Mill Memo: Pakistan Producers on Cotton-Free and Circular Denim Part 1
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™ mill customers to chat about their cotton-free collections and circular fabrics.
Read on to hear from AGI, Artistic Denim Mills, Artistic Fabric Mills, Artistic Milliners, Crescent Bahuman Limited and Diamond Denim. See part 2 here.
AGI
Ali Tekin, R&D director
Carved in Blue: Do you have a ‘No Cotton Denim’ fabric?
Ali: Related about no cotton denim, we developed in the last period two different concepts. For our Cottonless concept, instead of cotton we are using different kinds of cellulosic fibers such as TENCEL™ lyocell and modal, etc. to reduce the environmental impact of cotton. In Circular 100, instead of virgin cotton our target is to use recycled fiber such as post-consumer and pre-consumer fibers. It is helping to create a sustainable life cycle.
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?
Ali: Our common TENCEL™ lyocell base fabric is AGI-16703, which has the combination of softness and authenticity together. Actually, we want to keep TENCEL™ fiber softness and drape without losing authenticity.
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?
Ali: We have developed different kinds of fabrics with regenerated cellulosic fibers. We are using TENCEL™ lyocell with different kinds of blending: cotton/TENCEL™ lyocell, cotton/recycled cotton/TENCEL™ lyocell, TENCEL™ lyocell/LENZING™ Ecovero™, TENCEL™ lyocell/hemp/cotton, TENCEL™ lyocell/TENCEL™ modal/cotton. We are also using REFIBRA™ fiber, LENZING™ Ecovero™ and TENCEL™ modal with Indigo Color technology.
ARTISTIC DENIM MILLS
Mubashir Shakoor, senior manager marketing and sales
Carved in Blue: Do you have a ‘No Cotton Denim’ fabric?
Mubashir: Yes, we do have no cotton denim fabric in Black Modal. The composition is 67 percent modal, 29 percent polyester and 4 percent Lycra(R).
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?
Mubashir: We do have TENCEL™ lyocell and TENCEL™ Modal blends with recycled cotton. We make it shape retention fabric using Dual Fx technology from The Lycra Company.
Carved in Blue: Circularity is the next frontier. What have you developed with mechanical recycled cotton and TENCEL™ Lyocell?
Mubashir: Mechanical recycled cotton blended with TENCEL™ lyocell, Modal and LENZING™ Ecovero™.
Carved in Blue: What about chemical recycling with REFIBRA™ technology?
Mubashir: Currently we are not focused on chemical recycling, however we do have fabrics made with REFIBRA™ technology.
ARTISTIC FABRIC MILLS
Dania Nusrat, executive R&D
Carved in Blue: Do you have a ‘No Cotton Denim’ fabric?
Dania: Yes, we have made developments in cotton denim with Indigo Modal. Gigi-C Ever Indigo is a drapey faux rigid fabric, plain look with dyed weft and silky hand feel. This fabric enables us to use less water and less hazardous chemicals, giving a nice indigo tone with limited fading.
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?
Dania: We have our bestselling fabrics like Towy-X Indigo, Zed-P Dark Indigo and Sapporo-R Indigo for volume orders with these compositions: warp composition 70 percent post-industrial waste (PIW) + 30 percent TENCEL™ lyocell (A4-9802/AS-584 Towy-X Indigo); warp composition 50 percent cotton + 50 percent TENCEL™ lyocell (A4-0501801/AS-38-2 Zed-P Dark Indigo); weft composition 50 percent cotton + 50 percent TENCEL™ lyocell (A4-050200/AS-604-B Sapporo-R Indigo).
Carved in Blue: Circularity is the next frontier. What have you developed with mechanical recycled cotton and TENCEL™ Lyocell?
Dania: We do run a number of fabrics with PIW and TENCEL™ lyocell under the category we call “Phoenix.” It comprises of fabrics having zero fresh cotton (A4-9802/AS-582, Euphoria Light Eco Indigo, Acadia Indigo).
Carved in Blue: What about chemical recycling with REFIBRA™ technology?
Dania: We have not done REFIBRA™ with chemically recycled fibers, but we do have Fitzgerald-X X-Light Indigo, which has REFIBRA™ dyed with recycled indigo, i.e. our Indiloop Concept.
Our product name is Fitzgerald-X X-Light, and the concept is 100 percent recycled content using post-industrial waste. It has a gorgeous clean twill line for a super clean fabric with REFIBRA™ technology. Medium indigo shade Indiloop, made with 100 percent recycled indigo recovered from cotton waste, has a zero wastewater process.
Carved in Blue: Any others?
Dania: We do have PIW with REFIBRA™ technology, which also lies in our Phoenix category.
A4-0501302/AS-539-B is a fabric made with REFIBRA™, PIW and Ecomade elastane.
We have made fabrics in Matte TENCEL™ lyocell.
