TENCEL™ Denim Trends: The Latest from Mills in 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.
Conventional denim has a significant environmental footprint, but mills are innovating to create materials with less impact. This includes switching to cotton alternatives or blends that include more eco-friendly fibers.
We caught up with denim mills in Turkey to hear their thoughts on low-impact denim and how they are incorporating wood-based TENCEL™ branded fibers into their collections.
BOSSA
Turkey
Özge Özsoy, marketing chief
Carved in Blue: What new groups are you promoting with TENCEL™ Lyocell?
Özge: In every concept! We have many TENCEL™ Lyocell blended articles.
We used TENCEL™ in heritage look items to catch the soft and natural touch.
We used TENCEL™ in our workout concept in power stretch items for the best and soft performance.
We used TENCEL™ in our antibacterial products for adding sustainable property.
We used TENCEL™ in our Eversoft concept, which we have softest denims in the blue world.
Most of our non-denim articles are also TENCEL™ blended.
Carved in Blue: How do you define the value of lower impact denim?
Özge: Bossa’s leading fully integrated fabric manufacturing mill has been actively involved in the protection and preservation of the environment since its startup.
“We care about the future”
“We aim to raise the level of awareness on environmental issues”
“We do our part”
We adopted the following procedures aimed at reducing our environmental impact:
- Sustainable materials
- Energy efficiency
- Water saving
- Process engineering
- Certification
- Social responsibility
- Re-usage
- Collaboration
- Co-creation
Today, we as Bossa focus on the different steps in the lifecycle of the products that are particularly high impact and identify key changes that need to be made. This whole approach, Bossa Cares, includes every step in the lifecycle both inside and outside the company, from design to the disposal of the product and the design again. Bossa continues to launch valuable projects for different stages of the lifecycle.
CALIK DENIM
Turkey
Çiğdem Kaçar, product marketing manager
Carved in Blue: What new groups are you promoting with TENCEL™?
Çiğdem: As Calik Denim, we preferred TENCEL™ Lyocell fiber in most of the product concepts under our new collection. To offer further softness and smoothness, we used this fiber in the composition of many articles from our below concepts.
D’enovated: Authentic look combined with the advantages of today’s technologies
Denethic: Fabrics produced at the mill with rinse, rinse+enzyme and bleach wash effects
Fix-Fit: Power stretch articles with easy wear feeling
Retro Soft: Combination of ultra softness and authentic denim look
Selfsized: A pair of jeans produced with Selfsized fabric fits a wide range of different sized wearers perfectly.
Skinlithe: Combines the denim look with the comfort of tights
“Ronan,” “Ricky,” “Archie” and many other articles include TENCEL™ Lyocell fiber in our latest collection.
TENCEL™ Modal and TENCEL™ Modal Black fibers are also existing in the composition of some products from our brand new Skinlithe concept including ultra flexible fabrics that adapt to body shape with very high elasticity and promise freedom of movement. “Ciri” and “Lester” are some examples.
Carved in Blue: How do you define the value of lower impact denim?
Çiğdem: For us, lower impact denim means, while developing a product, starting from the very first step of product design, considering future, nature, environment and all other important dimensions, which are closely related with sustainability. A product created with this approach will definitely contribute to the protection of our planet.
INDIGO ISTANBUL
Turkey
Roberto Cedolin, marketing and sales manager
Carved in Blue: What new groups are you promoting with TENCEL™?
Roberto: In our “Shirting People” collection, we used TENCEL™ Lyocell fabrics, which gave possibility to manufacture elegant and comfortable shirts, blouses and dresses to our customers.
We developed denim and overdyed colored denim fabrics using TENCEL™ Lyocell and Modal fibers, where our customers produced a smart colored range consisting of comfortable stretch jackets, skirts, shorts, overalls and pants.
Carved in Blue: How do you define the value of lower impact denim?
Roberto: The irreversibly increasing temperature of our world causes us to encounter lots of natural disasters that we have not encountered before. Through the digitalizing of the humanity and world, people are now aware of what kind of disaster they can face, wherever they are in the world. Now it is really important and is under our sole responsibility to follow and care every step we take to stop or at least slow down this drift.
Denim has always been the symbol of the youth, and today’s youth are growing more sensitive to the environment and humanity than ever before. We have no other way to catch the youth than being aware of and on the side of sustainability.
ISKUR DENIM
Turkey
Özlem Özkan, head of research and product development
Carved in Blue: What new groups are you promoting with TENCEL™?
Özlem: For the Autumn/Winter 2021-2022 collection, we added new stretch fabrics with Lenzing™ Modal Black in the warp.
Article-1: 61325 Vintage (fabric composition: 69.8% Modal Black, 18.7% pes black, 10.1% viscose black and 1.4% elastane)
Article-2: 61324 Vintage (fabric composition: 69.8% Modal Black, 18.7% pes black, 10.1% viscose black and 1.4% elastane)
In development stage: Article-3: 61326 New Vintage and Article-4: 61327 Vintage
Carved in Blue: How do you define the value of lower impact denim?
Özlem: The nature of the fiber selected as raw material, the amount of water and chemicals used during fabric production, the sustainability of the dyeing and finishing processes applied directly affect the low impact value of the denim product. Therefore, the value of lower impact denim is directly related to sustainability.
