world of denim · the denim dyeing process has been one of the major pollution problems i thn exl...

world of denim

References Worldwide Issue 7 www.monforts.com

A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KGGermany | A Member of CHTC Fong’s Group

www.monforts.com

Competence in Denim Finishing

>Proven success.The Monforts range combinations for denim finishing are now even more cost-efficient and

eco-friendly: The Monforts ECO Applicator is now used for liquor application.

Drying, stretching and skewing functions for the denim fabric are performed by a modified

Thermex-Thermo-Stretch unit. This configuration allows fabric speeds of up to 40 m/min to

be achieved with 14.5 oz/yd2 denim on the ”single rubber” version.

The ”double rubber” version comprises two compressive shrinkage units and two felt

calenders in line. Together with the innovative Thermex stretching unit, fabric speeds

of up to 80 m/min can thus be achieved with 14.5 oz/yd2 denim.

On both range versions, the denim fabric is stretched and skewed far more gently

than with conventional range combinations. Ask our denim technologists.

We will be happy to advise you.

AHEAD OF PROGRESS

D

World of Denim | Issue 7 | 3

PioneeringchangeEvery year, around 15 billionmetres of denim fabrics areproduced globally, to go intoaround 10 billion garments, withthe key manufacturing countriesbeing China, Bangladesh, India,Pakistan, Mexico and Brazil.

Some 66,000 tons of indigopowder have been needed for thisproduction, but until recentlyhazardous chemicals have beenrequired to make it water soluble,and after dyeing, tons ofwastewater containing thesechemicals have been dischargedinto the environment, oftenwithout treatment. The denimdyeing process has been one ofthe major pollution problemswithin the textile industry as thedemand for denim continues togrow – each of us already owningfour or more denim fashion items.

Now, however, things arechanging, and Monforts is proudto be one of the companiespioneering this change.

One of our customers, BossaDenim in Turkey, for example,lists the procedures it is adaptingaimed at reducing environmentalimpact as:

• Sustainable materials• Energy efficiency• Water savings• Process engineering • Certification• Social responsibility• Re-use• Collaboration• Co-creation

Responsible technologycompanies can play an active rolein all of these areas.

As our Head of Denim HansWroblowski explains in theinterview starting on page 30 ofthis issue of Monforts World ofDenim, we have recently beenenjoying success with our EcoLine concept for denim, which isbased on two key technologyadvances – the Eco Applicatorand the Thermo Stretch.

This is allowing significantsavings to be achieved in wateruse, energy and raw materials.

It’s only the start of what we intend to achieve in the nextfew years.

Hans Wroblowski

Monforts customers featured in this issue:Advance Denim, Albiate, Artistic Denim Mills, Artistic Fabric Mills &Garment Industries, Artistic Milliners, Arvind, Azgard 9, Berto, BlackPeony, Bossa, Çalık, Cone Denim, Crescent Bahuman, DNM, Freedom,Iskur, Kassim, Kilimdenim, Kipas, Kurabo, Naveena, Orta, Prosperity,Rajby, Raymond Uco, Santanderina, Soorty, Tusa, Vicuhna, W Denim.

Front Cover: ‘Midnight’ from Lenzing’sRefribra fashion collection, with denimmanufactured by Spain's Santanderina.

A. Monforts TextilmaschinenGmbH & Co. KGPostfach 10 17 01D-41017 MönchengladbachBlumenberger Straße 143-145D-41061 MönchengladbachTelefon: +49 - (0) - 21 61-401-0Telefax: +49 - (0) - 21 61-401-498Internet: www.monforts.deeMail: [email protected]

PUBLISHED BY MONFORTSMARKETING GROUP

4 | World of Denim | Issue 7

www.monforts.com

Hans Gerhard Wroblowski, Head of Denim at Monforts,outlines new possibilities with the company’s latestintegrated technologies for denim production.

“This is no longerthe 1950s…”

In many denim mills globally,the cost of energy for runningintegrated manufacturing lines –especially those for denim fabricfinishing that can involvenumerous sequences of heatingand subsequent drying – is noweclipsing the cost of payingpeople to operate them and theability of the Eco Applicator tosignificantly reduce overallmanufacturing costs has seen itrapidly accepted on the market.

As an alternative to conven-tional padding – where the denimfabrics are immersed in a bath ofthe required finishing chemicals –the Eco Applicator can signifi-cantly reduce the energy andwater required for achievingperfect finished denim via aprecise direct application system.

Finishes can be applied onjust one side of the fabric, or

both, and even separatelyon each side, or tospecific areas of a fabric,and sealed in place viadifferent heating zones inthe stenter. This allowsendless differentiationpossibilities.The ThermoStretch unit

can then handle the skewing(the weft-direction

straightening necessaryto ensure jeansdon’t twist out ofshape when youput them on), thebow correction

and the stretching (to ensure theydon’t shrink after washing), andthe drying or light heatsetting, in acontinuous one-step process.

Arvind, for example, hasrecently installed India’s firstintegrated Monforts Eco Linewhich is operating alongside fourof our Montex stenters.

WOD: How has automationimpacted what you’re doing?HW: Our evolution in textileengineering and machine buildinghas progressed throughmechanical, steam and water-powered technologies to the firstmass production lines, electronicdrives and highly modularmachines. The move towards thecurrent state of the art initiallyinvolved data transfer and storagevia internet/intranet, along withteleservice solutions, and hasbeen followed by full automationconcepts which assure an overallquality control.

Now we are truly in the digitalage, and we are committed toinvesting in the digitization of our technology.

WOD: What are someinnovations you’re working on for the denim market in thecoming year?HW:We are already embracingmany Industry 4.0 principles inour approach to new machineconcepts and our Qualitex 800control system, for example, has

World of Denim: Could you tellus a little bit about what setsMonforts machinery apart?Hans Wroblowski: We specialisein advanced technology for fabricfinishing based on successiveindustry developments since ourfoundation in Mönchengladbachin Germany (where we are stillheadquartered) back in 1884.Monforts Montex stenters(stretching, drying, heatsettingand coating systems) are theindustry standard for the denimfabric finishing industry,providing a number ofadvantages in terms ofproduction throughput andespecially in energy efficiencyand savings.

