From the Sector

Pili, a French pioneer in biobased dyes and pigments, partners with Orta, the Turkish denim mill and Citizens of Humanity, a California-based high-end denim brand known for its commitment to quality and sustainability.

They are beginning a transformative shift in the denim industry with the commercial launch of the first products dyed with Pili’s biobased indigo. The first products will debut in January in the Spring 2025 collections of Citizens of Humanity and AGOLDE.

A New Ecological Standard for the Denim Industry
In 2024, Pili achieved a major milestone by producing its first tons of biobased indigo, enabling the creation of sustainable denim articles, a turning point in the company's efforts to decarbonize the textile industry especially denim.

Pili has developed unique processes combining fermentation and organic chemistry to offer a high-performance, eco-friendly alternative to petrochemical dyes. Their ecological alternative significantly reduces the use of toxic chemicals and fossil resources, while aiming to cut CO2 emissions up to 50%. It meets the same performance as petrochemical indigo while seamlessly integrating into existing dyeing processes without requiring additional investment in commercial dyeing equipment.

Pili’s colors development is based on standardized Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), ensuring a rigorous process to measure and minimize their environmental impact.

A Partnership Driving Sustainable Transformation in the Industry
Fiber and dye are the two main components of denim products and also the ones with the greatest impact on their production. The partnership between Citizens of Humanity, Pili, and Orta establishes one of the highest ecological standards in the market with the use of regenerative cotton and biobased indigo.

Pili biobased indigo will make its debut in Citizens of Humanity and AGOLDE’s Spring 2025 collections. This long-term partnership between Citizens of Humanity, Orta, and Pili will continue to expand in future collections. The launch will be exclusive on NET-A-PORTER on January 6, 2025, before being extended to agolde.com, citizensofhumanity.com, and other global retailers.

A Key Step Towards the Decarbonization of the Color Industry
Building on this first success, Pili is accelerating the development of coloring solutions for various industrial applications, particularly in the inks, paints, and polymers sectors. The aim is to decarbonize everyday products using high-performance biobased pigments, with the first applicative tests set to begin this year. Pili continues its mission to decarbonize the color industry, paving the way for a sustainable revolution.

Gebr. Otto is exhibiting at this year’s Techtextil from 21 to 24 June in Frankfurt. The Dietenheim-based textile company manufactures a selected range of functional high-tech yarns made, for example, of conductive, high-strength and flame-retardant fibres. Gebr. Otto’s aim at the trade fair is to make personal contacts and to expand regional technology chains. The textile solution provider is to be found, as in past years, at the BW-I joint stand in Hall 12.1 at Booth No. C80.

Growing demand for technical yarns
“In the industry Gebr. Otto is mostly known for its cotton yarns and twines,” says Robin Hefter, who is in charge of technical textiles at Gebr. Otto. Cotton is the fibre that is mainly spun in the company’s spinning mill. It has been Gebr. Otto’s main line of business for over 100 years. The technical yarns that have been in the company’s product range for a good five years are, by contrast, still relative newcomers. They account for around 10 per cent of the company’s output, their share of which is on the increase. “Technical textiles have proved to be a growth sector in recent years,” Hefter explains, “and due to current political events demand for them has increased even further.”

Portfolio with a protective character
That is a reference to personal protective equipment – clothing and gloves. Gebr. Otto’s highperformance functional yarns, many of which are based on high-tech fibres, are specially designed for use in this area. In addition to flame-retardant yarns made of meta-aramid Gebr. Otto processes antistatic or conductive fibres.

As a rule many chemical fibres are easily electrically chargeable without being able to discharge by themselves due to their low moisture absorption. That is why undesired discharges occur,
maybe even the next time you shake hands. In some situations, they can be life-threatening. “Imagine the team at a pit stop in a Formula 1 race,” Robin Hefter says. “refuelling a racing car
under pressure of time. There must not be a single spark, no matter how small.” That is why Gebr. Otto adds antistatic fibres to its technical yarns. They prevent electrostatic charging and
offer safety not only to pit stop teams but also to filling station attendants. If electric conductivity is required, conductive fibres are added. And high-strength fibres are used if high or ultra-high tensile strength is required.

Colour fastness rather than safety is required when it comes to spun-dyed yarns. The fibres take up the pigments more homogeneously than if they are dyed as yarn. They are much more colourfast and fade markedly less in sunlight because the pigment particles are better enclosed in the fibre.