Blue Cast: Advance Denim’s Michael Lam on Sustainable Denim Developments

Blue Cast: Advance Denim’s Michael Lam on Sustainable Denim Developments

Today, sustainability in denim is a prime priority, but that wasn’t always the case.

Michael Lam, director of Advance Denim, has been in denim for more than two decades, and he’s seen the evolution of sustainability over the last 10 to 15 years. As recently as then, the innovation focuses for mills were material performance and cost savings. Recycled cotton was incorporated, but largely as a marketing tool rather than a genuine eco effort.

On the most recent episode of our Blue Cast podcast, Michael spoke with Lenzing’s Dennis Hui about advancing sustainability in denim. The two executives have known each other for 17 years, when they met working at Central Fabrics. This company was the first in the denim industry to create a sustainability report, which was ahead of its time.

“Maybe at that time, we were moving too forward,” said Michael. “And not many people were really recognizing the sustainability report at that time.”

Today, sustainability reports are basically expected. And resource-saving technologies are driving denim in a better direction. Michael noted the need for a standard when discussing innovations so that customers can better understand what will be best for them among the plethora of fiber and processing options.

Another opportunity as well as a challenge is education. Per Michael, there still needs to be more understanding of the costs behind sustainable denim for both brands and consumers. As part of its education outreach, Advance Denim is working with universities to boost awareness for sustainability in denim.

“Education is really the difficult part for us to push the sustainable denim in our industry,” said Michael.

There are still hurdles, such as the continued reliance on synthetic indigo due to cost and supply constraints. Because of this, sustainability is an ongoing rather than immediate adjustment. “When we talk about sustainability production, it’s not something that will happen tomorrow; it’s always a long-term plan,” said Michael.

Listen to the full episode here.