From Denim to Denim, The Future in a Blue World - The Smart Talk - DENIM PV

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

By Helene Smits in collaboration with Alliance for Responsible Denim SPECIAL GUESTS

Lori DiVito, Zoé Daemen from Kuyichi, Tom Duhoux from HNST

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

Under the guidance of Helene Smits, circular fashion strategist, the workshop focused on the Circular Economy from the denim perspective.

Smits analyzed the facts and future opportunities for the denim business from every perspective raising some interesting questions such as: Will the denim value chain be ready for this challenge? Is the Circular Economy a possible answer? What does it mean in practice for materials, design and business models. Where are we as an industry? What are the struggles and opportunities for the future?

An array of questions that Smits and panel members, Lori DiVito, Tom Duhoux from HNST and ZoĂŠ Daemen from Kuyichi took the opportunity to answer.

Helene Smits www.statingtheobvious.info

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

CIRCULARITY:

WHERE ARE WE NOW AND WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA?

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

According to Smits we are moving from a linear to a recycling economy aiming at a circular economy.

This last model is seen as a way to decouple the growth of worldwide population and the economy from the use of resources. We are already facing resource scarcity today, however “even if we start designing for circularity, today, all of us, we do not yet have the infrastructure, the processes and the technologies in place to fully enable a circular system� stated Smits.

This is the journey we are all on together, and it requires collaboration beyond the usual suspects.

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD MAKE FASHION CIRCULAR

From a business perspective, sustainability is a key trend that can no longer be seen as an option. Smits sees it as “a driver for innovation, a driver for competitive advantage and differentiation” for brands.

Initiatives like Make Fashion Circular and Global Fashion Agenda are gathering main industry brands around circularity and propose an agenda for moving forward.

Stella McCartney supports circular textiles economy with Ellen MacArthur.

3 key principles to create a new circular fashion system • Business models that keep clothes in use • Materials that are renewable and safe • Solutions that turn used clothes into new clothes

GLOBAL FASHION AGENDA

2020 circular fashion system commitment Four immediate action points to accelerate the transition to a circular fashion system: • • • •

Action point Action point Action point Action point

1: 2: 3: 4:

Implementing design strategies for cyclability Increasing the volume of used garments collected Increasing the volume of used garments resold Increasing the share of garments made from recycled post-consumer textile fibres

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

Smits then tackled what circularity means for denim looking at its impact. She took Levi’s study as a reference to point out that 300 to 800 liters of water per jeans can be saved with post-consumerrecycled denim (PCRD).

Sustainable fibres, safe materials, new manufacturing processes and new ways of designing products can be seen as solutions to reduce brands’ impact.

RECYCLED COTTON OPTIONS

DESIGN FOR CYCLABILITY

• Recycled spinning waste (industrial) • Recycled scraps (post industrial) • Recycled jeans (post consumer)

100% natural/ monomaterial fabrics

Material: sustainable fibres Denim mills: Advance Denim, Azgard-9, Berto, Crecent Bahuman, Prosperity Textile, Tavex-Evlox, Bossa DETOX DENIM • Natural dyes • Chemical compliance: REACH / OEKOTEX 100 / BLUESIGN / GREEN SCREEN

DESIGN FOR LONGEVITY

Denim with Dyneema Denim mills: Berto, Soorty, Naveena, Prosperity textile, Bossa SUSTAINABLE WET PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES

• Indigo dye: w/ less water, suitable for laser finish • Eco finishing: ozone, laser, EIM scoring system

Material: Safe Materials Manufacture: less water / energy / chemicals Denim mills: Berto, Bossa, Calik, Crecent Bahuman, Azgard-9, Naveena

Denim mills: Naveena, Soko-Chimica, Soorty, Tavex-Evlox

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

MUD Jeans, H&M, Asos, Bonobo, Tommy Hilfiger and numerous other brands and retailers that are using recycled denim.

MUD JEANS • Materials (recycled cotton, organic cotton) • Design (printed labels, 100% natural fibres) • Business model (lease a jeans, 2nd hand resale) • Take back (collection used jeans)

H&M • Material: Post Consumer Recycled cotton • Take back: In store collection scheme with I:CO

ASOS • Materials: Post consumer recycled cotton and CmiA (Cotton made in Africa) • Take back: Introducing take back pilot scheme in UK

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

BLUE OF A KIND

•

Materials: upcycling vintage jeans + leftovers and surplus fabric

•

Manufacture: Made in Italy, all production processes are <50km from HQ

•

No washing / finishing

LEVI STRAUSS & CO

G-STAR RAW

•

• • •

• •

Material: Chemically recycled post consumer cotton (EVRNU) Other technologies: Renewcell, Worn Again Levi’s know for: design for longevity

• •

Material: 100% organic cotton Design: 98% recyclable Manufacture: Indigo dye with 70% less chemicals / Eco finishing 75% less water (laser, ozone) /Safe & Fair working conditions Use phase: Clever Care label C2C gold certified

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

PANEL DISCUSSION

Before beginning the discussion, panel members introduced themselves: • •

Lori Divito, zoé daemen from KUYICHI, Tom Duhoux from HNST.

