From the Sector

Gina Tricot releases its first collection that has been produced with We aRe SpinDye. The collection is part of Gina Tricot's innovation program Gina Lab. and consists of a coat, shirt, trousers and two bags colored with We aRe SpinDye's method.

With the collaboration, Gina Tricot continues to focus on sustainability, now with the coloring process at the center. Of all the resources that arise during the entire lifespan of a garment - from the production of raw materials, to recycling, 80% is used during the production phase itself. To maximize the effects of the sustainability changeover, an increased focus is required on the entire production process and in particular on the most resource-intensive of them all: the dyeing.

One of Gina Tricot's focus is to explore new methods and technologies in sustainability, which makes the collaboration with We aRe Spin Dye feel just right for us. Together we get a product with more durable and circular fibers, in addition with a more sustainable textile production with a focus on minimal water use. We are extremely proud of this collaboration. says Emma Garrote, Global Production & Sustainability Manager at Gina Tricot.

Gina Tricot is a shining example of an agile organization with short decision-making processes. They have managed to enthuse both the design and production department. It has been crucial to reach the launch of this collection that takes place today, says Andreas Andrén, CEO of We aRe SpinDye®.

Gina Tricot
Gina Tricot is a Swedish fashion brand that offers fashion to women in over 30 countries. Today, Gina Tricot has over 160 stores around Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, as well as e-commerce throughout Europe. With around 1,900 employees, 98% of these are girls. For Gina Tricot, it is important to build pride from the inside out, we are a company that chooses to invest in and highlight women.

We aRe Spin Dye
The company is a Swedish cleantech company that provides and offers a process and platform for production and quality control that enables players in the fashion and clothing industry to significantly reduce their environmental impact. The company's business concept is to establish a new, sustainable and transparent standard for dyeing synthetic textiles in the fashion and apparel industry in a simple and user-friendly way.

Alchemie Technology, an innovator of low energy, waterless, textile dyeing and finishing technology, is calling on COP26 leaders to support the global fashion industry in the adoption of new manufacturing technology, which will dramatically reduce carbon emissions and fashion’s impact on climate change.

While the fashion industry is one of the most polluting on the planet, second only to oil and gas, and greenhouse gas emissions from textile dyeing at around 3% of global emissions outweigh that of all international flights and maritime shipping combined, it is an industry that can also reduce CO2 emissions the fastest, just by changing the way it dyes fabrics.  

Fabric dyeing is the most polluting part of fashion and activewear manufacturing, involving industrial scale dye baths and huge amounts of dye chemicals, steam, electrical power, and consequent high CO2 emissions.  Repeated washing of the dyed fabric, required to remove dye residue, is responsible for 20% of the world’s wastewater pollution and excess dye is discharged into waterways, affecting the health of some of the world’s poorest communities. In more regulated areas, water pollution is reduced through reliance on energy intensive water treatment plants.

However, an environmental step change can be achieved by adopting new digital technology that can dye fabrics with an 85% reduction in energy consumption and a dramatic 95% reduction of the 1.3 trillion litres of water currently used by the industry each year.

For example, dyeing one polyester shirt using current methods generates 4.5 litres of wastewater and produces 0.17 Kg of CO2, compared to low energy digital technology, which uses less than 0.2 litres of water and reduces carbon emissions to 0.03 Kg.  Multiply these numbers by the billions of garments dyed each year and the scale of the environmental problem, if nothing changes, is clear to see. Equally, the amount by which the textile industry can improve its carbon footprint is dramatic and can be done quickly if action is taken now.

• Alchemie Technology asks world leaders to cut energy and CO2 emissions from global fashion industry

Alchemie Technology, innovator of low energy, waterless, textile dyeing and finishing technology, is calling on COP26 leaders to support the global fashion industry in the adoption of new manufacturing technology, which will dramatically reduce carbon emissions and fashion’s impact on climate change.

While the fashion industry is one of the most polluting on the planet, second only to oil and gas, and greenhouse gas emissions from textile dyeing at around 3% of global emissions outweigh that of all international flights and maritime shipping combined, it is an industry that can also reduce CO2 emissions the fastest, just by changing the way it dyes fabrics.  

Fabric dyeing is the most polluting part of fashion and activewear manufacturing, involving industrial scale dye baths and huge amounts of dye chemicals, steam, electrical power, and consequent high CO2 emissions.  Repeated washing of the dyed fabric, required to remove dye residue, is responsible for 20% of the world’s wastewater pollution and excess dye is discharged into waterways, affecting the health of some of the world’s poorest communities. In more regulated areas, water pollution is reduced through reliance on energy intensive water treatment plants.

