Triarchy Has Built a Business on its Love for Denim and the Planet
Triarchy simply believes in the denim it creates.
And as such, it says it’s mission is a simple one: “To conserve our planet’s most important resource by reducing the massive water consumption of our planet’s most beloved piece of clothing, jeans.”
The denim brand makes its denim in a factory in Mexico and operates a workshop out of its atelier in Los Angeles. The factory in Mexico uses 85 percent recycled water, and saving the precious resource is key to Triarchy’s ethos.
Carved in Blue caught up with company creative director and designer Adam Taubenfligel to get a little insight into what’s going on with the brand.
Carved in Blue: What sets Triarchy apart from other companies in the industry?
Adam: At Triarchy, everything we do has to come back to our core of sustainability. We set out to reduce water consumption in denim production by implementing TENCEL™ Lyocell/cotton blend fabrics, and then washing them with either recycled water or using ozone processes. During our journey to make the most sustainable jeans we could, we launched our Atelier line, which are seasonal ready to wear collections made entirely out of vintage repurposed denim. We only use jeans that have no life at the vintage resale level, giving them new life by creating new clothing from old fabrics.
Carved in Blue: Can you tell us about your water saving efforts for denim?
Adam: Firstly, we source fabrics that come from mills that are implementing fibers like TENCEL™ Lyocell, which already saves copious amounts of water in the making of the denim. From there, we cut and sew the materials in factories with wash facilities that implement water treatment plants on site, saving up to 85 percent of water used during wash. Beyond that, we use ozone laundering which can save up to 98 percent of the water used during production.
Carved in Blue: What does sustainability mean to Triarchy?
Adam: Sustainability to Triarchy means doing the best we can with the tools we have and constantly educating ourselves to what new sustainable technologies are available to us so we can implement them into our production process so we can continue making the best jeans possible. That, and making the most amazing vintage repurposed denim collections you’ve ever seen.
Carved in Blue: So when you’re looking for vintage denim from various sources—what makes it appeal to you?
Adam: It’s always the U.S.-made vintage denim that we gravitate towards, you just can’t beat it. The weight, hand, optics and colors are unique unto themselves and I can tell right away when it’s not the real deal.
Carved in Blue: What’s ahead for Triarchy in 2019?
Adam: In 2019, we are increasing our core offering of denim for women so that you can get every fit under one roof. We are implementing new materials that use recycled denim and recycled plastics for stretch, it’s the highest recycled content we’ve ever worked with and our Atelier line is getting a lot of incredible embellishments.
Carved in Blue: A little about you now—what’s your first denim memory?
Adam: The first piece of clothing I ever remember really wanting was a pair of jeans, unfortunately for the purity of this story, they were green. I got them, and I loved them, even though they were green. I remember how much I loved them and how I wore them every day and how long they lasted. It must have imprinted quality, longevity, and since that pair, a love of indigo.
Carved in Blue: Where do you get your denim inspiration?
Adam: Literally from anywhere and everywhere. Denim surrounds us no matter where we are, what we’re doing, we always see denim. It’s the most versatile and prevalent material on earth. The possibilities are endless.
Carved in Blue: When does a jean stop being a jean?
Adam: I don’t know. To be fair, I suppose anyone’s interpretation of jeans is fair in their own mind regardless of how authentic or non-authentic I interpret it—so I suppose it’s anyone’s game. All I know is that a 5-pocket jean is never going anywhere, try as you might to change that, you never will.
Carved in Blue: What does Carved in Blue mean to you?
Adam: Carved in Blue means a mindset of understanding how incredible denim is, being respectful of how damaging it can be to our planet and pooling together to find new and better ways to make the indigo garments we all love so much. That’s what it means to me.