solution , Fibrecoins will be issued at the origin – for eg ginneries for cotton; production plants for MMF etc. these Fiber coins will get transferred right thru the supply chain and will be visible virtually to all brands as well their customers “ – says Aamir Akhtar

End to end traceability of Arvind’s product offerings will be visible on TG platform including all stages

Addition of any sustainability , transparency and traceability solutions , the costs are bound to increase . On being asked if they would be able to pass on the same to the buyers, Aamir Akhtar mentioned that if the buyers find value in the new initiative, they will surely be open to pay for it.

We were also wondering if Arvind would limit this traceability to only their sustainable denims or extend it to other products . Aamir was sure that it is going to be taken forward :

“This initiative would be expanded to the products from other divisions of Arvind Limited. Even in its current form, this traceability is not limited to raw materials. It includes traceability of other inputs like recycled water, green energy, Higg Score etc”

On the whole, a great initiative and a need of the times. As we get more and more transparent and allow easy traceability , the brands will be able to give better information to their customers enabling them to take informed purchase decisions , giving a great boost to sustainability.

Arvind is one of the most well known and progressive denim groups globally. Does Arvind also look for leadership position when it comes to sustainability?

Arvind aspires to be a leader on Sustainability issues not only within textile sector; but we look up for leaders across industrial sectors in each of the sustainability aspect and make those as role models for setting our goals and path forward. However, our focus is on lifting the whole industry up when it comes to sustainable issues. We are never going after exclusivity when it comes to sustainable technologies/projects. We openly share our knowledge and experience through various platform and through our sustainability report. We are also part of various initiatives like Sustainable Apparel Coalition, ZDHC and Apparel impact institute to drive larger industry wide changes.

What are the specific areas where you feel Arvind is better placed to take up sustainability efforts when we consider the eco system in India? Please give us some updates on the results achieved in some of them.

One of our core focus is on removing the dependence of textile on fresh water. It has deep value in the context of water scarcity and water availability scenario. Over the past years, we have removed our dependence on freshwater to extent of 70%. We use 70% of our water from recycled waste water. We are targeting to achieve 90% with-in next two years. We are also investing heavily in promoting sustainable cotton farming and have scaled our farm operations to produce sustainable cotton equivalent to 40% of our production and targeting to increase this by four time by end of 2022.

That’s a great achievement . How did you do it and how does it translate into per meter usage?

The efforts have been on four sides broadly:

• Reducing water usage in existing machines/operations: This is a combination of strong management systems on how we use water in process plus regular upkeep and maintenance to track any leakages and wastes. This also includes modifications in existing machines which helps reduce; e.g. we made modifications in ropy dyeing machine and are able to reduce water consumption by 70,000 litres per day only from one single machine
• Reducing water usage by moving to alternate technologies: In garment washing we are heavily promoting the use of no-stone wash machines, ozone machines and laser machines to reduce the usage of water in washing.
• Developing disruptive technological solutions: Developing, testing and scaling dyeing innovations with several start-ups partners which are helping to completely change the water usage dynamics in denim production. A good example of this is Gaston foam dyeing technology for Denim yarn dyeing. This technology is currently under installation and would help save almost 90% of the water usage in conventional dyeing process.
• End of pipe water recycling: After all the options for water reduction are exhausted, we implement initiatives for recycling of waste water; which could be either effluent from process of municipal sewage that we buy from local municipalities

If you were to rank various focus areas in sustainability in terms of importance for your company , how would you do that?

We rank water as highest because of this being both local and global issue. Below is ranking of key things that we look at in order of priority:

• • Water
  • Health & Safety
  • Renewable Energy, Climate Change
  • Sustainable cotton/raw materials
  • Chemical/Sustainable chemistry

Post consumer waste is still not as huge a problem in India as in the western world – perhaps because there is a market for used apparel . Whereas globally only about 1% of apparel is recycled , in India this figure might be higher. Any inputs on how it works in India. Do you see this problem significantly increasing?

In India, on average the per capita consumption of textiles in much lower than west. So in first place it will be safe to assume that we wear garments for longer than average person in US. We also have the practice of passing on the used clothes within the family or to the surrounding communities, which keeps these in circulation until end of useful life. However, this is rapidly changing specially in urban and semi-urban areas where people no longer want to wear used clothes. Per capita consumption of clothes is also rising among youth and urban population. We see this problem increasing in the coming year and shift would be rapid. We are looking at used garment recycling technologies and we are hopeful that technologies would be commercially established before we start to face these challenges in India.

There is a general feeling that improving systems and processes for sustainable productions increases costs. Do you think the customers are ready to pay the extra price for this effort and cost?