However, an environmental step change can be achieved by adopting new digital technology that can dye fabrics with an 85% reduction in energy consumption and a dramatic 95% reduction of the 1.3 trillion litres of water currently used by the industry each year.

For example, dyeing one polyester shirt using current methods generates 4.5 litres of wastewater and produces 0.17 Kg of CO2, compared to low energy digital technology, which uses less than 0.2 litres of water and reduces carbon emissions to 0.03 Kg.  Multiply these numbers by the billions of garments dyed each year and the scale of the environmental problem, if nothing changes, is clear to see.  Equally, the amount by which the textile industry can improve its carbon footprint is dramatic and can be done quickly if action is taken now.
Dr Simon Kew, Managing Director, Alchemie Technology comments “The technology now exists to enable the textile industry to make a significant contribution to helping meet the world’s net zero, climate change goals. But it requires the support of governments through investment, grants and legislation and the critical effort of brands, and their manufacturing supply chains to work together to make the change.”

On 21st October the Managing Director of Officina+39 Andrea Venier has joined a panel discussion in the prestigious arena of the Kingpins24 Digital Show. He contributed to the discussion with his and Officina+39’s point of view on “Water Conservation”, together with Emrah Özkorkmaz from Bregla and Taimur Malik from Stylers International, with Edward Hertzman from Sourcing Journal & Rivet as moderator.

Water crisis remains one of the top issues for humanity and 90% of the world's natural disasters are related to water. Officina+39 has been working hard to rethink the way water is used throughout the denim processes: Andrea's contribution emphasized the company’s practical and consolidated experience in this field, as in recent years their main objective has been to drastically reduce water use in line with UN SDG6.

Andrea pointed out how “fashion industry is still currently deeply rooted in a linear approach: make, use, dispose.” Accordingly to Andrea and Officina+39, the fashion world is becoming aware of this reality and is trying to reinvent itself in order to decrease the use of this precious resource and its negative impacts but there is still work to do in order to redesign a better sustainable model, where circularity should represent the new sustainability: circularity not only when it comes to the materials, but also to water.

In the textile industry water is used as the vehicle for colors and chemical auxiliaries but luckily today many technologies aim at significantly reducing water consumption. Officina+39 is really focused on this target: Andrea explained that “Officina+39 has developed the AQUALESS MISSION, a process suitable for conventional machines that leads to a 75% reduction of the water typically used in denim and garment laundry processes, using a waterless technology and saving costs for producers.”

Despite the start-up cost of investing in the development of sustainable technologies may discourage some in the industry, it is about time to realize that these actions cannot be delayed and that we will increasingly hear about water scarcity, water stress and water risk.

Andrea stated: “It is necessary to develop water management strategies and systems in any company: today there is ISO 14000 related to environmental management, but I believe that governments, brands and related organisations should think about an ISO related just to water management. In this way, every company can understand how much value can be generated in the medium-term and how much money could be saved by investing in this kind of technologies. To create new standards related to water management, we must change the approach.”

• A purpose-driven B2C festival for a young and optimistic generation

With THE GROUND, the PREMIUM GROUP is organizing a major fashion festival for young end consumers for the first time. Responsible for the event concept, in addition to Anita Tillmann, Jörg Arntz and the PREMIUM GROUP - team, is B2C expert Kai Zollhöfer, who already helped to make the Bread & Butter by Zalando a crowd puller.

“THE GROUND is a B2C festival aimed at a young, purpose-driven generation. This new generation has a strong stance on current social and environmental challenges and expects brands to reflect them. The overriding topics at THE GROUND are therefore sustainability, diversity and equality”, says Kai Zollhöfer.

“A  large  number  of  customers  are  interested  in  more  sustainable  options  -  there  is  a  desire  for  a  more conscious lifestyle, but this trend is currently not yet reflected in their actual shopping behavior. In between lies the so-called attitude-behavior gap, which THE GROUND wants to close further as a platform for brands with transparency and cool communication. We cannot expect that every brand, every consumer is currently doing everything 100% right, but it is the responsibility of all of us to take one small step in the right direction every day. We have to talk openly about how to do this in order to learn from each other so that we can take as many people as possible with us on this journey to a more sustainable future.“

The 3-day experiential marketing playground offers brands the opportunity to interactively exhibit purpose-driven stories and products and connect with consumers. In addition to the focus on fashion, brands from the areas of well-being, beauty, mobility and technology will present innovative products and solutions.

