Mill Memo: China Producers on Cotton-Free and Circular Denim
Increasingly, mills are thinking beyond virgin cotton for denim. This might mean cottonless denim with materials like TENCEL™ lyocell or hemp, or a mix of recycled textiles and wood-based fibers. Carved in Blue checked in with the TENCEL™ denim mill customers to chat about their cotton-free collections and circular fabrics.
Read on to hear from Advance Denim, Blue Diamond, Freedom Denim, Panther Denim/Tat Fung and Prosperity.
ADVANCE DENIM
Alice Chan
Carved in Blue: Do you have a ‘No Cotton Denim’ fabric?
Alice: Yes, we do have a series called Zero Cotton, which has genuinely no cotton in the fabric. The aim is to create denim fabrics using sustainably sourced alternatives to cotton that have a lower impact on the environment.
Zero Cotton gives super softness by the use of TENCEL™ Lyocell while still maintaining the vintage look like cotton denim.
Carved in Blue: For denim fabrics, what are you offering in TENCEL™ Lyocell for volume priced orders? What is your common TENCEL™ Denim base fabric?
Alice: We are offering 100 percent TENCEL™ for lightweight fabric with exceptional drape and shine to enhance the luxurious aesthetic of denim. TENCEL™ also enables lightweight fabrics with exceptional strength and sharp laser patterns.
We also offer cotton/TENCEL™ blended fabrics in mid- to heavy-weight that provide just the right amount of drape to enhance the denim aesthetic and provide the wearer with a natural softness that is comfortable to wear.
Carved in Blue: Circularity is the next frontier. What have you developed with mechanical recycled cotton and TENCEL™ Lyocell? What about chemical recycling with REFIBRA™ technology?
Alice: We have a new sustainable introduction for circularity, which is composed of 70 percent recycled cotton and 30 percent REFIBRA™, all packaged in one durable fabric. It is remarkable to have such a high content of recycled fibers and still exceed strength requirements. REFIBRA™ not only provides sustainability benefits of the raw materials and the production process itself, it also brings a unique softness and durability to the fabric, while still keeping the authenticity of denim with a soft and comfortable hand. This new eco-friendly style allows us to create a true circular denim that is not only recyclable, but also durable and traceable.
BLUE DIAMOND
Maggie Zhang, sales manager
Carved in Blue: Do you have a ‘No Cotton Denim’ fabric?
Maggie: Yes, we have. The warp is 100 percent color modal, weft is black polyester stretch. We call it LZ collection, which means Lenzing fiber collection. The production is sustainable, we don’t need to dye yarn, and we save water, chemicals and energy. We have run this kind of fabric for a few years.
Carved in Blue: For denim fabrics, what are you offering in TENCEL™ Lyocell for volume priced orders? What is your common TENCEL™ Denim base fabric?
Maggie: We use TENCEL™ on the weft, which is a good feeling to touch the body. We have big volume from Levi’s.
Carved in Blue: Circularity is the next frontier. What have you developed with mechanical recycled cotton and TENCEL™ Lyocell?
Maggie: We use mechanical recycled cotton to blend with TENCEL™ Lyocell. We call it OE Lux, and it has the vintage look, but with a very soft hand feel on back.
FREEDOM DENIM
Michael Morell, CEO/president
Carved in Blue: Do you have a ‘No Cotton Denim’ fabric?
Michael: Yes, we do have a zero cotton collection. We took a very blunt approach to the concept name—it’s literally called “The Zero Cotton collection.” Currently it’s made exclusively of ECOVERO™ and TENCEL™ in different blends and combinations of stretch and non-stretch. There are aesthetic marketing concepts that relate back to hand, fit and weight that bring forward looks of cotton. Additionally, robust sustainability concepts have been used in the marketing of the products. We run weights from 9 oz. to 17 oz. stretch. Furthermore, we run the concept in indigo, blue blacks, black, black x black, PFGD and white. Lastly, the concept is being widened for Fall ‘24 to include wool and cashmere into the blend.
