Brazil Innovation Hub Buoys Denim Development
Amsterdam-based nonprofit the House of Denim Foundation is on a mission to make denim more sustainable and smarter through education and community.
In service of this goal, the organization’s subsidiary Denim City founded an innovation campus in Amsterdam in 2014. Now, the Denim City footprint is extending to Brazil with a new location in São Paulo, opened last fall.
Like the location in the Netherlands, Denim City São Paulo is focused on connecting the next generation of denim creators with the leading minds in the field to drive sustainability. An on-site academy enables professionals and graduates to learn about topics such as techniques in laundry, the basics of denim production and how to position a denim brand.
Denim City São Paulo also focuses on experiences for the industry and the local community, with eateries, events, workshops and coworking space.
TENCEL™ Denim is proud to support Denim City São Paulo as a sponsor with a growing presence in South America and collaborations with local partners.
Carved in Blue spoke with Denim City São Paulo about their plans for the hub and Brazil’s place in denim.
Carved in Blue: What was the idea or concept behind Denim City São Paulo? What need did you see for this type of centralized denim hub?
DCSP: Denim City São Paulo is the result of the initiative of a group of entrepreneurs who sought in Amsterdam the model of enterprise that will strengthen the sector in Brazil, preparing it for the challenges of the contemporary world. It will be the second Denim City in the world and the first outside the Netherlands.
The goal is to bring the main players in the jeans industry under one roof, forming a hub to develop innovation, sustainability, education and business initiatives. In this way, the conditions are created to consolidate Brazil as a pole of global importance for denim.
Carved in Blue: How does Denim City simultaneously serve the denim industry, students and the local community?
DCSP: Through a 4,800-square-meter space that includes showrooms, coworking, three restaurants and a concept store. In addition, it houses the Denim City Academy, which is a mix of school and jeans workshop designed to disseminate the knowledge necessary to raise the technical and practical standard of the industry, reduce the environmental impact and foster innovation and education, collaboration and co-creation.
Carved in Blue: Since the complex opened last October, what has been the response from both fashion players and the public?
DCSP: Despite the care and limitations imposed by the current situation that we experience, the response of the public and the showrooms present in the space has been very positive, with an important frequency of brands, companies and students, as well as with hybrid events that take advantage of the DCSP structure for a limited number of participants due to audience restrictions and broadcast online to all their customers.
Carved in Blue: What are the primary goals for Denim City?
DCSP: Our values are education supported by innovation, sustainability and connection. With that, Denim City intends to raise the technical standard of the sector, reduce the environmental impact stimulating the adoption of more sustainable innovations, uniting the denim industry under one roof, connecting and inspiring stakeholders, to bring an industry “Towards a brighter blue.”
Everything we do is aimed at making denim production and washing jeans cleaner and smarter through education and collaboration.
Carved in Blue: How will Denim City help to advance sustainability within denim?
DCSP: Working together with the various players in the sector looking for more modern, smart and sustainable chemical products for the laundry, showing that the initial impact of the unit cost of modern and efficient products is not reflected in the final cost of the processes, as they save water, inputs, time and minimize waste treatment costs.
Carved in Blue: Why is Brazil in particular well positioned to lead denim in a more environmentally responsible direction?
DCSP: We are the fourth largest producer of denim in the world and the only country in the West that has the complete production chain from cotton to jeans. Our cotton is planted on a dry basis and with this, the water consumption to produce one pair of jeans is one-fourth of the consumption of the same product manufactured with irrigated cottons.
Eighty percent of Brazilian cotton production is certified by the BCI and ABR (Responsible Brazilian Cotton) programs, thus guaranteeing sustainable and responsible production. Additionally, we believe that with the union of the entire chain in a win-win production model, we can return to occupy a relevant position in the denim world scene.
Carved in Blue: What is the importance of having raw material partners like TENCEL™ supporting Denim City? What impact does their participation have in driving innovation?
DCSP: Partners who invest in innovation processes and in the search for low environmental impact raw materials like TENCEL™ Lyocell and circular fibers like REFIBRA™ Technology associated with the responsible cotton mentioned above can help the production of denim to become more sustainable and circular every day, by associating materials clean with a look at sustainable redesign, creating products designed to last and be recycled will have a big impact for future generations. We know that this is a slow process of changing mentality, but concrete examples like those brought by TENCEL™ Lyocell will clearly have positive impacts and immediate.
Carved in Blue: What does Carved in Blue mean to you?
DCSP: The “Carved in Blue” for me means the future, innovation, the constant and relentless pursuit of improvement and the technological solution for the improvement of raw materials, processes and the mentality of the entire denim industry, but also of the information and awareness of consumers who often do not value innovations due to lack of knowledge and access to information.