5 Approaches Turning Denim a Little Greener
Guest blog by Jacqueline Diane
If you love a bit of denim (who doesn’t) then I have a treat for you!
Meet Jacqueline Diane. Jacqueline and I connected a while ago and share so much in common when it comes to values and working toward a fairer and more sustainable way of doing business, especially in fashion.
Jacqueline is queen of denim! A freelance designer with a love for CADs, she can support you in all things denim related, design, production and of course, sustainability.
Jacqueline has been kind enough to write a guest blog sharing some fantastic tips on working with denim consciously. Kinder for people and planet.
I have also written a guest blog for Jacqueline, which you can check out here.
Ah, Denim.
Classic. Nostalgic. Historic. A staple. Where can you go wrong?
Some say denim on denim is a crime (I disagree :). But where the true crime comes in is how it’s made.
Most people are unaware of the negative impacts that denim-making brings to our environment and those who make it. I wasn’t even aware until years after my graduation from fashion school.
But if you take away all the trends, nostalgia, and everyday pairs in your closet, you’ll find that getting those pairs to that closet took a lot more than you’d expect. Jeans-which come from denim fabric, (and the most made garment from denim), is a very resource-intensive garment to make, mainly because of how we’ve come to love the worn-in look.
For me, the first offense to making denim is cotton, as denim is traditionally made with this very thirsty crop. But more so than that, most cotton has been sprayed with pesticides which are toxic in varying degrees if inhaled.
Can you imagine being worried that your health- your life- is at risk, just by breathing at your place of work?
Sadly, pesticide-covered cotton isn’t the only harmful step in the process. The dying, washing, and finishing processes all have high risks to employees who work in and around the products such as eye damage, lung diseases, and cancer. Denim is resource-intensive, uses unsafe chemicals, has notoriously poor working conditions in many factories and there is a major lack of responsibility for the product's end-of-life.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. It can be made without harming people and our planet.
Even through the aftermath, denim remains the most worn fabric in the world, across almost every single culture, demographic, and country. It’s one reason I decided to specialize in it; such a historic and loved fabric can have the power to evolve what has been a stagnant, unsustainable industry.
So where can brands start? How do you approach a 200+ year-old fabric? It can be an overwhelming process, as progress in the right direction looks differently for every brand.
A more established brand who already has their production processes fleshed out, (but is willing to pivot), is more likely to start small. Maybe by investigating what changes would need to take place to source organic cotton, for example. Whereas a start-up brand typically doesn’t have relationships with factories yet and can spend more time fleshing out the fundamentals of its business model prior to designing. (BTW, designing from trends or purely from aesthetics first, in my opinion, is a dated way of approaching fashion. The industry will say “It’s just the way you do it.” But if progress is going to happen, drastic changes need to be made. Addressing the business model or impacts of the products first is not only simply the right thing to do, but also gives brands an upper hand in the market.
Wherever you- (the brand) land on the spectrum of deciding to make a difference- there is always an opportunity. Always a good place to start.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way :)
I’ve put together 5 approaches that brands can use to make their beloved blue styles more green :)
These aren’t a one-size-fits-all approach, but they are great ways to brainstorm where a brand can start.
Sourcing existing materials typically falls into two camps: Pre-consumer and post-consumer.
Pre-consumer materials can involve:
Sourcing deadstock (the leftover fabric that a mill has already been made but either hasn’t sold, has minor “defects,” or is leftover from a production run and isn’t being used).
Post-consumer materials can involve:
Sourcing pre-loved or vintage denim garments (that are still intact for resale).
Sourcing pre-loved or vintage denim garments that are either unlikely to sell due to trends, or are not intact and upcycle them.
Sourcing denim fibers that have gone through a recycling process. (Denim garments or fabric that have been collected, sorted, torn apart, and gone through a chemical or mechanical recycling process.
One brand that has been able to scale a post-consumer upcycling approach successfully is E.L.V Denim- East London Village. As you can imagine, I drool at the mere sight of their styles.
One brand that has been able to scale a post-consumer upcycling approach successfully is E.L.V Denim- East London Village. As you can imagine, I drool at the mere sight of their styles.
Founder & Creative Director Anna Foster takes “ugly ducklings” and upcycles them to more desirable garments.
In a B.O.F article dated 11-3-23, Anna says: “I’ve discovered a problem and I’ve discovered a beautiful solution. People roll their eyes at sustainability now, I want people to come to me for handcrafted, luxury items.”
Although there is debate about whether sourcing deadstock is indeed “sustainable,” as it could create a reliance on the mills to just keep making more fabric. But I feel that using a material already in existence is far better than letting it sit in a landfill for hundreds of years.