We have recently beenenjoying successwith our Eco Lineconcept fordenim, which isbased on twokey technologyadvances – theEco Applicatorand theThermoStretch.


say, Industry 4.0 is driving much ofour R&D, in addition to mechanicaland engineering refinements. Wewill have a considerable presenceat ITMA 2019, because it’s thecrucial show for us.

WOD: Which mills are you working with?HW:We work with the majority ofthe mills in Bangladesh, India,Mexico, Pakistan and Vietnam, aswell as with close partners inEurope and the Americas.

Among our customers at therecent Denim PV in London, forexample, were:• Artistic Denim Mills, Artistic

Fabric Mills & GarmentIndustries, Artistic Milliners,Azgard 9, Crescent Bahuman,Kassim, Naveena, Rajby and Soorty, all of Pakistan.

• Bossa, Çalık, Kilimdenim, Iskur,Kipas, Orta and W Denim ofTurkey.

• Arvind and Raymond Uco in India.

• Advance Denim, Black Peony, Freedom and Prosperity n China.

• Albiate and Berto in Italy.• Cone Denim (Mexico), DNM

(Egypt) and Kurabo (Japan) and Vicuhna (Brazil).

WOD: When does a jeans stop being a jeans?HW: It doesn’t have to really, doesit? If a pair of denim jeans isengineered for jogging, say, in theso-called ‘athleisure’ trend, thenit’s still a pair of jeans at the endof the day, if they can meet theperformance requirement. Denimfabric doesn’t have to stop beingdenim, with all of the variation intexture and drape that’s possible.The latest fashion collections areas far removed from the conceptof ‘classic denim jeans’ as youcan get. This is no longer the1950s. �

TECHNOLOGY

all the intuitive features operatorswill be familiar with fromtouchscreen devices, makingnavigation extremely easy, cutting down the time required for becoming familiar with a new system and allowingcomplete control of all machineparameters. This has a significantimpact on productivity, availabilityand in general machine andproduction efficiency.

WOD: What’s next for Monforts?HW: A completely automatedstentering range requiring nohuman operation at all – or onlyvia a remote link – is within oursights, but there will be otherannouncements in the first half of 2019.

WOD: What are your plans for ITMA?HW: It’s too early for us toannounce our plans for ITMA inBarcelona in June, but suffice to

www.monforts.com

Less is a lot more in these eye-catching denims from Pakistan’sRajby Industries. Representativesfrom the company has been givingaway plants and promotionalmaterials made from organic cottonwaste and flowering seeds toemphasise their sustainablemessages at recent denim trade fairs.


call the shots, says PremièreVision fashion product managerMarina Coutelan.

“For decades there have been very narrow standards in

TRENDS

The eagerness of Monforts denimcustomers to highlight theirdevelopments in respect of eco-responsibility is certainly reflectedin the denim trends for 2020 and2021, as identified by PremièreVision’s design team.

Creative risks as opportunities

Brands are now embracing newbody shapes, with models proudto be different, as Millennials(those reaching young adulthoodin the early 21st Century) begin to

Soorty and Naveena predictthe return of 1970s tie-dyeing.

PV fashion product manager Marina Coutelan.


www.monforts.com

Assertive paleness featuresin new designs fromTurkey’s Orta Onadalu.

There is much use of openweaves, as in this shirtfrom India’s Arvind Mills.

3D effects and over-stitching fromcompanies including Advance Denimand Naveena are much in evidence inthe latest denim collections.

respect of what is conceived tobe beauty, but that’schanging,” says Coutelan, “andthere is now in general adetermination to view creativerisks as opportunities acrossthe industry.”

”There is much use ofrecycled cotton evident in thelatest denim collections, as wellas recycled polyester andpolyamide, enhanced by newfinishes for ever-softer handles,she adds. The technologies formanufacturing denim with noor limited water are advancedand there are a variety of othereco-finishing techniquescoming to the fore, as well asthe use of vegetable-baseddyes as alternatives to conven-tional indigo.”

StructuresIn terms of structures,diagonal, open weaves arecommon, along with the use of stripes within the denim structures, asexemplified by new collectionsfrom Turkish mills such asBossa and Kilimdenim.3D effects and compositematerials are also prominent.

Many of the latest denimshave a new lightness andsubtlety, as well as suppleness,as is evident in the latestcollections from companiessuch as China’s Advance Denimand India’s Raymond Uco.Manufacturers are emphasisingpaleness and clean weaves, with colour stressed through over-dyeing and fine overlays.

Stretch fabrics remain asimportant as ever to the market,with Turkey’s Çalık Denim,among others, emphasisingsculpted garments that allowfree movement yet retain theirshape, and special fibres suchas Cordura and Dyneema beingemployed to provide solidityand strength.

“For women in particular, the emphasis is very much on the silhouette,” Ms Coutelan stresses. �


SOORTY

Monforts denim customer Soorty commissionedthe Amsterdam-based digital design studio TheFabricant for the promotional launch of its Cradle-to-Cradle-certified Gold Standard denim fabric.

Denim and digital– moving beyondcatwalk concepts



The Fabricant really made thefashion and technology industriessit up and take notice in 2018 withthe DEEP Digital FashionCollection, devised by its co-founder and creative director,Amber-Jae Slooten.

Using artificial intelligencealgorithms, the creativeexperiment saw the world’s firstcollaboratively-designed fashioncollection between a human and anon-human, with Amberessentially asking the computer todream, learn and create alongsideher. The resulting surreal digitalcollection was exhibited at majorfashion fairs across Europe lastsummer and gained furtherattention for The Fabricant atDutch Design Week.

The Fabricant’s sustainabilitycredentials then came into playwith the commission fromPakistan-based Soorty, whichsupplies to global retailers such asTommy Hilfiger and C&A.

LeadershipDuring 2018, Soorty establishied anew denim garment manufac-turing plant in Karachi, Pakistan,which is LEED Platinum certified.

LEED – Leadership in Energyand Environmental Design – is themost widely used green building

rating system in the world and aglobally recognised symbol ofsustainable achievement.

To achieve Platinum status, 80of a possible 100 points must beachieved across six creditcategories – Sustainable Sites,Water Efficiency, Energy andAtmosphere, Materials andResources, Indoor EnvironmentalQuality and Innovation in Design.

Soorty had already establisheda LEED Gold garment manufac-turing plant in Bangladesh and continues to pioneersustainable developments across all of its operations.

