Kontoor Brands, the owner of Wrangler and Lee, has announced the expansion of its Indigood programme, which in 2019 set out to drastically reduce water usage in the manufacture of denim. Indigood Foam-Dye is the technology around which the initiative was launched, as it replaces traditional water vats and chemical baths in a process that eliminates water from the process of conventional indigo dyeing.
The US conglomerate will now broaden its horizons in a bid to promote other solutions capable of reducing more than 90 per cent of water from the fabric construction phase of the supply chain. Kontoor Brands oversees the production of millions of products globally each year, and says it’s committed to using its outreach to advance the denim industry.
By welcoming other water reduction technologies under the scope of its Indigood initiative then, it’s hoped that denim mills around the world will feel encouraged to adopt new, more sustainable solutions to conventional indigo dyeing technologies.
“Water is one of our most vital and precious natural resources, and as such, we are focused on advancing the sustainable and equitable management of water resources,” said Jeff Frye, VP of Product Development and Direct Procurement, Kontoor Brands.
“By expanding the Indigood program to include additional water saving technologies, we’re giving our suppliers the opportunity to select the water savings technologies that work best for their production, while also meeting the growing consumer demand for products that not only look good, but also minimise the impact on the planet.”
Last year, Kontoor Brands announced that it’d smashed its target of saving 5.5 bn ltr of water in its supply chain, instead surpassing the 07 bn ltr mark. The company has since set itself the goal of reducing its water usage by 50 percent by 2030.
“At Kontoor Brands, we believe companies have a responsibility to use resources wisely, drive sustainable innovations, and preserve and protect the planet,” noted Dhruv Agarwal, Senior Director of Global Materials innovation and product development at Kontoor Brands. “Expanding our Indigood partnerships to new mills helps in our greater mission to conserve water in every step of our supply chain.”
