From the Sector

The Italian chemical company presents its solution for indigo garment dyeing EASYNDIGO in Amsterdam. The promise is to make indigo easy to obtain in just a few simple steps. The technology, based on the Pull&Push Mechanism, uses specific agents to enhance the two-phase dyeing process of raw garments with indigo.

1^st step: The pull mechanism
The Pull mechanism works on raw garments to pull indigo onto the fibers, using a special wetting and leveling agent called DETERWET EASYNDIGO, which acts as a solubilizer, ensures reproducibility and low-foaming, reducing dye migration during drying. It also involves the dispersing agent DISPERSOLO EASYNDIGO, effective for its diffusion-accelerating properties, which allows for a reduction in time and temperature of the dyeing process without compromising lightfastness.

2^nd step: The push mechanism
The Push mechanism works on dye bath to push the indigo into the fibers using an innovative compound named BASE EASYNDIGO and pre-reduced indigo DenimBlu30 by BluConnection. This method achieves a bright and deep indigo color, improves wash and rubbing fastness, enhances levelness, and is formaldehyde-free.

3^rd step
This extra phase is completely dedicated to creativity: with EASYNDIGO is easy to unleash it and get an authentic indigo garment, while reducing the consumption of water, energy and resources. Around these core concepts Officina39 continues to develop innovative solutions that make denim production increasingly responsible.

This innovative chemical package reaches its deepest effectiveness and gets power in combination with Tonello’s DyeMate technology: two Italian companies have combined their efforts to develop an innovative chemical and technological dyeing process.

Once again Tonello will be present their technologies and partnerships at Kingpins from October 18-19.

DyeMate, the ozone, THE Laser
DyeMate is Tonello's new "patent-pending" technology that reinterprets the traditional indigo garment dyeing process, by making it automatic and repeatable, efficient and sustainable: carried out in a nitrogen atmosphere, without oxygen, with controlled reduction and oxidation, to achieve results that are perfectly comparable, in terms of authenticity and "aesthetic flavor," to those of denim that fades and becomes vintage with the passage of time.

Tonello will present a collection of garments with super bleach effects. With OBleach, EGO and O-Zone triad redefined the garment bleaching process, including no harmful chemicals such as chlorine and permanganate, in favor of sustainable and healthy production.

The entire collection will be embellished and finished with aesthetic solutions and details: the natural overdyeing of Wake, the ultra-thin graphics made with THE Laser Lab, the reproducible breakages of THE Laser T and TM.

Collections, design, collaborations
The MSP - Most Sustainable Product - collection, developed together with Kingpins and Denim House, designed by Piero Turk and Serena Conti, and processed in Tonello's Research and Development Center with the latest responsible finishing technologies, returns this year.

Tonello will also present another project: ONE Denim. A collection that aims to combat resource waste in the denim industry by demonstrating concretely how many new denim garments could be made from a single fabric by optimizing processes and choosing appropriate technologies and production methods. The fabrics chosen are from Sharabati Denim, the design is by Piero Turk, and the collection is processed by Tonello.

SA-KE
This project was born out of a dialogue between Tonello's technology and the creativity of British designers Sadia Rafique and Kelly Harrington, who produced as many as 70 artworks that are partly physically present at Kingpins and partly published in a book-zine that tells the philosophy and logic of this unique and original work. A work that combines technology, expressive research and all new forms of image generation, across the boundary between natural and artificial, but still totally human.

Officina39 will attend the Bangladesh Denim Expo in Dhaka on 10-11 May, a new edition after a two-year break, characterized by a focus on sustainability and the central theme "Beyond Business".

Officina39 has been committed for years to the reconversion of the sector’s technologies to an environmental point of view: this attitude is expressed in its latest Trustainable™ collection FW 23, based on the approach of honesty, transparency and social responsibility that drives the company. Officina39 will present Aqualess Fade, a technology just recently presented at Kingpins that recreates the bleaching effect of chlorine on fabrics, a waterless special compound for the discoloration of denim on indigo/black garments which is reducing resource consumption and environmental impact.