Employing some 22,000people, Soorty began as agarment making operation in1983 and expanded into denimfabric manufacturing a decadeago. Its denim mill was firstexpanded in 2009 followed bythe establishment of a spinningmill in 2011.

The LEED Gold Bangladeshgarment manufacturingoperation was established in2014, when the company alsoopened a development centre in Amsterdam.

During 2016, a second denimmanufacturing plant was openedin Karachi, along with an open-end spinning mill and a

dedicated recycling unit. Inrespect of the latter, thecompany now has the capacityto recycle some 2.5 tons ofspinning, fabric and garmentwaste material per day and isalso collaborating with I:Collectto establish post-consumerwaste processing.

Following a systematicexpansion programme, thecompany now has three MonfortsMontex stenters as well as threeMonforts sanforizing units. Thisbrings the company’s finishedwoven denim capacity to amonthly 5.5 million metres.

Soorty also recently becamethe first company in Pakistan toinstall the new MonfortsEcoApplicator with which it hasbeen achieving very substantialfinishing cost savings.

Nothing but dataAs designers using nothing butdata to create fashion collectionsand imagery, The Fabricant’swork exists beyond the currentconcepts of catwalks, photo -graphers, studios and samplesizes. It was a proposition thatnaturally co-existed withSoorty’s innovative new Cradle-to-Cradle certified Gold Standarddenim fabric.

www.monforts.com

In 2018, The Fabricant’s DEEP DigitalFashion Collection saw the first collabora-tively-designed fashion collection betweena human and a non-human, with Amber-JaeSlooten and artificial intelligence algorithmsdreaming, learning and creating together.

World of Denim | Issue 7 | 11World of Denim | Issue 7 | 11

Digitisation helps clients to promote and visualise ideas without wasting unnecessary resources.

Amber Jae Slooten,The Fabricant

SOORTY

The 60-second film created bythe Fabricant in response toSoorty’s brief showcased thelook, texture and movement ofthe new denim while only existingin the non-physical digital realm.

The use of 3D renderingperfectly complimented Soorty’smission of reducing fashion’senvironmental impact via the useof sustainable practices.

“Cradle to Cradle is a methodthat we believe is fair andnecessary, and using digitaldesign tools we were able topromote this method withoutwasting any material but data,”says Amber Jae Slooten. “What we are trying to tell is astory of fairness in combinationwith technology.”

The Fabricant created anabstract landscape alluding to thesustainability concerns of the

“To me, whenever I createany content, it has to tap into acertain feeling – peoplevaguely recognising it orexperiencing a certain mood.Next to the emotional value, Iam trying to visually tell a storywith content that worksgraphically and colour-wisewith each other.“

“Digitisation helps clients topromote and visualise ideaswithout wasting unnecessaryresources. 3D visualisationgives a multitude ofpossibilities on lighting,materials and backgrounds.With the virtual world yetunexplored, we have the visualmeans that will set brands apartfrom the overused film andphoto-shooting techniques. Itwill truly take fashion into the21st century.” �

The Fabricant’s 60-second film inresponse to Soorty’s brief showcasedthe look, texture and movement of thenew denim while only existing in thenon-physical digital realm.

brand by using visual cues fromthe natural world, creating anappropriate environment for thedigital recreation of the denim toexist. The backdrop alsofunctions as a means to deliverpowerful facts on the brand’santi-waste credentials.

For Slooten, the key to theconcept was visually communi-cating the constant C2C cycle.

Endless loop“We tried to visualise an endlesslooping process,” she says. “Likethe C2C process, the video isconstantly repeating itself butconstantly reinventing too.Because of the highly hypnotisingcontent, the viewer keeps onseeing new details. Theunderlying message of the videowas a constant loop that tied tothe endless circle of life.“


www.monforts.com

Turkish artist Deniz Sağdiç has been demonstrating her meticulously-assembled portraits based on repurposed denimscraps at recent exhibitions, in collaboration with Bossa Denim.

Portraits in auniversal fabric

“I started my Ready-Remadeproject around four years ago,based on transforming usedobjects into works of art,” sheexplains. “One day I was cuttingdenim trousers and rearrangingthem using this approach andrealised its almost limitlesspossibilities as a material, as wellas its conceptual significance.Denim has a huge number of

colours, tones and textures andyou can use numeroustechniques all together –stitching, cutting, pasting, lacing,fraying and engraving.“

Unique“You see denim on people livingthe furthest from civilisation in theworld and those in the mostsophisticated metropolises, as wellas on both people with extremelylimited economic capabilities andthose who are extremely rich.Denim has been accepted byeveryone in our world where –unfortunately – even the colour ofsomeone’s skin is a matter fordiscrimination, and in that sense itis unique. That’s why I producemainly portraits of people whosenames and identities are unknownand each portrait makes eyecontact with you.”

When she started her work,Deniz was acquiring the fabricsand clothing from differentcompanies and second-handshops. Her collaboration withBossa, which has its headquartersin Adana, began after her workwas spotted by the company’shead of marketing Özge Özsoy.

“Bossa is also using its ownwaste to create recycled fabricsand is a very environmentally-friendly company,” says Deniz. “Ibelieve we are on the same pathand Bossa interacts with so manypeople at the exhibitions it takespart in and carrying my art to aninternational platform is veryimportant for me.”

Re-Set“We introduced our first Re-Setcollection in 2006, employing notonly organic cotton, but also

Denim has beenaccepted by everyone inour world and in thatsense it is unique.

Artist Deniz Sağdiç


The Re-Set collections now offera range of options includingpower stretch, over-dyed fabricsand selvedge denims.

Save BlueThe company’s Future Denimconcept combines organiccottons, recycled cottons andpolyesters and Lenzing Refibra,with yarn dyeing via the BossaSave Blue process.

The results from the Save Blueprocess have been analysed atCukorova University and found toachieve 85% savings in watercompared to conventionaldyeing, with comparableefficiency and no difference in thefastness values of the denimswoven from these yarns.

Bossa also uses the Made Byclassification system in whichtwenty fibre types are scoredbased on the following six criteria:

• Greenhouse gas emissions.• Human toxicity.• Eco-toxicity.• Energy and water input.• Land use required in

fibre production.“Conventional textile processing

has very high water and energyconsumption and a large amountof wastewater discharge and theconservation of water resourcesand the environment havebecome key issues of concern,”said Özge. “We have designedour Spring/Summer 2020collection to be as sustainable as possible as a result of thecareful collection of fibres anddyeing techniques.”