A4-050674-B/AS-584 is a lightweight fabric having 32 percent Matte TENCEL™ lyocell.
A4-050672/AS-582 is a heavier weight rigid having 50 percent Matte TENCEL™ lyocell.
We are also marketing Imani-TP Indigo, which has carbon-zero TENCEL™ lyocell, recycled polyester, cotton and EL.
We also have viscose fabrics in our library. The most running fabric that include viscose is Oliver Indigo and Tapestry-RP Mid Indigo.
ARTISTIC MILLINERS
Bashir Faiz, senior manager R&D
Carved in Blue: Do you have a ‘No Cotton Denim’ fabric?
Bashir: No cotton denim falls in our Reborn category. We call it Erie; it’s this beautiful deep black—sleek, straight and sustainable. It uses 57 percent Black Modal, 41 percent polyester and 2 percent elastane, unlocking some serious stretch. The fabrics we developed are Rank Reborn (60 percent TENCEL™Lyocell, 38 percent recycled polyester, 2 percent elastane, 13 oz.), Errie Reborn (57 percent modal, 41 percent recycled polyester, 2 percent elastane, 13 oz.), and Elby Reborn (70 percent TENCEL™ lyocell, 28 percent recycled polyester, 2 percent elastane, 10.5 oz.).
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?
Bashir: Albion has been great for us, with 56 percent cotton and 44 percent TENCEL™ composition and a lovely over-dyed finish. Another big hit is Shenae, which is a blend of 35 percent cotton, 35 percent TENCEL™ lyocell, 28 percent polyester and 2 percent elastane. These two fabrics have really helped us drive conversion towards more sustainable blends.
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?
Bashir: Circularity for us is the current frontier and one which we’re working to own. This year we launched Circular Park, a clean energy-driven fiber recycling plant which can output up to 500,000 kg of regenerated fiber from pre- and post-consumer sources. That’s where we develop our Tisse fabric for our Recircular Collection, which uses 55 percent TENCEL™ lyocell, 25 percent organic cotton and 20 percent post-industrial waste. We are also working on recycled cotton and recycled TENCEL™ denim styles.
CRESCENT BAHUMAN LIMITED
Imran Tanveer, assistant vice president research and development
Carved in Blue: Do you have a ‘No Cotton Denim’ fabric?
Imran: Yes we have no cotton denim fabrics—Eco-Conscious and Color Stories are the two capsules where we promote such fabrics. In Color Stories, we have incorporated Modal Indigo dyed 100 percent fabric and Modal Black dope-dyed fabric for stay dark options. In Eco-Conscious we have made a fabric with 40 percent hemp and 60 percent TENCEL™ Lyocell. The fabric has some very nice vintage homespun look and the dry hand of hemp has been compensated with the addition of TENCEL™ Lyocell.
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?
Imran: Well, our TENCEL™-based fabrics include blends of TENCEL™ Lyocell in comfort stretch fabrics. Our 2905-B fabric is one of the commercial running fabrics with a TENCEL™ Lyocell blend.
Carved in Blue: Circularity is the next frontier. What have you developed with mechanical recycled cotton and TENCEL™ Lyocell?
Imran: We have fabrics in our library that have PCW- or PIW- based recycled cotton with TENCEL™ Lyocell blend.
Carved in Blue: What about chemical recycling with REFIBRA™ technology?
Imran: We are promoting REFIBRA™ technology regularly in our Eco-Conscious collection.
Carved in Blue: Any others?
Imran: We have also made some samples with zero carbon TENCEL™ Lyocell and are promoting it quite regularly in our eco-conscious collection.
DIAMOND DENIM
Urooj Zahra, product designer and developer
Carved in Blue: Do you have a ‘No Cotton Denim’ fabric?
Urooj: Yes, Dove 13 Dream, Avenida 15 sweet, Boulevard 15 sweet and Junction 15 sweet. The collection name is Zero Cotton Concept, and our marketing concept is a blend of Cly with a superior cotton blend for hyper-soft hand feel and deep pure indigo and top performance for skinny fits.
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?
Urooj: Knightsbridge 17 Sweet—it’s our best-selling TENCEL™ Lyocell blend fabric.
Carved in Blue: Circularity is the next frontier. What have you developed with mechanical recycled cotton and TENCEL™ Lyocell?
Urooj: For PCW and TENCEL™ Lyocell, Knightsbridge 254 Sweet (composition is 25 percent CO, 42 percent CLY, 23 percent PCW, 7 percent EME and 3 percent EA).
For TENCEL™ Lyocell, the group concept is Heaven. It has soft, sheen and sustainable properties for everlasting ultra smooth and soft hand feel.
Carved in Blue: Any others?
Urooj: Our Leafy Dyeing Concept and TENCEL™ Lyocell is superficial dyeing with easy wash down and 100 percent water soluble size, which eliminates the garment desize process in laundry. It also has TENCEL™ Lyocell for everlasting ultra softness and stretch.