Mill Trends: The Latest in Who’s Doing What With TENCEL™
Since we’re all practicing social distancing, we’re bringing the market to you.
Carved in Blue caught up with a series of leading mills to find out what their key message is for this season, and what new styles they have with TENCEL™ Lyocell and Modal.
Here’s what they had to say.
Advance Denim, China
Michael Lam, marketing director
Our key message for this season is the mixture of technology, such as anti-bacterial fiber blended with all season performance fiber, with sustainability concept.
We developed the Retro-fix TENCEL™ Denim, for which we are using the new spinning tech to blend the TENCEL™ Lyocell with cotton to create the vintage character, just like the denim made by the old shuttle looms. The handfeel is super soft with marble character, even with 30 to 40 percent stretch. Although we are using a high percentage of TENCEL™ Lyocell in the warp, the look of the denim is still matte just like regular denim. We are also using TENCEL™ Lyocell, TENCEL™ Lyocell with REFIBRA™ Technology and TENCEL™ Modal Black to develop this new concept.
Bens Mode, Taiwan
Benjamin Liao, director
We are using TENCEL™ Lyocell fiber in knit fabrics blended with linen to create a nice fabric performance and an elegant surface. We are adding eco fibers like hemp and linen to get more benefits for sustainability and environment. Being a user of TENCEL™ fibers for over 20 years, I only focus on TENCEL™ Lyocell standard and TENCEL™ Lyocell A100 fibers to make fabrics in woven and knit in varieties of denim, jacquard, yard dyed, etc.
Calik Denim, Turkey
Ms. Çiğdem Kaçar, Product Marketing Manager
Respect for the environment. Like we did for many previous seasons, we are underscoring the importance of the protection of our planet for this season again, but of course in a different way.
As Calik Denim we preferred TENCEL™ Lyocell fiber in most of the product concepts under our new collection. To offer further softness and smoothness, we used this fiber in the composition of many articles from our below concepts;
D’enovated: Authentic look combined with the advantages of today’s technologies
Denethic: Fabrics produced at the mill with rinse, rinse+enzyme and bleach wash effects
Fix-Fit: Power stretch articles with easy wear feeling
Retro Soft: Combination of ultra softness and authentic denim look
Selfsized: A pair of jeans produced with Selfsized fabric fits wide range of different sized wearers perfectly
Skinlithe: Combines the denim look with the comfort of tights
“Ronan”, “Ricky”, “Archie” and many other articles include TENCEL™ Lyocell fiber in our latest collection.
Cone, Mexico
Pierette Scavuzzo, marketing manager
Denim is a global community with deep passion and common values. Our message this season speaks to this inspired community, committed to its heritage and a desire for a greater good. We look forward to sharing the Cone Denim story, more than ever, in creative and new ways. We are also proud to have introduced our Cone Community collection of denim fabrics connecting denim with supporting key social causes.
We are launching our hemp collection called Sweetleaf. The three products in this group—Dude, Jolsen, and Rosebowl—all use a blend of hemp and TENCEL™ Lyocell. Rosebowl is a blend of TENCEL™ Lyocell, pre-consumer recycled cotton, hemp, Repreve™, and Lycra® in our bio-based natural indigo that is grown in Tennessee.
Our Modern Retro capsule captures the authentic spirit of denim using the most sustainable ingredients. Two new products, Sundance and Cassidy, feature our bio-based natural indigo in a pre-consumer and TENCEL™ Lyocell blended warp. These fabrics capture the beauty and authenticity of denim, having carefully chosen every component to be the most mindful and inspire new designs.
Our Cone Community collection this season will feature natural products in a TENCEL™ Modal/cotton blend with our “pride” selvedge, showing support and purpose. We have a new style that is in our Indigo Revive concept that uses a percent of indigo dye waste that is RCS certified along with navy dyed TENCEL™ Modal; it is fade resist with a modern workwear vibe.
DNM, Turkey
Zuhal Karacayir, marketing executive
Nature retro is our key message for this season. We always respect nature, and our priority is to protect it. We work in close collaboration with nature. We carefully looked at all the components used in the production of our fabrics. Fibers, water, energy and chemicals that we use are all evaluated in terms of their impact. Moreover, we continue to focus on the quality of our products. They should last long and therefore have a lower impact on the environment than low quality, fast fashion jeans that generally are discarded after a few months. All this is combined with the heritage that denim has always had. The free spirit and rebellious nature are reflected in this season. Going beyond the existing boundaries in terms of technology, while staying true to the rich tradition the industry has.
We don’t have specific group for TENCEL™ Denim, but we are using it mainly in our Shaped’n Relaxed concept. Especially this concept offers shaping and comfort in one product. So, we are using TENCEL™ Lyocell for both comfort and sustainable features.