Founded in 1951 andheadquartered in Adana, Turkey,Bossa is planning to grow itsturnover by 25% over the nextfew years by selected investmentsin sustainable technologies. �

BOSSA


ecological dyes, chemicals andfinishes,” says Özge Özsoy. “In2010, recycled denim was addedto the Re-Set collection, based onthe company’s system in whichold jeans are shredded by apartner in Gaziantep and thenturned into new yarns for use inour ranges. Approximately athousand pairs of denim jeans areused to produce 2,000 metres ofblended denim containing 20%recycled cotton yarn content.”

Bossa is also a member of theAlliance for Responsible Denim(ARD) which is promoting the useof post-consumer recycled denim.

The recycled cotton actually hascertain advantages, in that beingfirst made from indigo dyed yarnsand fabric it is already blue andafter rope dyeing takes on a richerindigo hue. It also has a slightlyslubbier character providing extratexture and dimension.

We use a thousand old pairs of denim jeansfor the production of 2,000 metres of denimcontaining 20% recycled cotton.

Özge Özsoy,Bossa


www.monforts.com


Graphene holds much promise as a route to new functional finishes for fabrics, believes Monforts key customer in India Arvind.

A wonder materialacross weft and warp

The isolation of graphene earned Manchester Universityscientists Andre Geim andKonstantin Novoselov the Nobel Prize in 2010.

Hailed as a wonder material,graphene is the thinnestcompound known to man at oneatom thick, the lightest materialknown, the strongest compounddiscovered to date, the bestconductor of heat at roomtemperature and also the bestconductor of electricity.

In theory, graphene’s potentialapplications are endless and theEuropean Union has made it thesubject of its largest-everresearch project – the €1 billionGraphene Flagship.

Now Arvind has launched theworld’s first graphene-enhanceddenim jeans and jackets, followingan agreement signed with Italian

graphene manufacturer DirectaPlus early in 2018.

Vision“I was very impressed by theDirecta Plus story of setting upthe company and building acomplete manufacturing plantwithout having sold a single gramof product,” said StefanoAldighieri, Arvind’s creativedirector. “That showed real vision,as well as courage. I read aboutthe company’s success withColmar in outdoor apparel andstarted to wonder if graphenewas something we could use indenim. So we got together andstarted to experiment.“

“In general, graphene is themagic product that has been ableto do anything so far but get out ofthe lab,” he added. “For a numberof years, R&D centres have been

talking about all of the wonderfulthings it could do, but when wedecided to become involved thecrucial thing was to get thingsout in the market as soon aspossible, and we opted to go forthe low-hanging fruit, which wassimply wear and comfort indenim and textiles.”

Thermal distributionThe positive effect of printing agraphene layer on the inside ofdenim jeans and jackets is toincrease the thermal distri-bution of the fabric, so that thedenim clothes can be worncomfortably even in very hotclimates. At the same time,while it does not kill bacteria,the graphene prevents itsformation and provides an anti-odour effect.

“We believe this innovationwill help drive the demand forjeans and other items of denimattire in India in particular,where consumers haveexpressed a desire forfashionable denim productsthat are more compatible withhot temperatures,” Aldighierinoted. “In addition Directa Plusis the only company doing itwithout chemistry, which fitsdirectly with Arvind’ssustainable strategy.”

“Not only is our Graphene+chemical-free and made from anabundant, safe and non-toxicraw material – graphite – we areattaining high purity andconsistent quality,” addedRazvan Popescu, Directa Pluschief operating officer.

Razvan Popescu, Directa PlusCOO and Stefano Aldighieri,Arvind’s creative director.


exploit the potential for abrasionresistance in apparel, with aproduct that is two hundredtimes stronger than steel.”

“We are only at the beginning ofwhat we see as a sustainedevolution and a further idea is thecreation of electronic circuits onapparel for applications such asheating and power charging.”

In October, the two companiessigned a second agreementcovering two additional verticalmarkets in India – composites andwater purification. They will now

collaborate to expand applicationsin these fields for G+ graphene,as well as for Grafysorber, aproduct developed for theremoval of hydrocarbons fromcontaminated water made fromfibrous graphene sheets.

Headquartered in Ahmedabad,India, and employing over 25,000people, Arvind is India’s largestmanufacturer of denim and amajor player in knitted and wovenapparel, as well as having interestsin engineering, retail, telecoms,advanced materials, agricultureand real estate. It achieved sales ofaround US$1.5 billion in itsfinancial year to March 2018.

Directa Plus was established in2005 in Lomazzo, in Como, Italy,to manufacture natural, chemical-free and sustainably producedgraphene-based products whichare already to be found incommercial applications such astextiles, tyres, composite materialsand environmental solutions. �

ARVIND


Plasma super expansionThe company’s productionprocess, he explained, uses aproprietary technique called‘plasma super expansion’. Startingfrom natural graphite, each stepof the process – expansion,exfoliation and drying – createsgraphene-based materials readyfor a variety of uses and availablein different forms such aspowders, liquids and pastes. Animportant factor for commercialcustomers is the highly-consistentgraphene that results from thisprocess and no chemical orsolvent additives are required.

The company’s productioncapacity is currently an annual 30tons, which may not sound a lotwhen compared to commodityproducts, but can go a very longway in apparel applications, sincevery minimal quantities can beapplied in order to achieve thedesired effect. So while in termsof price per kg it is not cheap, theimpact on cost at the productionrun level can be negligible.

“In the apparel industry, we arein any case at the stage where weneed to start talking about valueand not price, because this isreally depressing our industry,”Aldighieri said. “Look at the carindustry – you can buy a car forfive thousand euros or for fivemillion and if it was only aboutprice everyone would drive thecheap one. It’s down to how valueis perceived.”

Abrasion resistanceThe next stage in the partnershipbetween Arvind and GraphenePlus, he added, will be to “really

In India in particular, consumers haveexpressed a desire for fashionable denim productsthat are more compatible with hot temperatures.

Stefano Aldighieri, Arvind


AFGI


Is it possible to produce denim without generatingwaste-water? Yes, says Karachi-headquarteredArtistic Fabric and Garment Industries (AFGI).