Improvement in systems and processes definitely results in increased costs, however, we look at these as investments which pay back directly or indirectly in longer term. In few cases, the payback is really long or not immediately visible and such projects are challenging to implement at large scale. We have seen very low interest from consumers in paying extra for sustainable clothes. However, we see a clear preference when you provide a sustainable apparel within the same price range as conventional apparel.

Has Arvind fixed up some long term goals regarding sustainability?

We have long terms goals on various sustainability aspects:

• • 90% water from recycled water sources by 2020. Removing dependence on freshwater for production
  • 400,000 acres of Sustainable cotton farms by 2022
  • 30% renewable energy in operations by 2022

]]> https://www.denimsandjeans.com/environment/sustainability-targets-of-arvind-a-talk-with-abhishek-bansal/37738/feed 0 https://www.denimsandjeans.com/brands/denim-collections-international/arvind-khadi-denim-set-prominent-globally-official-khadi-product/27171 https://www.denimsandjeans.com/brands/denim-collections-international/arvind-khadi-denim-set-prominent-globally-official-khadi-product/27171#respond Tue, 25 Jul 2017 11:27:03 +0000 https://www.denimsandjeans.com/?p=27171 Arvind Limited has signed an agreement with the Khadi and Village Industries Corporation (KVIC) which certifies Arvind’s Khadi products to be presented to the world with a Khadi mark. Arvind Limited has been a leading actor in the revival of the most sustainable fabric in the world; presenting it in its new, global avatar, as Khadi denim – hand-spun, hand-dyed, and handwoven by artisanal communities from across the villages of India. The collection which received the award for the Best Fabric, at the premium Global Denim Awards held in Amsterdam is one of Arvind’s initiatives of taking Khadi to the world. For information, the word KHADI cannot be used by any company without Indian govt.’s approval and the KVIC certification of Arvind’s products enables it to use the word KHADI and promote it globally .

Denim has long been a symbol of resistance, rebellion, challenging the norm. Its iconic status is rivalled by none. Other than Khadi. For scores of Indians, Khadi is more than a fabric. It is an enduring legacy of India’s collective resistance against the British Raj of India’s journey to independence. Arvind brings the two together in a beautiful harmony called Khadi Denim. The fabric is created by artisanal communities in India, and brings environmental and social sustainability to fashion, while empowering those who create it. The processes – hand-spun yarn, hank-dyed in natural indigo, creating hand-woven fabric – ensure that Arvind is fashioning possibilities for a sustainable trend.

We bring some of the pieces of Khadi denim from Arvind’s collection .

Khadi is not the only category of creative fabrics that Arvind has in its stable. Going from Azurite to Boomerang and others, Arvind has created some highly technical fabrics for their AW18 collection which stand apart.

AZURITE: Azurite is a line of premium, saturated Indigo fabrics for rich blue hues in your denims. Azurite is Arvind’s patented technology in India that uses indigo dyed weft and warp yarn, creating saturated blue fabrics that would delight fans of Indigo and denim alike.

BOOMERANGâ„¢: Denim that comes back! It’s the perfect choice for a pair of super comfortable jeans with significant snapback and amazing hand feel. Boomerang has been exceptionally popular in the market, with major brands adopting the athleisure look co-created by Arvind. Its shape retention, high recovery, low shrinkage along with an amazing natural stretch makes it one of our bestsellers.

Wool denim combines wool – with cotton, creating an iconic fabric that is perfect for all seasons. Wool’s natural moisture management properties when brought to denim, make for a soft, breathable fabric that is suitable for both fashion and performance.

Jelt Denims – Arvind is bringing this product back with a modern take on it. In addition to recreating a faithful reproduction of the original – there are shuttle loom versions with selvedge and grey heather weft – Arvind has re-imagined how that fabric would have been created if they had access to today’s new fibers.
The range of products is inspired by a vintage product, but with modern performance attributes with fibers like Lycra fiber, Tencel, Coolmax etc .

For more information on the AW18 range of products, contact at this email Saurabh.Samnol@arvind.in

FASHIONIM – Fashion in Denim – event was held at our 3rd Denimsandjeans Bangladesh show on 1st March at Dhaka. Three of our exhibitors displayed their SS’16 collections at the show. Arvind , India, was one of the sponsors of the show and displayed their products during the catwalk which included their product categories like Summer Distressed , Hyper Stretch, Spice Denim, Jacquard Denims , Neo Bubble and Neo Cord denims. . We give here images from their catwalk and let their pictures do the talking.

Jacquard Denim

Spice Denim

Summer Distressed

Hyper Stretch

Neo Bubble

Performance Stretches

Women’s power stretches for high performance and comfort made in dual-core Dynamo Denim and dual-Fx® technology by Lycra® brand. Denim fabrics with dual-FX® technology by LYCRA® brand have high stretchability but have a high degree of dimensional stability so that jeans retain their shape and fit over time. These super-stretch jeans are supposed to provide comfortable and free-movement and yet have the look and feel of natural denim.

