Latest from the supply chain: how jeans production has changed

What are the steps that have led the industry to a conscious product? From the production of yarns, to natural indigo and the use of new techniques to replicate the washing of denim

Jeans production and sustainable manufacturing: challenges from raw materials 

From the production of its raw materials to the finishing touches of the final product, the manufacture of jeans has gone through controversial phases. The heavy use of cotton, particularly for this type of yarn, but not only, has led to the rise of monocultures resulting in the use of chemical agents to promote rapid harvesting. 

Also huge is the use of water in these crops, and it is estimated that 10,000 liters of water are needed to produce one kilogram of cotton fiber. In addition to water, the impact also spreads to other types of resources such as human resources. Workers, in fact, even in the later stages of the supply chain  are exposed in the jeans industry to the use of chemicals that are harmful for coloring, such as metals, but also for the patterning of the jeans as is the case with sandblasting for example. 

Some waste substances in the processing of raw materials then are released into the environment and water, as well as the packaged product disperses a high amount of microfibers when compared to other raw materials used for garment production. 

Water, chemicals, pumice stones: evolutions in the jeans washing for a more sustainable textile industry

Specific fabric processing has in the past placed the jeans industry in a production system that is toxic to the environment and to people. In the past, the Soko fashion innovation laboratory refers to 1990, for the standard washing of a pair of jeans the natural resource most used was water, in an amount of about seventy liters. 

Typical harmful chemical products were Potassium Permanganate and Sodium Hypochlorite, which were responsible for further impact on the environment and workers. Among the raw materials used, Soko points out, was a kilogram of pumice stone, also responsible for the environmental impact of washing. which placed in the washing machine with the fabric served to give the denim a worn and worn effect. 

In 2023 some of the new techniques tested allow as the lab makes explicit the use of less than thirty liters of water, the elimination of chemicals used in the past as well as the pumice stone. In the laundry revolution toward a more circular economy and sustainable manufacturing in jeans production there are more methods developed by Tonello. 

Innovation in the supply chain is encouraged by that in the area of technologies, and the idea developed uses different ones. For example, the ozone treatment system is combined with the NoStone system that eliminates the use of pumice stone in the washing process through the use of an abrasive drum.

Latest from the supply chain: finishing in the jeans production

Among the products most commonly used in the jeans industry for finishing is polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), a highly polluting substance and among those responsible for releasing micropastes into water through both household and industrial washes. Despite its proven harmfulness, its low cost of use makes it still one of the raw materials used in the denim industry. 

A few years ago PureDenim had already experimented with an alternative material to be applied to fabrics at the finishing stage of the supply chain, namely chitosan, a polysaccharide obtained from the shells of crustaceans. After different experiments, the solutions found in the manufacturing of raw materials in jeans production have also turned to completely plant-based elements. 

Examples include NaturalReco, which is derived specifically from vegetable waste from industrial food processing. Through this film that can be applied to fibers, it is possible to protect and promote the bonding of denim yarn.

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TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ technology: encouraging circular economies in denim production

Circularity can be a key aspect in the garment production of a sustainable textile industry, eliminating the fiber manufacturing steps. Tencel has pioneered through REFIBRA™ technology a possibility of this reuse in the denim industry and beyond, promoting a circular economy concrete model. 

It starts by recycling cotton waste found from the production of garment manufacturing or post consumer use. This fabric waste is converted to pulp and thirty percent of this is mixed with wood pulp. The latter accounts for seventy percent of the material used overall and is derived from sustainably managed forests, the company reiterates. 

The resulting TENCEL™ Lyocell fiber is suitable for the creation of various fabrics and garments, including sustainable manufacturing of jeans. An additional feature of these fibers is the inclusion of technology that identifies their origin, so as to increase the level of transparency in the supply chain. 

Possibilities in the jeans industry’s circular production process: Circulose perspective

If the fashion world has always operated from a linear perspective, it is time for a change beginning from the raw materials; this is the idea behind the Circulose project. To close the production cycle, again we start from production waste or garments that are no longer reusable, resalable. 

The preferred feature of these garments is that they are made of cotton, so they contain a high percentage of cellulose. Individual garments are then reduced into small parts and all accessory elements such as buttons, zippers are removed. The next steps also involve bleaching and turning the product into a slurry that is purified of any contaminants present such as polyester for example. 

The resulting slurry of sorts is composed of cellulose, a biodegradable organic polymer, specifies the brand, which is dried to produce Circulose sheets. The latter grouped in bales reach fiber producers who process them into virgin textile fibers. Circulose® is made from 100% discarded textiles, they highlight, and this pulp can be used to produce viscose, lyocell, modal, acetate and other types of regenerated fibers.

Responsible dyeing practices in the denim industry: towards a sustainable textile industry

Among the cutting-edge dyes that can be used in denim there is the indigo; between the producers Stony Creek Colors has cultivations that allow its creation 100 percent plant-based. The plant from which the dye is derived, Indigofera suffruticosa, is grown through regenerative farming techniques in the Tennessee, Kentucky and South Florida (U.S.) regions, the company explains. 

The processing that follows starts with harvesting the plant and then continues with extraction, oxidation and pulverization. Several companies have worked on the application and in particular ALBINI_next has created a chemical recipe to apply the dye to the yarn, without yet achieving a totally bio-based formula though. 

In this way, indigo can be reproduced in different shades, from light to dark, as well as being over-dyed with other natural elements such as tannins or dye plants to get different colorations. Aside from traditional dyeing methods in jeans production, Officina 39 has devised a technique capable of obtaining the dye from the fabrics themselves.  

The starting point is always production waste or unused fabrics that are reprocessed to make them into colored powder. Recycrom, this is the name of the project, is derived from 100 percent recycled raw materials and exists in a variety of colors; it can also be used for dyeing, decorating or printing on denim.  

Commitment in every step of the jeans industry supply chain

Complements other than the fabric that go into creating the final denim product also contribute to the success of a garment in a more sustainable textile industry. YKK has been in the business of producing zippers or buttons for years, and its innovation moves its two factors: on raw materials and on business management. 

The expedients used refer to the use of centrifugal dyeing machines that save about fifty percent water, as well as wastewater management according to standards such as Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC). 

The YZiP® brand, which deals with complements for the Jeans industry, has evolved to include the possibility of replacing previously used material with TENCEL fiber tape. The zipper is thus combined with a biodegradable cellulose fiber tape, created without toxic solvents and with the possibility of being recycled. 

Buttons previously also involved an electroplating and polishing system that employed additional metals or alloys to achieve the final aesthetic result. Thanks to the oxidation of the source metal, this additional step can be avoided. Another innovative solution is to produce detachable buttons and rivets in a way that encourages circular reuse at the end of the jeans’ life cycle. 

Chiara Narciso