In general, we combine TENCEL™ Lyocell with our laser-friendly colors.
Iconic touch is our fabric group name for TENCEL™ Modal. We combined TENCEL™ Modal with Giza cotton to get a perfect soft touch.
Global Denim, Mexico
Anatt Finkler, creative director
For Fall 21-22, Global Denim is moving past its previous collection theme Generation Blue, which focused on the needs of the newer generations, into the theme of Refocus.
Refocus brings a new approach to denim as new normals apply. Sustainability is not just a buzzword, is a norm, a way of doing business and a must for the environment. Transparency is of the essence, circularity the way we operate and R&D the medium to bring innovations, new technologies and enhancing constructions qualities in fabrics is fundamental.
With this in mind, the Global Denim team has been listening to both the market trends and its customers’ needs, and has developed a series of new fabrics with enhanced properties of stretch, performance and recovery, based on bestsellers and fabrics our customers already loved. Call it fabrics 2.0.
We are expanding three of our group categories, adding new fabrics with TENCEL™ Lyocell into the mix. These are TruBlue, Bluefeel and Superflex. We are introducing from 13 percent to 20 percent of TENCEL™ Lyocell to these new constructions.
Following the heritage trend, and going back to the old days of how denim looked, we are elevating and adding new developments to our TruBlu category. These new fabrics give the custumer the old look and feel they love but with added stretch for comfort and a new level of softness as we introduce TENCEL™ Lyocell into some of its constructions.
We developed new fabrics on our Superflex category, bringing the market stretch to up to 60 percent, creating fabrics that adjust great to the body, give it great shape, lots of mobility, freedom and comfort. Adding TENCEL™ Lyocell to this not only enhances its sustainability quality but also provides great touch, softness and performance.
Lastly with a sustainable and circular approach in mind within our Ecoloop program, as stated before, we are starting to make fabrics with a blend of recycled cotton and TENCEL™ Lyocell.
Kilim Denim, Turkey
Elif Karahan, marketing executive
With our Cactus project, a brand new environmentally friendly innovation has been brought to life. As most of the water is used during the removal of the unfixed dyestuff in the indigo dyeing process, [we] started to use a newly developed chemical, which improves the fixation of indigo on the warp yarn. This project will have positive effect to the environment, but also the amount of water used will be decreased by 93 percent.
We say that all the products made for the presentation were made with biodegradable accessories, washed without water or chemicals and made with a sustainable approach without compromising the denim look. All fabrics in the all collections are organic or BCI cotton. Certified fabrics made with yarns recycled from cotton and polyester yarns and post-consumer products. In addition to the cotton, this collection also includes re-cycled polyester, TENCEL™ Lyocell and TENCEL™ Modal.
NZ Denim Ltd., Bangladesh
Jasim Uddin, project director
This is a very difficult time for our whole textile industry. The fashion and textile industries become extremely resilient, but we are doing with our own ideas and fashion trends some new developments with sustainability, creating new design, new colors and trends. And now is the time for us all to work closely together to support and sustain each other. The power of our individual and collective actions, support and compassion we show to each other will offer our businesses a unique advantage as we deal with this unprecedented situation.
Stay well, follow a healthy and hygienic lifestyle, stay in touch maintaining social distancing and together we will face the uncertainties ahead and overcome it.
NZ Denim is a core customer of Lenzing’s product TENCEL™ Lyocell. We have done a huge number of productions in denim and non-denim. We have launched a collection of denim products with TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers.
[Our] group with 100 percent TENCEL™ fibers is E-Cotton, which means Eliminate Cotton. And [the group] with different blends of TENCEL™ Lyocell was given the name Blend Kitchen.
NZ Denim have already ordered TENCEL™ Modal to create some new products with black and navy Modal, but due to supply chain issues we are still waiting for fiber arrival. Hopefully in the near future, we will work more closely to develop new articles with new names.
Orta, Turkey
Zennure Danisman, marketing and washing manager
At Orta, we believe that the world is our neighbor and the planet is our mother. And at some point, the health and safety of every individual is our responsibility. It took a pandemic to remind us that we are all connected, and that our health and happiness is dependent on that of others.
At Orta, we wear our love. Love for each other, and for the planet. We would like to invite everyone to join us as we network with closeness, by keeping our social distance for now.
We are happy to share the good feeling that we are all in this together, we are Here4Good.
Here4Good is our vision and in the wake of the global pandemic, it represents our commitment to the health and welfare of our families, our business partners and to the Earth that sustains us. Here4Good embraces the eco-modern technologies Orta has been implementing to continually improve our sustainability practices, and to ensure denim’s future. We are focusing on a radically responsible position for long-term durability and the resilient thinking that will be a new measure in the expansion of circular design processes.