Double zero for AFGI

“Our Double Zero technologycombines our proprietary TrueZero Dyeing and True ZeroFinishing for zero waste-waterprocesses that do not sacrificelooks or quality,” explains productmanager Ampelio del Lago. “Thisbreakthrough technology allows usto save the tremendous amount ofwater traditionally used in indigodyeing, mercerizing and finishing.

“By using only the minimumdyes required to penetrate thefabric, all of our dyeing and fabricfinishing water is evaporated at the

end of the process, or recovered,resulting in zero water beingdischarged, no effluents and noCOD – chemical oxygen demand.”

Spray dyeingThe company has introduced anew indigo spray dyeingtechnology developed in a collaboration between the dyemanufacturer DyStar andtechnology company RotaSpray.

The patented RotoDyer andRotoCoater spraying technologieseliminate the need to repeatedlyrun yarns through large vats ofdyes, and also to prepare anddiscard huge amounts ofchemicals and dyes. They arebeing employed with DyStar’sIndigo Vat 40% solution and SeraCon C-RDA organic reducingagent at the Artistic plant – thefirst such system in Pakistan.

AFGI has also collaborated withDenimite to produce a fashiongarment hangtag made fromrecycled denim.

AFGI converts post-consumerrecycled denim into fibres byprocessing discarded jeansdestined for landfills, using itsstate-of-the-art shredding facility.

Denimite is then turning thismaterial into beautiful hangtags.

Indigo marbleThe hangtag is made using aninnovative seven-step process toturn old denim into new bio-based resin composites. The twocompanies designed anddeveloped these hangtags toresemble indigo marble, with justthe right amount of luster toevoke a sense of intrigue.Produced with such precision, itsdenim origins are only visible atvery close inspection.

Artistic Fabric and GarmentIndustries has two manufacturingplants that produce over 60 millionmetres of denim and 25 milliongarments per year. Its Vision 2020includes a determination to investin renewable energy, explore newways to reuse production wasteand bridge differences throughglobal collaborations.

With control over raw materials,yarn manufacturing andsubsequent processes, thecompany provides denims thatdon’t compromise on fabricperformance, shade consistencyor finish. �

This breakthrough technology allowsus to save the tremendous amount of watertraditionally used in indigo dyeing,mercerizing and finishing.

Ampelio del Lago, AFGI product manager

AFGI’s hangtags are made from bio-basedcomposite resins made from post-consumerrecycled denim.


process, a natural and totallybiodegradable sizing is employed,along with a specific new finishingprocess saving 85% of the waterusually needed and significantlyreducing CO2 emissions permetre of fabric.”

A strategy of continuousinvestment has been a key to theBerto’s success – it beganspinning its own open end yarnsand added ring spinning in 2004.

As denim output intensified, anindigo dyeing plant was installed.

Later, as part of a majormodernisation and expansionprogramme, the company tookdelivery of a Monforts eight-chamber Montex stenter and wasan early adopter of the MonfortsEco Applicator for the economicaddition of finishing chemicals. �

BERTO

Italian denim manufacturer Berto recentlylaunched its new Pianeta denim fabrics,in exclusive tailored designs made by the London atelier Black Horse Lane.

Closing the loop in Biella


“Pianeta fabric is made fromBerto’s own unavoidable millwaste, which we regenerate andtransform into our new Ecotecyarns,” explained Vittoria Marchiof yarn manufacturer Marchi andFildi, based in Biella. “The yarnsare produced by a transparent,traceable and certified processand can contain up to 80% pre-consumer cotton waste. With thefurther involvement of the Everestlaundry and dyeing company inPadova, we are establishing alocalised, closed loop recyclingchain in northern Italy.”

“Thanks to Ecotec yarn we save65% of the water used forstandard fabric production,”added Francesca Polato,marketing manager for Berto.“During the further indigo dyeing

We are establishinga localised, closed looprecycling chain innorthern Italy.

Vittoria Marchi,

Marchi and Fildi

Vittoria Marchi of Marchi and Fildiand Berto’s Francesca Polato.

The London denim atelier Black Horse Laneis tailoring jeans made exclusively fromBerto’s Pianeta fabric.

Berto’s Urban Arctic Collection drawsinspiration from the landscapesencountered by the pioneering explorerRonald Amundsen to the South Pole.


CONE DENIM

Cone Denim’s latest Cordura S Genedenims combine an authentic look and feelwith hidden performance and engineeredstretch benefits based on dual-core yarntechnology featuring high strength Invistanylon 6.6 filament technology.

Winning combination for Cone

“At Cone Denim, we continue toexpand and elevate our S Genecollection of denims to providecustomers with high performing,sustainable denims that peoplelove to wear,” said the company’svice-president of product designand marketing, Kara Nicholas.“These yarns are made with twocore components which optimisestretch and maximize recovery andthe dual-core is wrapped in a spuncotton covering to provide a softcotton hand and naturalappearance. Cordura S Gene is thelatest development arising fromour partnership with Cordura.”

175 years of heritage“Last year we were excited to offera first-of-its kind Cordura nylonselvedge denim with Cone, but thepartnership certainly didn’t stopthere,” added Cindy McNaull,Cordura’s global brand andmarketing director. “Building onour 175 years of combinedheritage, Cone and Cordura havecontinued to push the boundariesto bring enhanced denim solutionsto the market and the new CorduraS Gene Denim collection istestament to this commitment.

Cone offers unique collectionsof performance, stretch, selvedge,

and natural indigo denims, as wellas recreations of Cone’sDeeptone denims, which were firstmanufactured in the early 1900s.

The company is part of Interna-tional Textile Group (ITG), withmanufacturing capabilities inMexico and China and a globalnetwork of sales, product andmerchandising professionals. �

At Cone Denim weproduce high performing,sustainable denims thatpeople love to wear.

Kara Nicholas,

Cone Denim Cone’s Kara Nicholas withCordura’s Cindy McNaull.

When we have requests fromcustomers we can takethem straight to the top,which is what makes usspecial I think.

Enrico Forin,

Advance Denim

metres, while making impressivegains in efficiency. Energyconsumption, for example, hasbeen reduced by 31% since 2013and water consumption by 34%.

“We have installed our ownwastewater treatment plants usingboth anaerobic and aerobicsystems capable of processing upto 9,000 tons per day,” Enricosays. “Treatments are monitoredand tracked in real time toenhance transparency. We arealso planning to install a reverse-osmosis recycling systemenabling a certain amount ofwastewater to be reused on theproduction lines. Our thermalpower plant uses denitrification,desulphurisation and electrostaticprecipitation to reduce airpollutants and we track andmeasure emissions fromoperations to ensure they are wellabove the national standards.