KILIM DENIM
Turkey
Elif Karahan, Marketing Executive
Carved in Blue: What new groups are you promoting with TENCEL™?
Elif: We have several qualities with TENCEL™, which takes place in different collections. We are in love with the intelligence of nature; working with TENCEL™ always has an additive effect both for creating valuable appearance and reaching eco-friendly goals.
We have TENCEL™ fabrics at mostly Ageless and 1986 collections.
Ageless collection: The Ageless collection comprises ageless denim fabrics that offer the best denim feeling and are favored by true denim fans for years. We’re happy to see that all brands have begun to understand the simplicity and beauty of denim in the past, which gave the timeless fabrics in the Ageless collection the lead role again. Comprising rigid and comfort stretches in various indigo shades in addition to black and grey between 9 and 12 ounces, this collection serves like an homage to denim paid by the most long-established denim company in Turkey.
1986 collection: 1986 was the year when Kilim made an investment in denim manufacture with a big vision at a time when wearing blue jeans was not very popular in Turkey. 1986 is a collection by a company whose employees know the true origin of denim and realize those looks with today’s technology.
Carved in Blue: How do you define the value of lower impact denim?
Elif: Lower impact denim idealization mainly has a core meaning for us: protecting Earth our home by protecting soil and water. Therefore, we have organic cotton program and water less process Cactus, which leads to using less chemicals and water. We have been working towards accelerating usage of these applications by pushing the boundaries of design, technology and innovation-inspired solutions. Additionally, alternative fibers have a very important role too.
KIPAS DENIM
Turkey
Hürriyet Öztürk, product development director
Carved in Blue: What new groups are you promoting with TENCEL™?
Hürriyet: In the last few seasons, a real authentic denim look has been very hot trend and this look is still very popular for many brands. As Kipas Denim, we tried to give more options to our customers for a real authentic denim look. As you know, sustainability is another core base for everybody. We match both those two ideas in one fabric by using high percentage TENCEL™ fiber. In our Heritage line, we have fabrics that have between 70 to 100 percent TENCEL™ fiber, and these fabrics have a super vintage look. After laundry, all garments have a super vintage look. So sustainability and authenticity meet in one fabric.
Carved in Blue: How do you define the value of lower impact denim?
Hürriyet: When the issue is lower impact denim, everybody calculates the production outgoings: water, chemicals, energy. Of course, these are very, very important and many denim mills try to reduce these consumptions. But I think we have to start thinking from fiber sources. In fact, real consumption is just there. For example, 1 kilogram of cotton needs 2,000 liters for growing. On the other hand, around 50 to 60 liters water consumption for fabric production. Fiber source is very important and we have to choose fibers which have very low impact—for example, TENCEL™. TENCEL™ is probably one of the most sustainable fibers in textiles. Lenzing reuses 99 percent of their production water and chemicals. This huge save helps your product lower impact to the world. Our choices with lower impact will shape our future.
ORTA
Turkey
Zennure Danişman, marketing and washing manager
Carved in Blue: What new groups are you promoting with TENCEL™?
Zennure: We believe that eco-conscious innovation will lead the denim industry into its next evolution. Here4Good will continue to provide features with more technical advancements in the strength, durability and stretch capacity of recycled cotton fibers, both pre- and post-consumer. We are also expanding our breakthrough Zero-Max denim, using TENCEL™ fibers, that uses zero virgin cotton while delivering maximum shape retention.
Additionally, Orta’s Golden Ratio is soul-tech denim that is perfectly blended for strength, durability and longevity. Golden Ratio is eco-balanced fabric with 30 percent recycled cotton, blended with TENCEL™ Lyocell for sophisticated softness. This is our wise thinking way of innovation and well-made production. Golden Ratio is the all-knowing Orta innovation at its best, combining sustainably circular production with durable construction for denim that stands the test of time.
Carved in Blue: How do you define the value of lower impact denim?
Zennure: As Orta, we are weaving stories through our fabrics, about the past, present and future of denim. We believe denim has and will always have a special handprint on culture. Denim, this cultural icon, is in transition.
We support this transition of denim and transform our process accordingly. At Orta, our aim is to create a more robust denim ecosystem where art meets technology meets sustainability for new infinite possibilities of denim today and tomorrow.
As Orta, we commit to circular practices in our processes by repurposing, reimagining, re-fibering and re-blending, lead with a sustainable handprint that delivers the most premium fabrics at the greatest value.
Our new collection is called Here4Good and it is Orta’s vision, in the wake of the global pandemic, representing our commitment to the health and welfare of our Orta family of workers, our brand partners and retailers, and to the Earth that sustains us. Here4Good embraces the eco-modern technologies Orta has been implementing to continually improve our sustainability practices, and to ensure denim’s future. This includes new fabric innovations that have less stress on the farming and cultivating of natural fibers like cotton, and more eco-engineered and climate friendly fabrics that deliver amazing comfort, softness and performance. Our eco-innovation using hemp, reclaimed cotton waste, recycled denim and dyes made from food waste are just one part of our continuing effort to develop more eco-conscious materials. Here4Good strengthens our Handprint mission to use less to create more—more value, more performance, more abundance of goodness.