Aqualess Fade completes and integrates Aqualess Mission, a combination of technologies that allows garment laundry processes to reduce 75% of the water use. Until now, the process included three eco-friendly technologies: Novascraper Indigo, a laser finishing technique that adds a natural, vintage look to denim garments; OZ-ONE Powder, an advanced product to give garments a bleached yet eco-friendly treatment, for a worn and distressed look; and Aqualess Aged, a waterless compound to give denim abrasion effects. Specifically, this last revolutionizing product has recently marked an important achievement which adds to the company’s sustainable credentials: Officina39 received, for its Aqualess Aged, the DeniSafe® certification of enzyme product(s) by Novozymes for safe production and safe use through dry application.

Bangladesh Denim Expo is also ideal for presenting the results of The Circle Book 2, the second chapter of a collective project gathering ten high-profile players of the textile supply chain. Officina39’s Recycrom™ technology and the expertise of Meidea, Lenzing, Tejidos Rojo, Calik Denim, Ribbontex, Spring85, Dr. Bock Industries, Crafil and RGT have merged together on the development of CULTURE.IN, a circular capsule collection transparently made from recycled and degradable materials: a practical demonstration of how the fashion industry can improve considering social and environmental impacts and goals.

Tonello presents O-Zone, a new garment finishing project developed with Candiani Denim, a leading brand in the denim industry.

O-Zone, just presented at Kingpins 24, represents a new leap in quality and an important step in the growth of Tonello'a range of ozone processes, which are born from direct experience, research and a deeper knowledge of technology.

First with ECOfree2, then with SaniCare and OBleach, now with O-Zone, Tonello are defining ozone finishing and taking it to its maximum expression in every field of application: creation of special effects, garment sanitization, cleaning and reduction of water consumption, etc.

What is O-Zone?
At first glance it is similar to a cabinet. A special cabinet, however, inside which the garments are placed and treated, through an innovative, sustainable, responsible process.

A process that is also flexible, fast, safe and fully controllable by a touch screen that allows you to easily set all the desired parameters to obtain unique and customizable aesthetics, such as localized discoloration and lightening, sun-faded looks and degradé effects.

O-Zone is designed for small productions and is ideal for doing experiments and research directly on the garment, quickly verifying the result.

• Major Monforts denim customers continue to pioneer new initiatives that are pushing the boundaries of sustainable production.

Recycling their cotton waste has become one way these companies can do more with less, and at the recent Kingpins24 Flash online event, Sedef Uncu Aki, director of Orta, headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey, announced a new partnership with leading recycling operation Gama Recycle.

Traceable
“Through this local partnership we will supply the waste from our spinning mills and return around 3,000 tons of premium quality cotton back to them,” she said. “We have established a truly controlled and traceable system and partnering with a domestic recycling centre is important because a lot the carbon emissions associated with recycling usually come from transportation.”

Orta’s ZeroMax range meanwhile uses no cotton at all, being based on Lenzing’s Tencel cellulosic fibre, while the company’s involvement in denim production for a recent launch by Levi Strauss, of jeans made with organic cotton and Circulose – a breakthrough material developed by re:newcell of Sweden and partners – was hailed as a further step forward.

To make Circulose, re:newcell repurposes discarded cotton textiles, such as worn-out denim jeans, through a process akin to recycling paper. The incoming waste fabrics are broken down using water. The colour is then stripped from these materials using an eco-friendly bleach and after any synthetic fibres are removed from the mix, the slurry-like mixture is dried and the excess water is extracted, leaving behind a sheet of Circulose. This sheet is then made into viscose fibre which is combined with cotton and woven into new fabrics.

Circular Park
Omer Ahmed, CEO of Artistic Milliners also announced plans for his company’s new 70,000 square-foot Circular Park in Karachi, Pakistan, at Kingpins24 Flash.

Once complete, this will add three million square metres of additional denim capacity a month to the company’s production and take its total recycled output to a monthly five million metres.
Ahmed observed that there is currently a lack of sustainable fibres that are readily available to use for denim production at scale.

