NDM Talks About Denim Alternatives
Denim mills are developing collections using all fibers options available.
As companies become increasingly concerned about denim’s impact on the environment from fibers to finish, some mills are even making denim with no cotton at all.
Karachi, Pakistan based Naveen Denim Mills, known as NDM, is one of them. The company has focused on sustainability for some time, but their move to make cottonless denim takes things a step further.
Carved in Blue caught up with NDM’s Aydan Tüzün, to find out more about making denim without the cotton .
Carved in Blue: What are the key sustainability initiatives at NDM?
Aydan: We started our sustainability journey years ago, launching products using less water, less chemicals and less energy. But we didn’t want to stop there. We constantly strive to push the boundaries of the denim industry, contributing to a better world without sacrificing consumer needs and expectations. We incrementally increase our investment in R&D to introduce high quality smart fabrics, both for our customers and the environment.
We have recently regrouped our sustainable product lines under a single brand, Allydro. Allydro regroups six different lines of products, Allydro Plus, Ecolean, H2NO, Eternal Color, Aqualter and now the latest addition HORIZON, reducing significantly the effluent output while saving energy, water and time.
HORIZON is our latest innovation in this regard and it is the most sustainable denim fabric—yet.
Carved in Blue: What do you call your ‘’zero cotton” fabric?
Aydan: Our zero-cotton concept is called Eternal Colors. Designed with fibers from Lenzing, Eternal Colors garments look brand new even after extended use. Additionally, LENZING™ Modal uses 50 percent less energy and requires only 50 percent of the water typically used in conventional dying processes. Withstanding laundry cycles, Eternal Colors never fades and retains intensive colors with a 100 percent color fastness.
Carved in Blue: Why did you decide to develop a denim fabric without cotton?
Aydan: First of all, because we must reduce our cotton dependence as conventional cotton is often produced in a way that puts unnecessary levels of stress on the environment, the local economies and the communities producing it. We also support Better Cotton Initiative to make cotton a sustainable mainstream commodity.
Secondly, conventional dyeing process of a fabric consumes a lot of water and chemicals including dyestuffs. We are using dope dyed modal from Lenzing in our zero cotton products. Using dope dyed fiber is more sustainable comparing to conventional dyeing process. LENZING™ Modal Color fibers have more sustainable growing process and consumes less water compared to cotton, this is another reason.
Carved in Blue: What has been the brand reaction?
Aydan: We receive very positive feedback and interest from both brands and companies regarding Eternal Colors. I think our success lies in the fact that we produce a line that is environmentally sound without sacrificing style or increasing manufacturing costs. Sustainable collections often fail to deliver consumer expectations or miss the mark on our planet’s needs. We are proud to reconcile both.