“In another project we willinstall a new technology to recycle the dyed yarn waste intopigment dye powder. AdvanceDenim is truly putting all of itsefforts into demonstrating that atraditional industry can transformand be sustainable, whileremaining profitable.” �

ADVANCE DENIM

Advance Denim’s new Acore fabrics incorporate SolucellAircotton yarns which are engineered with sophisticated hollowchannel structures in a special technique developed in Italy.

A hands-on approachat Advance Denim


“This results in fabrics that areextremely light weight, soft touch,thermo-regulating and possessmoisture management properties,via a manufacturing route that isentirely free of chemicals,” saysAmsterdam-based Enrico Forin,who is responsible for thecompany’s development andmarketing in Europe.

He attributes the company’sforward-looking approach inestablishing truly sustainableoperations to managing directorAmy Wang, who joined thecompany immediately aftergraduation and subsequentlyworked her way up through all ofits departments.

“She’s very technical and has ahands-on role in all of our newdevelopments,” says Enrico.“When we have requests fromcustomers we can take themstraight to the top and she willcarry things through to theirrealisation, which is what makesus special I think.”

Capacity expansionHeadquartered in Foshan City,Guangdong, Advance has doubledit weaving capacity over the pastfew years, to over 36 million

www.monforts.com


Monforts customer Arvind Mills has been the trusted denimsupplier to C&A in its ambitious project to mass produce anextremely affordable pair of ladies’ denim jeans bearing thecoveted Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Gold certification.

Golden goal for C&A

Some 100 separate elements had to beassessed in the Cradle-to-Cradle certificationprocess for the C&A Wear the Change jeans.

At the beginning of 2017, Arvindbecame the first manufacturer inIndia to install a Monforts Eco Linedenim finishing system for fasterproduction, greater savings inenergy and better flexibility indesign and innovation. The EcoLine is based on two key Monfortstechnology advances – the EcoApplicator, for minimumapplication of the selected finishingchemicals, and the ThermoStretch,which carries out weftstraightening, stretching and dryingin a continuous process.

However, a reliable supply ofperfectly-finished denim fabricfrom Arvind was merely thestarting point in the one-year C&Aproject to achieve the finished C2C-certified jeans, involving a widerange of supply chain partners.

No waste“Our vision at C&A is to ensurenothing is wasted,” explained thebrand’s denim fabric managerSevgin Sicim during a panelpresentation at Denim PremiereVision in London. “A starting pointis to produce with pure materialsand safe chemicals, to reuse asmuch as possible and to considerwater and energy usage at everystage of production.”

With approximately 1,500branches in 18 Europeancountries and more than 31,000employees, C&A, headquarteredin Vilvoorde, Belgium, is one ofEurope’s leading fashion retailers.

It is the world’s largest buyer oforganic cotton and currently 67%


Wear the Change“Having successfully launched theBio Cotton t-shirt – which retails ateight euros – under our ‘Wear theChange’ banner, we decided to gofor a bigger challenge,” explainedC&A design manager Jens Hesse.“The stipulation was that theproduct had to be possible at aretail price point of twenty-nineeuros per pair. The C2C certifi-cation programme is withoutdoubt the only holistic one on themarket but a huge list ofchemicals involved in the denimjeans production chain had to gothrough the certification process.”

Components and raw materialsfor the jeans came from suppliersaround the world, with Arvind, forexample, supplying the basicdenim, Coats the sewing thread,Dystar the dyes and finishingchemicals, YKK variousaccessories and Freudenberg thecotton interlining for thewaistband. Pacific Jeans inBangladesh handled the cuttingand sewing.

ChallengesOne major challenge was infinding a suitable elastane to add1-2% stretch in the denims. Thiswas solved by using partner Asahi

Kasei’s Roica V550, which isalready registered C2C Gold.

However, once all the suitablecomponents were identified andprototype pairs of the jeans wereconfirmed as C2C Gold, there wasa further problem when it came toa full production run.

“The cotton thread we hadselected for the stitching neededto be a lot stronger,” Hesseexplained. “It was breaking far toomuch and totally slowing downproduction. Eventually, it had tobe replaced with a polyesteralternative in order for productiontargets to be met and the pricepoint retained.”

Unfortunately, due to the C2Cstipulation that the lowestachievement level for a singlecomponent should represent aproduct’s overall mark, this meantthat a proportion of theproduction run denims hit thestores bearing only Bronze labels.

“This is a situation that we arecurrently working to remedy,”Hesse concluded. “C2C Bronzelevel would be Platinum in almostany other certification system, butwe have the ninety-nine elementsin place and now we areconfident we will soon reach theone hundred.” �

C&A

of all of the cotton it uses iseither certified organic cotton orsourced as Better Cotton, withthe target set for achieving 100%by 2020.

In June 2017, C&A introducedthe C2C Gold-certified Bio Cottont-shirt, and has subsequently soldsome 1.3 C2C certified pieces.

Continuous cycleThe C2C Certified ProductStandard guides designers andmanufacturers through a continualimprovement process, aiming toachieve a circular economyapproach. It examines a productthrough five quality categories –material health, material reutili-sation, renewable energy andcarbon management, waterstewardship and social fairness.

A product receives anachievement level in eachcategory – Basic, Bronze, Silver,Gold or Platinum – with the lowestachievement level representingthe product’s overall mark. Thecriteria at each level buildstowards the expectation ofeliminating all toxic and uniden-tified chemicals, and becomingnutrients for a safe, continuouscycle.

Due to the stringency of thesystem, some of the Bio Cotton t-shirts in C&A stores are currentlylabelled C2C Silver due to the useof certain inks which the companyis working to optimise.

As far as the denim jeans wereconcerned, some 100 separateelements had to be assessed.

Our vision is to ensure nothing is wasted.

Sevgin Sicim, C&A

Pictured from the left are Sevgin Sicimand Jens Hesse of C&A with StephanHuette, production and quality assurancemanager for Asahi Kasei/s Roica.


ARTISTIC MILLINERS

In the past, black denims oftentended to lose their appealafter washing, but the jeans inthe new Artistic MillinersSupercharged Noir collectionare guaranteed not to fade.