Carved in Blue: For denim fabrics, what are you offering in TENCEL™ Lyocell for volume priced orders? What is your common TENCEL™ Denim base fabric?
Michael: Some of our larger volume programs include a healthy percent of TENCEL™ in them. There is just no replacement to the attributes that the fiber holds for hand feel and storytelling involved. We run upwards of 10-plus products that are specifically made to service the price-competitive value proposition. Fiber contents of TENCEL™ run from 12 to 32 percent TENCEL™.
Carved in Blue: Circularity is the next frontier. What have you developed with mechanical recycled cotton and TENCEL™ Lyocell? What about chemical recycling with REFIBRA™ technology?
Michael: Yes, circularity is the new precipice of sustainability. We currently run TENCEL™ and Modal, with mechanically recycled cotton. The look is a very heritage-looking yarn with a fair amount of texture regardless of the yarn count. The yarn shape brings forward a look and feel of a denim from a time long ago while incorporating some of the unmistakable attributes of TENCEL™. We are currently in development for Spring ‘24 a concept of fabric by the name of Revelation Denim. This category brings together the best of the best in sustainability practices, manufacturing, dyeing and finishing techniques and of course fiber, which TENCEL™ is a big part of.
PANTHER/TAT FUNG
Willy Lo, senior manager of business development
Carved in Blue: Do you have a ‘No Cotton Denim’ fabric?
Willy: Although we don’t have a particular theme or name for no-cotton denim, we have developed and launched a 100 percent TENCEL™ indigo denim over 12 oz., with the use of Lenzing TENCEL™, which provides this heavy-weight denim with soft hand feel and nice drape, without sacrificing any authenticity. That feature was designers’ favorite during a recent New York denim trade show. We also developed a shirt-weight denim collection by using matte TENCEL™.
Our modal indigo capsule collection is also under development and will be ready by the upcoming Amsterdam denim trade show. Our concept is to maximize the use of sustainable fibers and no dyeing after the yarn stage, with the use of modal indigo on the warp and dope-dyed recycled polyester on the weft.
Carved in Blue: For denim fabrics, what are you offering in TENCEL™ Lyocell for volume priced orders? What is your common TENCEL™ Denim base fabric?
Willy: Our common TENCEL™ denim base is under our Marbelous theme: blending with cotton, non-stretch with marble cracks look.
Carved in Blue: Circularity is the next frontier. What have you developed with mechanical recycled cotton and TENCEL™ Lyocell? What about chemical recycling with REFIBRA™ technology?
Willy: Recycled cotton is our main focus, and we are offering it in a blend or mixture with TENCEL™. Our in-house yarn spinning facility enhances our flexibility in different fiber combinations.
The current demand in the overall market for recycled cotton is high, and we do believe this trend will further develop into other fibers.
PROSPERITY
Man Yau, research and development manager
Carved in Blue: Do you have a ‘No Cotton Denim’ fabric?
Man: We put this as Zero Cotton, on which the concept is featuring TENCEL™ Lyocell and TENCEL™ Modal to provide super soft feeling and comfort, high-end denim collection and launching a sustainability concept by use of green materials.
Carved in Blue: For denim fabrics, what are you offering in TENCEL™ Lyocell for volume priced orders? What is your common TENCEL™ Denim base fabric?
Man: We are offering fabric with TENCEL™ and cotton blended with selected warp addressing for ladies for volume.
Common fabric basic with TENCEL™ Lyocell are in a weight between 9.5 to 10.5 oz. after wash with about 14 to 20 percent TENCEL™ Lyocell content in the fabric.
We have developed this with the name C-Blend.
Carved in Blue: Circularity is the next frontier. What have you developed with mechanical recycled cotton and TENCEL™ Lyocell? What about chemical recycling with REFIBRA™ technology?
Man: We are mainly putting this new kind of development under our Recycle group category since the blended is not only for recycled cotton, but also other natural fibers like hemp and new types of recycled material like REFIBRA™. One of our previous developments is called Indigo Renew. Different blends provide the fabric of new properties in terms of appearance, touch and sustainable spirits.