TENCEL™ Sustainable Collaboration, Influencing the Denim Supply Chain for the Better

While attending Munich Fabric Start in September 2019, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tricia Carey, the Director of Global Business Development – Denim for Lenzing Fibers Inc for the KEYHOUSE presents series. During our chat, she talked about the launch of a Sustainable Denim Wardrobe collection. Created using their digital platform of Carved in Blue, the denim range was first showed at Kingpins Amsterdam in October 2019.

Denim from a Sustainability Mindset

According to Lenzing, the current definition of denim has never been so unstructured, which could make now the perfect time for them to introduce the Sustainable Denim Wardrobe collaboration. Centred on environmentally conscious production, the capsule collection has been designed to influence the denim supply chain for the better and reflect the breadth of products in modern denim circles.

The good news is that consumers are continuing to view their apparel from a sustainability mindset. It is a change that demands greater transparency and sustainable options. It is a development that has led to an increase of pressure on brands to design with more considerate products and this is were BROADBAND, the name the collection goes under, comes in. ˜BROADBAND offers two denim categories; SOFTWEAR and HARDWEAR. It represents products that redefine denim with unique fabrics that combine TENCEL™ Lyocell and TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ Lyocell fibres, cotton, linen, recycled cotton, and spandex.

TENCEL™ is the textile premium brand under the Lenzing Group covering textile specialty product offerings derived from renewable wood sources, defining a new evolutionary step on sustainability and natural comfort. TENCEL™ branded fibers can offer a range of features including botanic origin, sustainable production, gentleness of skin, long-lasting softness, silky smoothness, enhanced breathability, color retention and biodegradability.  TENCEL™ fibers are found in the collections of many leading designers and renowned retailers.

“Sustainable denim production requires innovative thinking that extends beyond just raw materials and production methods“.

“Sustainable denim production requires innovative thinking that extends beyond just raw materials and production methods,” said Carey. Adding: “To truly attain sustainability, companies must also seek out non-traditional ways of working together. When we created the Sustainable Denim Wardrobe collaboration, we discovered new depths of partnership and new ways to share knowledge, supporting commercial innovation.”

The Sustainable Denim Wardrobe is a collaboration of companies that brings together best-in-class artisans from fibre to design to finished garment. Fabric collaborators include A&A, Taiwan; Anubha, India; Atlantic Mills, Thailand; Candiani, Italy; Indigo Istanbul, Turkey; Kaihara, Japan; KG Denim, India; Mozartex, China; Orta, Turkey; and Stella Blue, China. Sustainability-as-standard garment processing comes from Jeanologia. Design input for SOFTWEAR comes from Escuela de Arte Superior y de Diseño de Valencia.

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Founding editor-in-chief & WearableTechStylist of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta has worked in the fashion industry for over 14 years. She is currently one of the leading influencers speaking and writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology and a regular contributor to digital news sites like Wareable.