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

LORI DIVITO AND THE ALLIANCE FOR RESPONSIBLE DENIM

Lori DiVito, professor and Chair of Collaborative Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

Her research interests focus on understanding the dynamics of interorganizational relations in the context of ecological and social sustainability.

DiVito has published in international peer-reviewed journals including Research Policy, Long Range Planning and Journal of Business Venturing and presented her work at various academic and practitioner conferences in Europe and the USA. She received her PhD in Organisational Studies from Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester.

Alliance for Responsible Denim - www.denimalliance.org

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

TOM DUHOUX FROM HNST

Tom Duhoux is the founder of HNST. He began his presentation with a video about his brand.

Tom has a background in sustainable business development. HNST, pronounce as ‘honest’, is a brand new Belgian label that launched its first denim collection last March, made of 56% recycled denim fibres, 21% Tencel® and 23% Greek cotton. The recycled denim fibres were sourced from HNST’s ‘time to harvest’ collecting campaign, where more than 6000 pairs of old jeans were collected in the Antwerp region. The collection is designed according to circular economy principles and the entire production process from fibre to jeans takes place in the EU in a radically transparent way.

The fabric used for this first collection is also made available to other brands.

https://www.letsbehonest.eu/

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

ZOÉ DAEMEN FROM KUYICHI

Zoé Daemen is the PR and marketing manager of Kuyichi Pure Goods, a Dutch denim brand founded in 2001 who wants to make a positive impact on the fashion industry.

After seeing the polluting cotton industry in Peru, Kuyichi started creating pure goods out of organic cotton.

The most commonly worn product made of cotton is denim, that’s why they started making organic jeans. Kuyichi still chooses their suppliers and sustainable materials with care.

Their style conscious denim has a clean look with signature details. Pure denim, pure goods.

https://kuyichi.com/

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

TO RECYCLE OR NOT TO RECYCLE? WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS OF PCRD? Lori DiVito, Tom Duhoux and Zoé Daemen then answered questions from Helene Smits.

About the benefits of PCRD, Daemen highlighted the ecological benefits (water savings, dying process with less indigo dyes) and mentioned that PCRD is a great opportunity to communicate to consumers as “recycling old denim into new denim is really visible for people.”

According to Duhoux, “there are so many used resources [...] that it would be ridiculous not to use it.” Using recycled denim stands as a unique opportunity to have customers be part of the brand’s journey by communicating about all the steps and difficulties of such a process.

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

SHOULD BRANDS SHOW THEIR TRUE COLOURS? GREENHUSHING VS. GREENWASHING But brands have to be really careful not to be regarded greenwashing.

Daemen said that Kuyichi Pure Goods jeans are all sold with a detailed leaflet containing full information about where goods are produced, and processing and sustainability benefits.

Duhoux is focusing on a slow production process starting with a campaign to gather old denim, followed by a yearly collection release.

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

WHAT ARE THE KEY INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL ADOPTION OF RECYCLED DENIM? Asked “What are the key ingredients for the successful adoption of recycled denim?”, DiVito noted it is all about having the time and the dedicated team to experiment new technologies, design, test products and launch these in the market.

It’s a “process of learning” according to DiVito. Duhoux raised the urgent need for an industry agreement for standing PCRD standards and guidelines.

THE SMART TALK

FROM DENIM TO DENIM, THE FUTURE IN A BLUE WORLD

THE NEW NORMAL HOW DO WE SCALE UP RECYCLED DENIM? The last question was “How do we scale up recycled denim?” Daemen said that brands need to detail “what is inside post-consumer garments.”

DiVito added that scaling up recycled denim is “a transformative change to the system” that requires brands and industry to all work together, collectively.

Smits ended this talk by noting that “We need more brands to commit to recycling denim.”

NEXT MEETINGS TO TALK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY WITH PREMIÈRE VISION: PREMIÈRE VISION PARIS - THE SMART SQUARE

DENIM PREMIÈRE VISION

Wednesday 19 – Friday 21, SEPT. 2018

Wednesday 5 & Thursday 6 DEC. 2018

Parc des expositions, Paris Nord Villepinte

The Old Truman Brewery, LONDON