Naveena Denim Mills’ Latest Collection Aims to Accelerate Sustainable Change
Pakistan’s Naveena Denim Mills is bringing together low-impact materials and processes in a new line that leverages today’s sustainable technologies.
Dubbed “Holistic Denim,” the collection is meant to reflect the mill’s comprehensive approach to sustainable development. At the same time, Holistic Denim is a showcase of Naveena’s innovation and investment in eco-friendly fabric development.
“In a nutshell, Holistic Denim is about amplifying our positive impact,” said Aydan Tuzun, executive director of global sales and marketing at Naveena Denim Mills. “This is of course something that we always look and work for. But today, we have come to a point where we are convinced that we really need to find ways of amplifying our impact in the sense that it needs to move from human-centered design to humanity-centered design. Our future products should really be relevant to ‘here and now’ to accelerate change.”
Along with serving environmental needs, Holistic Denim was designed with consumer demand and trends in mind.
“Unfortunately, sustainable collections still often fail to reflect trend-worthy design and, in doing so, miss the mark on consumer wants and needs,” said Aydan. “And some collections are done for the sake of having sustainable products even though it’s known from the very beginning that they do not meet market realities and at the end they will not be on the market; they just stay in the corner of a website as ‘reputation pieces’ without real impact. This is exactly what we wanted to avoid with Holistic Denim. We took into account many aspects and wanted to bridge the gap between design and experience.”
Along with organic and recycled cotton, Naveena’s collection uses TENCEL™ Lyocell and hemp as cellulosic fibers. Compared to cotton, hemp grows two to three times faster, using less water and no pesticides. In addition, hemp boasts natural antibacterial properties. Wood-based TENCEL™ Lyocell also offers a low-impact alternative to cotton agriculture with the added benefit of a soft handfeel.
Instead of polyester, Naveena is using Ciclo, which cuts down on microplastic pollution by inserting biodegradable additives to polyester at the start of the fiber making process. As a substitute for elastane, the mill is turning to Roica, a Cradle to Cradle certified fiber that degrades.
Complementing the sustainable materials are low-impact processes. Naveena is using its Horizon process, which combines Ecolean and Aqualter dyeing and H2NO finishing for total savings of 80 percent less water, 50 percent less steam and 50 percent less energy compared to conventional processes. Effluents are also reduced, and wastewater can be recycled and reused. Per pair of jeans, 12 liters of water are saved.
Holistic Denim materials are also laser friendly with no back staining and improved crocking. Additionally, the denim achieves a 40 percent better Environmental Impact Measurement (EIM) score.
Collaboration is key for any sustainable endeavor, and this is the case for Naveena. Holistic Denim uses technology and materials—including fibers and chemicals—from partners including Lenzing, Proser Chemicals, Jeanologia, Roica and Ciclo.
“At Naveena, we have established innovative processes, which allows us to work in full collaboration, and furthermore co-creation, with all our partners in the supply chain,” said Aydan. “We strongly believe that innovation is a cooperative process, which should involve all our stakeholders.”