Mill Memo: Latest Circularity News and REFIBRA™ Denim from Turkey
Since in-person trade shows are still put on hold this fall, Carved in Blue is taking an opportunity to digitally connect with its community.
COVID-19 has created challenges, but it has also ushered in a “Great Reset,” allowing companies to pause and accelerate their sustainable efforts.
We touched base with denim mills in Turkey to catch up on their latest initiatives to address circularity and SDG 12: responsible consumption and production. We also got the inside scoop on the newest ways they are using TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ Lyocell in their creations.
CALIK DENIM
Turkey
Çiğdem Kaçar, product marketing manager
Carved in Blue: How are you addressing SDG 12?
Çiğdem: Within the scope of Calik Denim’s 2025 sustainability goals, we have a goal of “increasing the use of organic, BCI and recycled cotton up to 60 percent,” which we set in order to contribute to the SDG 12 target. The use of REFIBRA™ is expected to increase in line with increasing customer demands regarding the use of recycled fibers and our goal of using more recycled fiber.
Carved in Blue: What new fabrics have you developed with REFIBRA™ Technology?
Çiğdem: For the last two seasons, as Calik Denim we are developing products with TENCEL™ Lyocell fiber with REFIBRA™ Technology for our collections. As Lenzing’s special fiber contributes to the circular economy, it is our pleasure to include it in our products’ composition.
In our Retro Soft product concept, which combines ultra softness with authentic denim look, we have fabrics with REFIBRA™ Technology. “Antonie” product family is an example.
KIPAS DENIM
Turkey
Hürriyet Öztürk, product development director
Carved in Blue: How are you addressing SDG 12?
Hürriyet: According to UN development goals, we need to protect marine ecosystems and safeguard clean water. This puts greater emphasis on water used during the production of denim. With Innotech fabrics, we shift to a resourceful way of producing denim fabric where we offer a clean conscience with almost no trace of water during production. Water used during finishing is now a thing of the past. Innotech fabrics do not use water during finishing, and we consume less water during indigo dyeing with the help of ConservBlue technology. Meanwhile, our ConservBlue process enables denim production with less water, less energy, and chemicals during indigo dyeing process.
Carved in Blue: What new fabrics have you developed with REFIBRA™ Technology?
Hürriyet: Resolution is our concept where we employ sustainable fibers. We call it the green hub of sustainable solutions. This is a frontrunner denim line lightened by the frameworks of the circular design strategy. With Resolution, our focus will be on working with nature, in nature, and for nature. There are many TENCEL™ and REFIBRA™ fibers blended with other fiber for better future. For example, we have an article which has 47 percent cotton, 33 percent REFIBRA™, 18 percent Repreve, 2 percent elastane fiber composition. And we produce this fabric with ConservBlue, our green indigo dyeing technology.
BOSSA
Turkey
Özge Özsoy, marketing chief
Carved in Blue: How are you addressing SDG 12?
Özge: We know that we have to do our part even better and stronger than before. We must respect the planet. With our collection, choosing trends and developing our taste to match fashion needs, we are going forward in our mission. So our message is simple: Be more sustainable and this will benefit everybody. Sustainability is an opportunity, it’s not a limit.
Starting from 2019, Bossa has begun to use all of its textile wastes in its blend by opening and cleaning them. We believe that this path, which Bossa set out with the zero waste principle, will inspire other stakeholders in the denim industry and the companies making all denim production in the medium term to adopt the zero waste principle. Bossa, which has transparently explained its production figures for the last three years with the “Towards Zero Waste” booklet, will continue to report annually its production values.
Carved in Blue: What new fabrics have you developed with REFIBRA™ Technology?
Özge: In our new AW 21/22 collection, we have two REFIBRA™ blended articles.
One is in our Heritage concept. Article name is Org.Rochester Saveknight. Story of the article is authentic look, comfort stretch, 100 percent sustainable future denim!
Combining sustainable fibers and dyeing techniques, we create the denim of the future. This article has a sustainable combination with REFIBRA™, recycled cotton, organic cotton and recycled elastane.