And sourcing recycled fibers? Check out Comistra and the 4-minute video that BBC released of how their process works. They have proved that this can be done in a scalable way!
When I was in fashion school (2013-2015), 3d software wasn’t even a thing. Which is crazy because it wasn’t that long ago! (Come on people, I don’t have that many grey hairs yet).
The reason 3d fashion software is so revolutionary and can make sizable changes in sustainability goals, is because it cuts down the sampling process drastically. If brands can see their vision go from a 2-dimensional sketch to a 3-dimensional view, they can then make decisions that will cut down on sampling, shipping costs, and time frames.
Maybe a designer drew a neckline a little too high and is concerned that it won’t align with the brand’s KPIs and the brand’s DNA. The traditional way is to wait until the sample is made and received, make the changes during a fit session, and then wait weeks for the next physical sample to come back from overseas……only to confirm the changes…..costing even more time and money….not to mention the carbon footprint of shipping products literally across the world.
Now picture that process with 3d software. A little tweak on the computer and voila! There will always be a need for a physical sample but to go through 6, 7, 8, etc samples- is a little ridiculous and of course so wasteful. (There are a few caveats to this as a higher number of samples may be warranted due to the category- technical outerwear, for example- as well as how long a brand has been in a relationship with a particular factory).
It is astonishing to me that SO MANY brands still aren’t using 3d software. It’s a no-brainer. CLO 3d, (the most popular one on the market), started in 2009 and it really just began to get traction in popularity a few years ago.
2009 people. That’s 15 YEARS AGO! When I say the fashion industry is slow to innovate, it is with no exaggeration.
Utilizing 3d fashion software cuts down on samples which saves brands time and money which saves unnecessary materials coming to fruition that wouldn’t have been used.
This topic takes me back to fashion school again.
While at FIDM, I participated in a Denim Tour, in which a group of students ventured outside the school walls and onto the scrappy streets of LA for a few days. We met with denim brands and manufacturers to get an inside look at how the staple styles were made.
One brand in particular, who I won’t name, brought us through the facility to an outdoor area where some employee’s protective gear was only gloves. They were applying finishing techniques to the jeans.
The techniques consisted of sandblasting and applying monkey wash. Monkey Wash is the nickname for potassium permanganate- a chemical once widely used in the jeans-making process. It’s banned in the E.U. but still allowed in the U.S., (it does have to meet “very strict requirements” but is still used). The chemical pollutes drinking water sources and causes carcinogenic effects to those who work with it over time.
*Image from my Denim Tour. LA, CA 2014.
There are other ways to get the same looks we’ve all come to love without putting people’s lives at risk.
Meet laser finishing. particularly Jeanologia. The Spanish-based company uses laser technology to create the whiskers, fading, and worn-in characteristics on garments.
No chemicals! No risk to human health! It’s a no-brainer.
What about getting a lighter shade? How can brands do that without using endless amounts of water? Da da da da! Welcome Ozone Wash!
It’s an approach to get a bleached effect without using bleach….. who knew!?
“Air from the atmosphere is converted into ozone, a bleaching alternative that lightens denim naturally.”
This incredible machine came across my eyes while I was watching Fashion Reimagined, a documentary about Mother of Pearl’s Creative Director Amy Powney, and her journey through sustainable fashion.
This particular ozone machine featured in the film comes from SARP- a denim manufacturer in Turkey whose mission is to operate their business with integrity and create truly sustainable products.
This approach is the newest and most innovative one by far that I have seen. Many new technologies tout that their product or service will be a game changer or disrupt the industry…….and most investors laugh in their faces.
And why not? Many people have attempted to reinvent the wheel in fashion and didn’t end up doing so. But this company, this approach will. I have no doubt.
Meet Vega. Instead of machine knitting or weaving yarn into fabric and the fabric is cut into patterns, Vega goes straight to knitting yarn into a garment.
Yes, that’s right. No fabric on hand, no inventory, just the actual garment for an actual person.
Again the technology is still new but Vega (under the umbrella of Unspun) has begun their denim line. Customers choose and customize their jeans, and use FaceID on an iPhone to take a 3d scan of their body to ensure a perfect fit. Custom-fit denim with no inventory, no excess material waste, no lead times in manufacturing- only with shipping the product to the customer. It’s an absolute dream. I am 100% drooling right now.
Well, there you have it folks! 5 ways that brands can create better products while not harming people or our environment. And that’s just scratching the surface. There are so many more that touch on life-cycle, natural indigo dyes, knitted denim (say what?!), smarter finishes, and extensions into Ai.
Again, for a personalized consultation to see how and where your brand can pivot to better systems, book a call here! I’d love to chat with you!