Fashion 4 Development and C.L.A.S.S. Eco Hub are pleased to announce the launch of their digital platform called “The Reclothe’s Platform”. The digital platform, which is a joint venture between the two companies, is expected to add significant value to all the stakeholders in the fashion and lifestyle industry. The core objective of the Reclothe’s Platform is to be a one-stop source of information and guide for professionals and students in the fashion and lifestyle industry.

The ReClothe platform will feature current innovators highlighting the practices & solutions for textile and manufacturers, pushing the industry towards a greener and more sustainable standard. The platform will lead members into scalable and more responsible manufacturing processes, driving responsible innovation practices across all aspects of the supply chain, measured and proved.
 
The joint venture was created in 2021 by Fashion 4 Development and C.L.A.S.S. Eco Hub to support the United Nations Office of Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals. Both Fashion 4 Development and C.L.A.S.S. Eco Hub are recognized for their experiences working from broad perspectives to advance the sustainability transformation

Dow and Ralph Lauren Corporation released a detailed manual on how to dye cotton more sustainably and more effectively than ever before using ECOFAST™ Pure Sustainable Textile Treatment. With this manual, Ralph Lauren and Dow are open-sourcing this improved dyeing process to encourage adoption in the textile industry and help standardize a more sustainable and efficient cotton dyeing system for positive environmental impact.  

The co-developed, step-by-step manual details how to use ECOFAST™ Pure, a cationic cotton treatment developed by Dow, with existing dyeing equipment. Ralph Lauren, the first brand to use ECOFAST™ Pure, partnered with Dow to optimize and implement the technology in its cotton dyeing operations as part of its new Color on Demand platform.

Conventional fabric dyeing processes require trillions of liters of water each year, generating roughly 20% of the world’s wastewater.^{1, 2} Pretreating fabric with ECOFAST™ Pure helps significantly reduce the amount of water, chemicals and energy needed to color cotton, by enabling up to 90% less process chemicals, 50% less water, 50% less dyes and 40% less energy without sacrificing color or quality.³

Ralph Lauren began integrating Color on Demand into its supply chain earlier this year and first launched product utilizing ECOFAST™ Pure as part of the Company’s Team USA collection for the Olympic & Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. Designed to help address water scarcity and pollution caused by cotton dyeing, Color on Demand is a multi-phased system with a clear ambition to deliver over time the world’s first scalable zero wastewater cotton dyeing system. By 2025, the brand aims to use the Color on Demand platform to dye more than 80% of its solid cotton products.

¹ Drew, Deborah and Genevieve Yehounme. “The Apparel Industry’s Environmental Impact in 6 Graphics.” World Resources Institute, July 5, 2017. https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/07/apparel-industrys-environmental-impact-6-graphics
² Rep. A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future. Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Circular Fibres Initiative, 2017. https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/a-new-textiles-economy
³ A full third-party reviewed and validated life cycle assessment is available by request at www.dow.com/ecofast.

• HIGHER, FASTER, FURTHER ! During the first physical Frankfurt Fashion Week in January 2022, PREMIUM GROUP will show more novelties than ever.

The anticipation is rising! With the actual move to Frankfurt in January 2022, Anita Tillmann, Jörg Arntz and the teams will not only present further developed versions of the PREMIUM and SEEK fashion fairs, but will also celebrate a major B2C festival for the first time with THE GROUND.

More than ever, the Berliners‘ passion for people and fashion, but also for business and trading, is at the heart of all their events. And where better to combine all this than in the power metropolis of Frankfurt am Main.

„No city in Germany - no city in Europe - stands for business relevance and trading power as much as Frankfurt am Main,“ explains Tillmann. „We now have a unique opportunity to actively shape the future together. PREMIUM GROUP provides the industry with the platform, the brands with the creative content. In addition, we do what we do best, introduce the right players to each other and connect them. We bring together the movers and shakers who have the same drive as we do. With this new mix of location, entertainment, creative industry and trading focus, we are creating a unique momentum after the pandemic - January is when the big deals are made and the c ourse is set for the future.“

To achieve this goal, the PREMIUM GROUP teams have also given the proven successful formats PREMIUM and SEEK a new coat of paint. More space, new areas and shorter distances provide visitors with a completely new trade event experience. Trends, brands and events can be discovered together with new and well-known partners - for the first time all in one place!