The pioneering REFIBRA™ Technology involves upcycling a substantial proportion of cotton scraps—for example, from garment production—in addition to wood pulp, where the raw material is transformed to produce new virgin TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers to make fabrics and garments. We use our wastes for recycled cotton, and organic cotton is also the well-known and oldest sustainable project. The main principles of organic cotton are GMO free seeds, no insecticides, no herbicides, no chemical fertilizers. Recycled elastane is 100 percent recycled and GRS certificated. This 100 percent sustainable article is also dyed with a Saveblue technology. 85 percent water saving was achieved in proportion to the conventional dyeing, therefore the same amount of water decrease in wastewater was realized.
The other one is in our Darkside concept. Article name is Org.Urim Saveblack Save OD Black.
Story of the article is towards zero water! This 100 percent sustainable future denim article is dyed with Saveblue+ technology. 85 percent water saving was achieved in proportion to the conventional dyeing and also 71 percent water saving was achieved in finishing process. Therefore the same amount of decrease in wastewater was realized in both dyeing and finishing processes.
This Saveblue+ quality is also Future Denim.
Combining sustainable fibers and dyeing techniques, we create the denim of the future. This article has a sustainable combination with REFIBRA™ and organic cotton.
INDIGO ISTANBUL
Turkey
Roberto Cedolin, marketing and sales manager
Carved in Blue: How are you addressing SDG 12?
Roberto: In order to keep the usage of the water in cotton production under control, we are trying to increase the usage of BCI cotton and organic cotton in our production.
In this period, we are trying to increase the usage of regenerated cellulose fibers TENCEL™ Lyocell and Modal in our production as an alternative to cotton fabrics. We believe that the comfortable structure of these materials may support “stay at home” spirit in this pandemic period with their certified quality.
As an alternative to cotton, we continue our research and developments on the idea of constructing linen and hemp fibered denim fabrics, which will be less harmful to the environment during production.
KILIM DENIM
Turkey
Elif Karahan, marketing executive
Carved in Blue: How are you addressing SDG 12?
Elif: World’s problems are very fragile and require urgent solutions. SDG goals may lead the components of the industry to unite under one roof to create a stronger impact with the opportunity of unification. Under our roof, we have already been working towards for some of the headlines from SDG, and plan to integrate them to our sustainability strategy.
ISKUR DENIM
Turkey
Özlem Özkan, head of research and product development
Carved in Blue: How are you addressing SDG 12?
Özlem:
Management of our common and natural resources is extremely important within the scope of SDG 12 responsible consumption and production.
As Iskur Denim we are summarizing our efforts under Earthsquad concept.
Raw Material:
Cotton agriculture is the biggest user of water, that is why we are being very responsible for the use of cotton.
The cotton we use in our products are manufactured from BCI cotton, cultivated in our own lands, which spans 2,5 million square meters and is also home to organic agriculture.
We have Zero waste policy. Iskur Group has its own Re-Cycle Yarn facility and in this facility, we recycle all the cuttings collected from Group’s textile factories. We are able to produce Post Consumer and Pre Consumer Re-Cycle Cotton Yarn.
In order to reduce the use of cotton, we are increasing the use of natural fibers. We recently added Lyocell, Modal, Linen, Soy Protein, Hemp and Cashmere fibers to our Earthsquad collection.
Energy:
We are acting responsibly to use the energy sources.
We are generating energy from our own Solar and Wind Panels.
Our solar panels installed on the roofs of Iskur Group’s factories are generated 5,64 GWU electricity per year. That is equals the electricity requirement of 2.800 houses for a year.
Our wind power generates 70 million KWh energy which equals the electricity requirement of 40.000 houses per year
We also have Co-generation energy plant which prevents 11.000 tons of CO2 emission annually. It means 495.000 trees in nature don’t have to try consume CO2.
Water:
Water is one of the most critical issue for the world. We developed a water saving indigo dyeing process (WAW). By using this process, we save up to 144.00 tons (95%) of water each year which come across 760 acres of cotton field and 288 tons of bale cotton.