Resilience is the underlying theme in the Here4Good collection. It speaks to the human spirit and our collective desire to care more for each other, and the planet. Here4Good includes new fabric innovations that are less stressful on the farming and cultivating of natural fibers like cotton, and more eco-engineered and climate-friendly fabrics that deliver amazing comfort, softness and performance. Here4Good strengthens our Handprint mission to use less to create more—more value, more performance and more abundance of goodness. Let’s be pro-science, pro-human and pro-planet because every purchase made has strings attached for our environment.
Orta is investing in the biological and technological ways we can infinitely expand the life of every fiber, every drop of water, every biochemical, every dye, every finish, every ingredient ever in our creation of denim. Immortalist is engineered by Orta for resilience of denim’s long journey. With Immortalist, there is always a long road to travel and a lesson that will be learned, and that lesson is: things we love should last and memories are not meant for the landfill.
Stretch Spectrum with TENCEL™ Lyocell is sculpting perfection, stretching and shaping to your individual curves with style edge. Orta’s approach to re-engineering comfort, Stretch Spectrum speaks to a culture that desires sustainable, ethical, intelligent, healing “soft-wear.” Emotional intelligence meets technology to redefine softness that is inclusive-for-all.
Breaking all rules with 80 percent elasticity and unreal softness. Cleaner look and clear conscience with recycled cotton and recycled cotton warp. Breaking all rules with 12 oz and 8 oz in Alchemy finish and added TENCEL™ Lyocell for a loftier hand with the clean lux fit and feel.
We celebrate TENCEL™ Lyocell in the blend for our Zero-Max® family. Zero-Max® is coupled with conscious luxury and sophisticated structure. Zero-Max® is woven with minimum impact to shape the future of denim and crafted with unique twill and elasticity fusion that has a soft luster on the face.
Orta’s new Golden Ratio is soul-tech denim that is perfectly blended for strength, durability and longevity. Golden Ratio is eco-balanced fabric with 30 percent recycled cotton, blended with TENCEL™ Lyocell for sophisticated softness.
This is our wise thinking way of innovation and well-made production.
Golden Ratio is the all-knowing Orta innovation at its best combining sustainably circular production with durable construction for denim that stands the test of time.
Warmcure premieres denim’s seriously wearable warming therapy: Cashmere. Denim with the feel of your favorite cashmere sweater. Softness that will become the cozy favorite for perennial of time. Finely brushed on the inside gives a warm [feel], blended with TENCEL™ Lyocell for plush cocoon of luxury. Thanks to Alchemy, cloud soft technology for unimaginable luxury with nuanced body contouring performance.
Orta is rethinking denim’s credentials by harnessing the skill of soft technology. With the most luxurious performance and a warm, cushy touch, the jeans you’ll never want to take off. We are also expanding our breakthrough Zero-Max® denim that uses zero virgin cotton while delivering maximum shape retention. Orta’s Zero-Max® family is soft for you and softhearted for the planet. It is sustainable denim taken to the next level: TENCEL™ Lyocell and Modal woven with recycled polyester. Crafted with unique twill and elasticity fusion that has a soft luster on the face, and luxuriously soft hand. Zero cotton, pure soft super-shaping technology that holds form in every situation.
Özak, Turkey
Aysun Acar Yuksek, product development manager
Our key message is “Less is more.” This sentence is so common in these days. However, it hasn’t never been meaningful as much as now. Because we are consuming all the sources quickly.
When we call denim, the first thing that comes to mind is cotton and washing. So, cotton blended fabrics and washing techniques are in the DNA of denim culture.
On the other hand, the production and the processing of cotton consumes a large amount of water of among all agricultural commodities. The pesticide usage is also so high in cotton grown. On the other hand, conventional washings methods are also not so eco-friendly. Therefore, we are trying to do our part and try to reduce our ecological foot print on the Earth with a sustainable approach.
Shinjintex, Korea
Y.K. Youn, marketing manager
Our key message for this season is the combination of casual denim with a Chanel look. We are developing TENCEL™ Denim with very fancy sparkling Lurex yarn stripes.
Siddiqsons, Pakistan
Asif Ali Rana, managing director
Siddiqsons’ emphasis is the sustainable/bio products keeping the fashion look of vintage/authentic denim.
We have two groups for TENCEL™ Lyocell. Fusion represents a mix of blends with cotton and other fibers to achieve soft hand and circularity. Cotton- represents special fabrics using synthetic recycled products without using cotton.
Tavex, Mexico
Arlethe Sanchez, marketing coordinator
Our key message this season is Denim Made Sustainably. Tavex is using TENCEL™ Lyocell for its Ultra Soft group.