Carved in Blue Heads East: Denim Mills In Vietnam and China
Tricia Carey, Director of Global Business Development for Denim at Lenzing, visits denim mills in Vietnam and China and shares her experience with Carved in Blue.
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After the trade show circuit, I thought it would be a good time for a denim road trip. Over the 11 day trip, I spent 42 hours in airplanes, 17 hours in taxis, staying in 5 hotels to see the spinners, mills, garment makers, and brands in 7 cities in Vietnam and China. Traveling is always an opportunity to learn from being on the ground and this trip was exceptionally informative.
I started in Vietnam for the Lenzing Connecting People and Bridging Countries Conference with 100 attendees from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan for lively presentations and discussions on global supply chains. Toray, Umorfil and Kisco were co-sponsors of the event and showed their innovative products. While we have communicated tirelessly on emails and the phone in the past, nothing can take the place of the face to face exchange, sharing information and showing samples.
Next stop was China and here are some of the highlights
Howdy Chinese Cowboy! – China’s place in denim’s history is quite young, compared to veterans like Italy, Japan and USA, with many Chinese denim mills only starting in the mid-1980s.Yet China is now finding their own denim heritage as they elevate their product range and see the sprawl of denim into other regions. I even had one customer show me a picture of the very first Chinese cowboy to show that China does indeed have a page in denim history, as they now start their very own chapter.
Gimme Innovation – Denim is that blank canvas made from endless fiber blends: yarn blends, weaves, finishes and laundry treatments. Just when I thought I’d seen it all, I came across “River Coated” denim hand dyed and dried to have a clay colored coating. Selvage denim with rainbow colors for a new twist on cuff details. I’m pleased to say TENCEL® is an important component of multi-blend yarns and fabrics. Knit indigo was prevailing in both men’s and women’s styles
Environmental Alliances – During my trip, everyone was talking about efforts in sustainability from fiber to finish. One mill even had an energy score board collecting the data about the impact of each fabric as it is processed. There could be improvements in sustainability communications and goals, with less buzz words and more facts behind each statement.
Think Local and Emerging Ideas – Many of the mills discussed new initiatives in fostering small and innovative designers. Large orders with price concessions no longer look so attractive to manufacturers. On the other hand, in stock fabrics and smaller minimums are now commonly presented as new business options.Flashy Shopping – It’s not just the colorful lights in the evening, but the flashy marketing. From phrases like “Denim Coziness,” “Magma Fusion Denim,” “Cool Denim” and “Jade Infusion” I came across many exciting sales pitches that glamorized the properties of the denim to attract buyers. “Performance denim” was giving many different definitions, but it almost always related to the denim’s comfort and its temperature control. Global denim trends like unisex styles and supersoft / super stretch were prominent too. Men’s denim, which is often lighter, included styles of “gentleman’s jeans” with a clean finish and pleats.
Glad to be heading back to my little village of NYC, now with more knowledge and more connections to the people in our indigo world. I am truly grateful for the kindness and hospitality of the many hosts along my journey. Yes, I will admit, I need to pack my bags a little lighter next time, but there are so many exciting garments to flaunt. I enjoyed sharing stories, seeing everyone’s facilities and getting to discuss Carved in Blue.
Day after day of hazy, gray skies, I began to think the only blue in China was indigo! On my last day, there was finally a blue sky over a one blue world.