Value andversatilityin black

“Our performance denim portfoliois based on a powerful denseblack with excellent colourfastness, based on solution dyedfibres and yarns in which thecolour is locked in from the start,”says Ebru Ozaydin, senior vice-president of sales and marketingat Artistic Milliners. “They arebased on Cordura and Tencelfibres to provide a combination ofsoftness and strength which webelieve will be the nextevolution in performancedenim. In addition to excellentcolour fastness, they have avery eco-efficient footprint.”

Colour fastnessCombining Cordurastaple nylon 6.6 BlackSDN fibre and spun-dyed Lenzing TencelModal fibres withEco Colortechnology, thecollection isinfused withcolour-fastnesslocked in at thefibre level for

excellent shade consistency andlong-lasting vibrancy. Solutiondyeing also helps to greatlyreduce the water used in themanufacturing process.

“For the Supercharged Noircollection, we really

wanted to fuse valueand versatility,” saysEbru, “especially

since these featuresare important forboth men’s andwomen’sofferings. Overthe past fewseasons, we’ve

seen a risinginterest in blackdenim in a varietyof segments and

consumers arelooking for a product

that stays black aftermultiple washes.”

GoldArtistic Millinerswas also the denimmanufacturer

involved in the

creation of Dutch brand G-Star’sCradle-to-Cradle Gold certifieddenims – a first for the sector.

They are based on the cleanestindigo technology developed todate, employing an organic fixingagent to result in 70% fewerchemicals, no salts andproducing no salt by-productsduring the reduction and dyeingprocess, consequently savingwater and leaving clean andrecyclable water effluent.

With its state-of-the-art denimmill in Karachi in Pakistan,equipped with the latest European equipment, includingMonforts stentering, ArtisticMilliners has an annual productioncapacity of up to 36 millionmetres of denim. �

Consumers arelooking for a product that stays black aftermultiple washes.

Ebru Ozaydin,

Artistic Milliners

Ebru Ozaydin, Artistic Milliners.


We employ arange of kinder fibres in our production.

has been replanted with 1,500Calabrian pine saplings that arefed from waste water which is alsopurified at the company’s refinery.

CommitmentThis is all in keeping withKilimdenim’s commitment to sustainability which isreflected in the company’s latest denim ranges.

“We employ a range of kinderfibres in our production, includingorganic and BCI cotton, Lyocell,recycled polyester and both pre- and post-consumer recycledcotton,” explained sales executiveBahadir Çapar. “Our Zero Cotton

KILIMDENIM

Kilimdenim’s Edirnefactory has recently beendescribed as “more like anorganic farm than afactory” and visitors aresurprised to find peacocksfrolicking on beautifullylandscaped lawns.The lawns are fed by filtered waterfrom the factory and fertilised withby-products from the company’sproduction process. In addition,food for Kilimdenim’s staff canteenis provided by a small chickenfarm, bee hives and 25 types offruit trees. Sheep and geese alsowander happily around.

The Western Thrace region inwhich Edirne is situated is blessedwith some of Turkey’s mostagriculturally fertile lands and theKilimdenim plant extends acrossan area of 100,000 square metres.

In recent years, a major projecthas been undertaken to reclaim anarea of accumulated slag which

range consists of three gradesmade entirely from recycledpolyester and post-consumerrecycled cotton.

Having invested some €4 million in new technologybetween 2015 and 2017,Kilimdenim has reduced itsconsumption of electricity by40%, its use of steam by 66% andits water usage by 65%.

The company, which isheadquartered in Istanbul with itsmanufacturing plant in Edirne, has modernised its yarn manufacturing operations, significantly increasing capacitywhile adding resource efficiencyand also the ability tomanufacture dual-core yarnswhich are used especially instretch fabrics.

A further investment during2018 has seen the installation of48 new weaving machines toincrease the quality and diversityof the fabric it produces. �

Farm orfactory?

The Kilimdenim plant extendsacross an area of 100,000 squaremetres in Edirne, Western Thrace.

Kilimdenim sales executive Bahadir Çapar with Helene Smitsof the Alliance for Responsible Denim (ARD).

www.monforts.com


Lenzing’s Tencel has been included in many of the collectionsintroduced by global Monforts denim customers over the pastyear, and the fibre manufacturer’s ground breaking Refibralyocell has also been rapidly accepted by the industry. World of

Denim talked to Tricia Carey, Lenzing’s director of globalbusiness development for denim, about these developments.

The timing isright for Refibra

World of Denim: For the benefit ofreaders who may not be aware ofit, what is the Refibra process?Tricia Carey: Tencel Refibralyocell is the first commercially-viable manmade cellulosic fibreusing waste to make new lyocellfibre. Refibra technology usespost-industrial cotton wastewhich is made into pulp. Thispulp is combined with wood pulpand utilises the closed-loopmanufacturing of lyocell to makenew fibre. Additionally, Refibratechnology incorporates fibreidentification, so there istransparency in the supply chain.

WOD: Who are the partnersinvolved in its manufacturingsupply chain?

TC: Lenzing launched TencelRefibra Lyocell in Feb 2017 andsince then we have spinners,weavers and knitters around theworld using this fibre. We are inapplications from denim and Ithink in many ways, the timing forour launch of Refibra was perfect,because if we had introduced itearlier there wouldn’t have beenthe terrific interest that it’sgenerating. The denim mills arecertainly now ready for it.

WOD: Who are the brands now featuring Refibra?TC: Those with Refibratechnology are Artistic DenimMills, Artistic Fabric Mills &Garment Industries, ArtisticMilliners, Azgard 9, Crescent

Lenzing’s director ofglobal businessdevelopment for denimTricia Carey.

Pakistan’s Azgard 9 is amongMonforts customers nowincorporating Lenzing’sRefibra regenerated cellulosein its denim collections.


WOD: Is it possible tomanufacture 100% Refibraproducts or would the pricepremium be too prohibitive?TC: Yes it is possible to weave or knit 100% Tencel Refibralyocell fabrics and several mills already have it in theircollections for sampling.Shoppers can now buy 100%Tencel Refibra lyocell in tops anddresses from Patagonia.

WOD: What, if any, are theobstacles to scaling up?TC: Lenzing is manufacturingRefibra technology in Austria atour lyocell production facility andwe do not have obstacles toscaling up.

