Kemin Industries, a global ingredient manufacturer that strives to sustainably transform the quality of life every day for 80 percent of the world with its products and services, has announced that Garmon Studio, the application laboratory of Garmon Chemicals, Kemin’s textile auxiliaries business unit and the chemical solutions brand for the denim and fashion industry, joined with Stella Blu, a denim fabric manufacturer that aims to be the resource for innovative, novel and exciting indigo fabrications, to create a completely sustainably and recycleable capsule collection, celebrating The Jeans Redesign’s July 2021 updated guidelines for denim circularity.
The collaborative effort honours the mission of The Jeans Redesign, a project of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation that provides a framework for the denim industry to scale practices for a circular economy. The capsule collection was developed using all the principles of denim circularity to give a tangible example of how the denim supply chain can achieve greater sustainability.
The capsule collection was presented at Denim Première Vision, an event dedicated to the world of denim, its trends, its market and its unique community. Held in Milan at SuperstudioPiù, Denim Première Vision is the first in-person event after nearly two years of pandemic-induced digital-only events, making it the ideal setting to announce the collaboration.
In line with the latest needs for traceability and transparency in the denim industry, Garmon Studio and Stella Blu worked together to present a capsule collection that is durable, recyclable and made with safe materials and processes. This included the following components of fabric and confectioning and washing:
Fabric and confectioning:
- Stella Blu fabric # 5S053 is used for the shirt style. The fabric is a yarn-dyed indigo 2/2 S Twill weighing 4.6 ounces and is 100% Tencel-certified from Lenzing. Tencel fibers are produced by environmentally responsible processes from sustainably sourced natural wood. Given their botanic origin, they are completely biodegradable and gentle on skin, with long-lasting softness that contributes to breathability and color retention.
- Prosperity fabric # A4017A is used for the pant style. It is a 3/1 Z Twill rope-dyed indigo weighing 12 ounces with 99% GOTS-certified Organic cotton and 1% spandex. GOTS-certified Organic cotton is grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. Instead, organic production uses farming techniques that focus on soil and plant health, including crop rotation, companion planning, local plant varietals and beneficial insects. Organic cotton uses less energy, releases less greenhouse gas, does not contaminate groundwater and, due to improved soil quality, uses significantly less water.
- Each garment’s construction and confectioning were developed using the maximum possible reduction of leftovers and sewn with 100% cotton thread, allowing for complete recyclability of the whole garment. The backpatch has been removed in favour of lasered logos, and the completely removable buttons are not treated with the electroplating process. Garmon Studio and Stella Blu also phased out the use of metal rivets. Instead, the shirt buttons are made of wood and not treated with solvents or dangerous chemicals, making them fully compostable in just six months when treated properly.
Washing:
- The washes are aligned with The Jeans Redesign principles: no pumice stones and no potassium permanganate or any other dangerous chemicals. The treatment used obtained an Environmental Impact Measuring (EIM) software score of 24 (green). All the finishing chemicals are Scivera and Bluesign certified and, consequently, classified as ZDHC Level 3. The washes are also made with the Smart Foam technology to dramatically reduce the water consumption of the finishing treatment. With Garmon’s patent-pending technology, foam is used as the carrier of chemicals to the garment, which can reduce water use by up to 80% without compromising the look and durability.
- The care label has been completely removed and engraved on the inner side of the garment using laser technology. All the necessary information to extend the life of the garment (i.e. washing less and using cold water) is part of a lasered QR code that allows consumers, recyclers, up-cyclers and re-makers to have all the information on the garment and how to handle it after being discarded.
This capsule collection, based on the The Jeans Redesign guidelines with the ultimate goal to produce jeans that last longer and are easily recyclable, preserving our planet and its living beings, is a true demonstration of alignment, transparency and real circularity in the denim industry.