And PREMIUM, which is already entering its 19th year in January, is also showing a new side in Frankfurt. Instead of being spread out like in Station-Berlin, in Frankfurt all brands show their collections in one big hall. „We are so excited to finally unite all exhibitors in one hall. This way we create a universe with many different worlds - colorful and exciting,“ says Wiebus. „We are in close exchange with all the protagonists throughout the year and continue to develop the concepts together. The entire industry is positive about coming together in Frankfurt. Everyone is keen to experience and create something completely new! We offer the framework for this - that is our strength.“

And the Berliners have another surprise in store for the Frankfurt debut: With THE GROUND, they are organizing a large fashion festival for young end consumers for the first time. Responsible for the event concept, in addition to Tillmann, Arntz and the PREMIUM GROUP- team, is B2C expert Kai Zollhöfer, who already made the Bread & Butter by Zalando a crowd puller. “THE GROUND is a B2C festival aimed at a young, purpose-driven generation. This new generation has a strong stance on current social and environmental challenges and expects brands to reflect them. The overriding themes at THE GROUND are therefore sustainability, diversity and equality”, said Zollhöfer.

The 3-day event offers brands the opportunity to interactively exhibit purpose-driven stories and products. In addition to the thematic focus on fashion, brands from the fields of wellbeing, beauty, mobility and technology will also present innovative products and solutions.

Lenzing presented at FILO its sustainable approach and on a selection of key innovations such as TENCEL™-branded specialty fibers.

As part of the space dedicated to Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto and Fashion B.E.S.T., the first Italian collective of responsible fashion designers, a selection of TENCEL™’s key technologies were under the spotlight:

• TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™, using cotton textile waste and wood pulp as the feedstock for cellulosic fibers, creating a circular solution;
• TENCEL™ x Indigo Color, infusing pigment into fibers directly during the spinning process;
• TENCEL™ Luxe, providing superior aesthetics, performance and comfort to be the perfect partner of other noble fibers such as silk, cashmere or wool;
• TENCEL™ Carbon Zero, offering carbon-zero CarbonNeutral®-certified products by Natural Capital Partners;
• TENCEL™ x Eco Clean, bringing totally chlorine-free-bleached TENCEL™ Modal fibers to the textile industry.

Lenzing's priority has been to produce fibers for many sectors (fashion, beauty care, cleaning, hygiene and home textiles) in a sustainable way. Each Lenzing product is made of cellulose from wood, a renewable natural resource, coming only from certified sustainable sources.
The Lenzing Group operates two commercial-scale biorefineries with 100% wood utilization, which ensure that the totality of wood constituents are used to produce fibers, biobased chemicals, and bioenergy, thus maximizing value creation from an economic and environmental perspective. This concept was illustrated by Carlo Covini, Lenzing Business Development Manager Italy & Switzerland, in his presentation “Lenzing’s biorefinery concept”.

• Instant access to ecotoxicological and regulatory information and certificates for Archroma specialty chemical products
• Faster decision-making and time-to-market for manufacturers, brands and retailers in the textile, paper, packaging, paint, and construction industries

Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, announced the launch of The Safe Edge, an online platform for instant access to product related regulatory & compliance certificates and information.

With continuously growing public awareness around the social, health and ecological impacts of human and business activities, the need for transparency and traceability in supply chains has become essential.

Time to market is equally critical, and manufacturers, brands and retailers need access to reliable information in real time.

The Safe Edge platform has been designed with that in mind: It allows brands, retailers and manufacturers of textile, fashion, packaging, paper, paints, to verify with just a few clicks the regulatory & compliance status of Archroma products, including regulations, ecotoxicological information & certifications, and brand requirements.

The Safe Edge covers standards, regulations and information such as air emission factors, animal origin, halal, kosher, plant origin, food contact, Blue Angel, bluesign®, Cradle-to-Cradle, chemical inventories, Composability EN 13432, conflict minerals, EU Flower/Ecolabel, GOTS, CONEG, ISEGA, Nordic Swan, Oekotex® Standard 100, California Prop 65, REACH, RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substance), Screened Chemistry, SDS, SVHC (Substance of Very High Concern), VOC (US), ZDHC (Zero Discharge Hazardous Chemicals), and brand standards (like Coats A&F MRSL, Decathlon RSL 2020, Jack Wolfskin RSL and The List IV by Inditex.

With the launch of The Safe Edge, Archroma continues to assert its leading role in driving sustainability in its industries, in line with its commitment to the principles of “The Archroma Way to a Sustainable World: safe, efficient, enhanced, it’s our nature”. The “Safe” principle in particular is at the core of the Archroma approach to sustainability, with the deeply rooted goal to protect people and the planet with products that are safe to use, and safe to wear.

The Safe Edge is already accessible for manufacturers, brands and retailers in Europe and Asia, and will be launched in North America in September 2021, and in Latin America by the end of the year.