Since 2018, the water performance has been calculated by CARBON TRUST and reported that we reduced water use by 22,3% in all entire factory. Our efforts for reducing water usage is certified and we are able to use Carbon Trust Standard Logo for our production.
ORTA
Turkey
Zennure Danişman, marketing and washing manager
Carved in Blue: How are you addressing SDG 12?
Zennure: What we love about SDGs is that they are inclusive. They are not only for governments or private sector but for every country, every company, every organization and all living creatures on earth. And they are all interlinked. You cannot ignore the importance of climate action while working on quality education or reduced inequalities. At Orta, we have a similar approach. We decided to consider the whole lifecycle of our products while taking into account all parties that are involved in it. That is the main aim when we start a project or a collaboration. And that is why we give great importance to sustainable farming and production practices for both cotton and other fibers. We have been using organic cotton since the beginning of 2000. We are a great supporter of BCI both internationally and locally and using fair trade cotton and finally carbon positive cotton with FibreTrace. And, of course, our collaboration with Lenzing. All of them are important to achieve our goal on SDG 12: responsible consumption and production.
We see a great value at our life cycle assessment studies towards achieving SDG 12. With LCA, we quantify our fabrics’ potential environmental footprint, score them and share this info with our customers. We use this assessment during the product development stage as well to assess our design’s performance, which enables us to save resources. That is why we see it as a great tool for designing for sustainability. Here we are collaborating with brands as well to transfer these scores to customers as well. Gen Z, the next generation shoppers, they want traceability, transparency, eco-conscious products. But while they do that, they need quantifiable, verifiable and comparable data. And we believe that LCA can give you this information.
The calculator is the cumulation of Orta’s LCA studies for each and every newly developed fabric in our past four-season collections. Exclusively based on Orta denim fabric and processes, the tool is the next generation of the Orta Blu sustainability platform with a mission to create a future where denim is designed, produced, consumed and disposed of in radically different ways.
Continuing our commitment to making a real and lasting sustainability impact in the denim industry, Orta has created the Orta Blu App, a proprietary tool developed to differentiate materials and processes that go into ORTA’s denim production based on environmental impacts from cradle to gate.
The Environmental Impact Calculator in the Orta Blu App calculates the environmental impacts of denim manufactured by Orta with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology starting from raw material extraction and following through each stage of denim production—from transporting the raw materials to the Orta mill to the spinning, dyeing, sizing, weaving, finishing, quality control and packaging.
The Orta Blu App calculates five overall environmental impacts, leading with global warming, which impacts climate change. Global warming is at the top of young eco-consumers’ concerns. According to the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), clothing and footwear production is responsible for 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The other impacts include eliminating substances to water that contribute to oxygen depletion and water pollution; land use and deforestation; the measure of mineral, metal and fossil-fuel resources used to produce a product; and water usage, which Orta has been reducing by 70 percent with its Indigo Flow dyeing-process standard.
Carved in Blue: What new fabrics have you developed with REFIBRA™ Technology?
Zennure: As Orta, each season adapting circularity into our processes is our priority, and since 2019 we are focusing on Biodesign. We are taking nature’s lead and exploring the symbiosis between science and design that promises to inspire a wider variety of visionary processes and systems than any individual discipline could develop alone.
For addressing circularity, we are following two approaches: Using recycled materials in production and creating recyclable fabrics. Material wise, we have blends containing recycled cotton, recycled polyester and TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™.
From our latest Here4Good collection, Blu Narratives concept, pays homage to the denim masters with Denim Tributes in fluid, lightweight constructions, future-retro marble mixes and the resurrection of vintage shapes for every garment imaginable.
Memoria takes the best of Orta’s newest vintage characters to a renewed modernity.
From sophisticated grey and green cast vintage in recycled cotton, to marble vintage organic cotton with TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ to pure indigo marble vintage colors, Memoria is the new throwback for generations to come.