WOD: Moving on to Tencel,which is your more establishedsustainable lyocell brand, what is Lenzing’s currentcapacity for this fibre?TC: Our current capacity forTencel Lyocell at the four

production facilities in the USA,UK, and Austria is approximately220,000 tons per year.

WOD: So what benefits is Tencelbringing to denim jeans?TC: To put it simply, the benefit ofTencel lyocell in denims areenhanced comfort, acceleratedperformance and a veryconvincing message when itcomes to sustainability.

WOD: Who are the key brands featuring Tencel?TC: All of the brands I’vementioned in relation to theadoption of Refibra earlier arealready using Tencel in theircollections. In addition, you canfind it in collections from Albiateand Berto in Italy, Black Peony inHong Kong, Çalık, Iskur, Kassim,Kilim, Tusa and W Denim inTurkey, India’s Raymond Uco,Freedom and Prosperity fromChina, Rajby of Pakistan andBrazil’s Vicuhna. �

REFIBRA

Bahuman, Naveena and Soorty,all of Pakistan, Bossa, Kipas andOrta of Turkey, as well asAdvance Denim (China) Arvind(India), Cone Denim (USA), DNM(Egypt), Santanderina (Spain) andKurabo (Japan).

WOD: Presumably it’s onlypossible to recycle 100% cottonproducts and not blends? Arethere any other limitations?TC: At this time it is only possibleto recycle 100% cotton textiles. Intheory, we are taking celluloseback to cellulose. There arecompanies developingtechnology to separate fibres forblended fabrics. Currently we areonly using post-industrial scrapsfrom garment makers’ cuttingrooms. But we are currently at thefirst phase in using this industrialcotton waste and eventually thegoal is to move to post-consumerwaste, where naturally there aremany more challenges inensuring uniform quality.

Brazil’s Vicuhna is an advocate of Lenzing’s Tencel.


ÇALIK

Through planned and budgetedinvestments, Çalık Denim will expand thecurrent annual production of finisheddenim fabric at its plant in Malatya, Turkey,from 44 million metres to 60 million metresby 2020, but the company’s parent ÇalıkHolding also believes Industry 4.0 will becritical to its success going forward.

Digital transformation at Çalık

“At Çalık Group, we aim to makefurther advances in innovationand entrepreneurship, use digitaltools more effectively, and stayabreast of new developments, inline with our mission to add valueto people’s lives,” Ahmet Çalık,chairman of the board has said incompany’s latest annual report.“Managing digital transformationrequires strong leadership and avisionary approach and digitaltransformation is among the toppriorities of all our companiesaround the world.“

“We are investing in digitali-zation and taking steps to changeour way of doing business withthe use of next generationtechnologies. We see digitali-zation as an importantopportunity to remaincompetitive in a constantlyevolving world and to make ourcompanies leaders in theirrespective industries.”

In 2017, the companyestablished Çalık Dijital in

partnership with GE. It is focusedfocus on digital transformationefforts at Çalık Group companies.The aim is to develop sustainableprojects in cyber security andartificial intelligence for the global market.

“We are evaluating ourperformances and improving ourprocesses to adapt to rapidchanges, ensuring that Turkeyand the countries where weoperate play a pivotal role in thenew industrial revolution,” MrÇalık added. “We have firstinitiated a digital transformationat Çalık Denim beginning withmanufacturing, data collectionand analysis, as well as shippingoperations. The goal is toconduct our business activities inan uninterrupted, highly efficientand flexible manner.”

Çalık Denim’s many brandcustomers include Hugo Boss,Calvin Klein, Diesel, G Star, Guess,Pepe Jeans, H&M, Tommy Hilfigerand True Religion. �

We see digitalization as animportant opportunity to remain competitivein a constantly evolving world.

Çalık Group chairman

Ahmet Çalık


• In 2017, AFGI launched thePACE programme for its femalegarment workers. PACE is thepersonal advancement andcareer enhancementprogramme developed by Gapand dedicated to supportingwomen who work in the global

AFGI

As part of its Artistic Cares programme, Artistic Fabric andGarment Industries (AFGI) has committed to planting 27,000mangrove saplings in Karachi as part of WWF-Pakistan’s EarthHour 2018 Mangrove Plantation Campaign. The company is committed toreducing its carbon footprintthrough this campaign, with onetree planted for each employee.

“At AFGI, we believe our respon-sibility goes beyond just manufac-turing fabrics and garments,” saiddirector Ahmed Javed. “We hopethis initiative will go a long waytowards conserving mangroveforests, but also, benefit thecommunities they support andpave the way for morepartnerships like this in the future.”

Other CSR intitiatives from AFGIhave seen:• A partnership with SINA andChild life, two non-profit organi-sations providing free orsubsidised medical care in remoteareas in Pakistan. The clinic is fullyfunded by AFGI and functionsunder the expertise of SINA andChild life. Since its inception, theclinic has provided medical careto over 90,000 people.

• The installation of a PET CTscanner at the JinnahPostgraduate Medical Centre.Used for the diagnosis andmonitoring of cancer, this is thefirst PET scan and cyclotron in apublic sector hospital in Pakistan.• The sponsorship of severalschools focused on improvingliteracy rates.

apparel industry and within itsglobal supply chain. Throughthis programme women aregiven foundational life skills,technical training and supportthat will help them advance inthe workplace and in theirpersonal lives. �

Doing good things

Fun

ctio

nal

ize

dD

en

im 4

.0 b

y M

on

fort

s

A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KGGermany | A Member of CHTC Fong’s Group

www.monforts.com

The Monforts range combinations for denim finishing are now even more cost-efficient and eco-friendly: The Monforts ECOApplicator is now used for liquorapplication.Drying, stretching and skewing functions for the denim fabric are performed by amodified Thermex-Thermo-Stretch unit. This configuration allows fabric speeds ofup to 40 m/min to be achieved with 14.5 oz/yd2 denim on the ”single rubber”version.The ”double rubber” version comprises two compressive shrinkage units and twofelt calenders in line. Together with the innovative Thermex stretching unit, fabricspeeds of up to 80 m/min can thus be achieved with 14.5 oz/yd2 denim. On both range versions, the denim fabric is stretched and skewed far more gentlythan with conventional range combinations. Ask our denim technologists. We will be happy to advise you.

Proven success.

AHEAD OF PROGRESS

world of denim · the denim dyeing process has been one of the major pollution problems i thn exl...

Documents