Tony Tonnaer Says The Industry is Out of Excuses
No one but the King of Inspiration—also known as Tony Tonnaer—could have a better handle on how to motivate denim toward a more sustainable future.
The founder and CEO of Kings of Indigo knows it’s often up to the small but mighty brands to show what’s possible. He also knows that when it comes to getting people to change, sometimes it takes a little more stick than carrot.
In Carved in Blue’s Modern Definition of Denim series, Tony talks innovation, community and why we’re out of excuses when it comes to making a greener future.
Carved in Blue: What do you enjoy the most about being part of the denim community?
Tony: What I really enjoy about the denim community is it’s a small community. I’ve been working for 22 years in the denim industry for a lot of different companies, mainly based in Amsterdam and Los Angeles. So, all around the world, the community knows each other. It’s easy to learn from each other. They’re open, so they share information.
The nice thing about the denim world is that it was an indigo fabric, which seems so simple. And so in one direction, you can do so many things with it in washings, in constructions, in coloring, in compositions. Now also, of course, in innovation—in making it cleaner and less polluting. So I think that’s what keeps me driven—especially the sustainability part, the innovation part.
Carved in Blue: If you were to pick one buzzword of the denim industry right now, what would it be?
Tony: Tolerance. People tolerate each other. We see each other as colleagues, not as competitors. We have a lot of different personalities, and we are humble. In general, of course. There’s the more cocky person, the more alpha person as well. But, in general, people are very open to each other and like to collaborate, and also with suppliers and with retailers. So [for] the whole chain supply chain, I think people are working very much into partnerships. And I really liked it.
Carved in Blue: What is the modern definition of denim to you?
Tony: The modern definition of denim would be nothing [that’s] only five pockets—they’re all garments which are dyed in indigo and different constructions and different finishes and different compositions. I think people see denim in a much wider range of products…it’s much more lifestyle products than just a garment.
Also it’s a lifestyle to live. People who are in denim or denim lovers really have an eye for detail. They love details in the product. They’re really specific about the fabric, about the construction, about the composition, the weight of the fabric, how it ages if you wear it or if you wash it. I think that that’s something very specific for our industry.
Carved in Blue: This definition has evolved from the five-pocket jean. How has it evolved and why?
Tony: Still the core of the business is [the five-pocket] jean, [but] it has evolved in several ways. First of all, in the last 10 years stretch has become really important—unfortunately. I love non-stretch jeans. But if you look at the market and how people are wearing jeans, and what they love about jeans is that it’s comfortable and it has many functionalities. And I think that has been really changing. It’s almost hard to think of jeans without stretch. Although I see a strong tendency coming back the rigid denim while the fits are getting looser and looser.
I think, next, you see functionality getting more important. So not only composition, but also Coolmax or if it’s water resistant, or breathable or it doesn’t age, or it’s a soft stretch. So I think that has become more important.
And, of course, last, I’ve been working with sustainable denim for 16 years, but especially the last five years sustainability really has become a big item in the denim industry. And rightly so because it’s one of the most polluting industries in the fashion industry.
Carved in Blue: Has it changed over the years? You’re one of the pioneers who pushed sustainability. Has this changed now that more people are jumping aboard?
Tony: Absolutely. When I started with this in 2012, 2013, people said, ‘You’re crazy. What are you doing? Who cares? Who cares about cotton, which is using pesticides or too much water? It’s a natural product. There’s no problem.’ And I think that has changed a lot. I think in the last five years it’s become really a subject as people become aware, not only in the fashion industry, but I think other industries are much more ahead.
And I think, of course, there’s a long way to go. But if I look at now and 15 years ago, it’s a huge change in consumer perception. But also in factories—I couldn’t find hardly [any] factories who wanted to make sustainable denim in 2004. I made the first test to buy my own container of organic cotton from Uganda, ship it to Spain and weave it there, and ship it to Tunisia and stitch there, and ship it to Italy to wash it there. It was a huge, difficult process which was very cost intensive. If you look at that, there’s a lot of sustainable fabrics available. Much more washing machines are without water or with laser. I think the perception of a lot of other brands is that they want to do something—now they have to do something. That’s the next step. But at least there feels like the people feel the need for change.
Carved in Blue: How important is circularity in the textile industry?
Tony: I think you see the market developing two directions. You see still a very strong development into fast fashion…On the other hand, I see a strong development in more conscious consumers who tried to consume less, so we as a brand also tried to make a better quality that lasts very long, motivates people to wash as little as possible, motivates them to repair garments, and to reuse garments to upcycle garments so you can enjoy your favorite pieces much longer. And I think that’s very, very important.
And then when there’s a garment with holes or you don’t want to use it anymore, you can upcycle it, reuse it or recycle into a new fiber. And I think you have to be very conscious to make sure that in your design process to design garments that are easy to recycle or upcycle afterward. I think that’s the new way of designing garments, rather than just make something and see what happens after.
Carved in Blue: What was one experience in pioneering or pushing change that you were really proud of?
Tony: How much time do you have?
I think the first jean with organic cotton from conventional cotton. I told you about the process how we bought a container and sent it to in Spain—it was so much effort and was so labor intensive to get this done. Although if I look at the quality today—this was 15 years ago—OK, it was probably not that good. [But] at least to achieve that step when nobody else did it made me extremely, extremely proud.
I would say also Red Light Denim when we launched it with Kings of Indigo five years ago. It was the first jeans with post-consumer recycled cotton from certain locations. We collected jeans from Amsterdam. We shredded it and send it to Royo in Spain. They blended it with organic cotton and hemp, and we made a beautiful fabric out of it with 25 percent post-consumer recycled cotton.
Click to watch the Modern Definition of Denim video series.