Soft & Easy Stretches

These include a brew of both basic core and easy soft-stretch denims. They are hard wearing and make a great durable pair of denims to stay for long. Classic yet trendy they are now being offered in all new rousing textures, shades, wash-down casts and weights.

Mutant Jeans

A combination of construction methods to achieve a denim effect using dobby structures. Almost identical to woven denim in terms of appearance, it has the desirable comfort properties of natural stretch and air permeability.

Men’s Classics

Stretch denims with improved recovery and with property to retain the look of non-stretch rigid denim . This is a product with a poly-spandex and cotton combination with clear twills giving a clear texture and can be stoned, bleached or distressed.

Neo Denim

The deep dark denims about which the PD team at Arvind says :

“…These are real dark blue denim that hides a lot more below the surface to be discovered and excite you! An answer to a true denim fan’s desire. Truly deep dark blue denims which wash down gradually offering great contrasts at every level giving jeans a luxurious and super rich look. Jacquards, prints, soft stretches, core, neo dying here sets a new character for all…”

Linen Denim

Linen Denim is made out of non-elastic flax yarn and is synonymous to its properties of exceptional comfort, luxury, durability and its unique cooling attribute in hot and humid weather. It can be identified with a high natural luster and a thick and thin character with a crisp and textured feel to it.

Denim Gabardine

CLean and subtle, this is the category of products for a tailored look.
The Arvind team feels that “:

“ It is the most premium category of fabrics with fine slubs giving a clean and bespoke look. Constructed in mid to heavy weights this category of denim offers highly durable, rich in color and lustrous denims.”

Boomerang Denim

It is high-stretch denim with extra softness and shape retention quality. This denim savors slim body curving silhouette with perfection making it easily one of the hottest denim trends on today’s denim landscape. The significant snapback and extra pliability makes it bounce back to its shape after every wear making it a perfect choice for super skinny jeans; hence fulfilling the desire for comfort and fit paired with fashion trend.

Spice Denim

As per Arvind team, Spice Denim has intelligence built into the fabric that gives it the property to be dyed in garment form. It dyes to a natural texture of denim in an eco-friendly process. Spice gives denim a newer dimension making it capable to be seasonally played and experimented with, in terms of colors, textures and wash downs. The weft is not dyed and the surface gets wash dimensions like denim.

Denim Shirts

Deep dyed and light-weight denims for shirtings and other tops. In Over-dyed, Neo or Chambray versions to enable multiple washed looks .

Neo Bubble ultra light denims

For these light weight denims, meant for ladies dresses and tops , Arvind team enthusiastically mentions:

“Feathery and airy, light-weight Denims for women’s tops, dresses and men’s summer shirts. This is a collection of young statement dobbies and prints on Ultra-Light Neo Denims. Stories are created with alluringly exotic inspirations for Spring/Summer 2016. Bohemian, grungy yet feminine, it celebrates summer with vintage floral prints and patterns with a vibrant color palette ..”

Sixty group is one of the most famous denim brands from Europe and of course Italy. It owns brands like Energie, Miss Sixty , Killah, Refrigiwear , Murphy & Nye, Richlu and Baracuta. Out of these brands, Miss Sixty -the women’s denim brand established in 1991 – and Energie – the men’s lifestyle brand started in 1989 – are the most famous ones. It is expected that Arvind would first launch the Energie brand in India to enter the men’s premium and super premium denim segments and with prices starting from Rs3,500 ($78 approx) . These prices would be above that of Levi’s which operates in the price segment of Rs 1200 to Rs 3000 ($26 to $66) but way below that of Diesel which has prices starting from Rs 8000($177 approx.) .

Arvind owns denim brands like Flying Machine, Ruf & Tuf and New port – all of which cater to lower priced segments of the market. Arvind’s JV with VF also enables it sell the Lee and Wrangler jeans in India and compete in the same price segment as that of Levi’s. Hence, covering the lower and the middle segments of the market, Arvind was in need of a denim brand which could be positioned in the super-premium category. Hence the efforts to tie up with Diesel and now Sixty Group. Arvind has been trying hard to gain a larger share of the continously growing organised denim market in India(currently estimated at around $450million) , but it still lags behind the market leader Levi’s which is already touching a turnover of $100 million.

Diesel Vs Sixty

Diesel has a very high brand recall value in India as compared to Sixty. Reliance Brands will not have to invest much in creating brand awareness for Diesel in India whereas Arvind will have to invest a sizeable amount of resources in developing the awareness for Energie or other Sixty brands. Even though priced much lower than Diesel , Arvind will have to work hard to prove the worth of the brand to Indian consumers. Though its experience of handling other international brands and its huge denim infrastructure back-up will come in good use to this end, it seems that Arvind will be able to reap the benefits of this association only after a couple of years .

Source : ET and others