“Organic cotton is too expensive, and in my opinion always will be,” he said. “Cottonised hemp is also not cheap and it’s hard to mix with cotton, while the new regenerated cellulose fibres that are now emerging are promising, but currently in short supply. Recycled polyester is meanwhile still based on petroleum resources which we want to move away from. As a consequence, there are only a few other options for us as a manufacturer and this new project will help us minimise our own waste while significantly lowering our carbon footprint.”

Other Monforts denim customers to introduce cotton fibre recycling operations at their plants recently include AGI Denim, Bossa and Soorty.

Vertical savings
Refresh is the name of the latest collection from AGI Denim – reflecting the company’s significant reduction in water consumption.

The company has just opened new fibre spinning and denim mills at its complex in Karachi, Pakistan.

“Over the years we’ve gone through a series of backward integration steps to become fully vertical,” said AGI Denim executive director Ahmed Javed, at Kingpins24 Flash. “In our latest expansion, we revisited every step of the production processes in order to make resource savings.”

Innovations have included the installation of proprietary robotics for garment finishing, but the most attention has been paid to water savings.

“Pakistan is one of the largest cotton-producing companies in the world and we’re fortunate that the type of cotton that is grown here is well suited to denim production and also helps us lower our carbon footprint, with everything done in close proximity,” Javed said. “In the lifecycle of a pair of denim jeans, however, cotton fibre production contributes 68% of water consumption. While we cannot control how much water cotton needs for it to grow, we can rethink the way we use it in our factory.”

Refresh-branded denims are washed from 100% recycled water as a result of the company’s new wastewater treatment plant, which puts production wastewater through a series of steps beginning with equalisation, followed by aeration and concluding with sedimentation. The water travels through filtration and ultrafiltration systems before being subjected to an activated carbon system and finally a reverse osmosis system to reduce any dissolved salts.

AGI now recycles 4.4 million gallons of water each month – enough to wash a million pairs of jeans.

Sustainable
Monforts has a leading position in the field of denim finishing with its well proven Thermex continuous dyeing systems, Montex stenter dryers and other lines for resource-efficient and economical processing.

“Our denim partners are constantly setting themselves new goals in respect of sustainable production – and more importantly, achieving them,” says Hans Wroblowski, Monforts Head of Denim. “We work closely with them with the aim of constantly optimising processing parameters and achieving further savings in energy, water and raw materials throughout the dyeing and finishing stages of production.”

The latest Monforts innovation for denim is the CYD yarn dyeing system. This technology is based on the effective and established dyeing process for denim fabrics that is now being applied for yarn dyeing. The CYD system integrates new functions and processes into the weaving preparation processes to increase quality, flexibility, economic viability and productivity. A full CYD line is now available for trials at the company’s Advanced Technology Centre in Mönchengladbach, Germany.”

The collaboration between Tonello and denim designer Piero Turk gave birth to a sustainable denim collection, result of a combination of the latest responsible technologies, and created with the most eco-friendly fabrics selected by The Kingpins Show.

“When it comes to working on new developments, we always start from new ideas and the constant research that starts from a concept that becomes reality, by increasingly raising the bar of sustainability,” said Alice Tonello, R&D and Marketing Director of Tonello.

18 exclusive and contemporary denim pieces, result of the premium experience of Piero Turk, and Tonello with its new brand-new finishing process: The Laundry (R )Evolution.

This is a radically new conception thought to simplify and optimize the entire garment finishing process.

It involves only 2 technologies in the entire finishing cycle, reducing waste and optimizing resources: LaserBlaze, and The All-in-One-System. Finally we use Metro, our software that processes real data, in real time to check all laundry consumption, optimizing processing times and improving performance.

The All-in-One System performs all washing operations by integrating 4 sustainable technologies into a single machine: ECOfree 2, which uses ozone in both the water and air; NoStone® for authentic and pumice-free stone-wash effects; UP, for washing processes with at least 50% less water; Core, a nebulizing system improving performance and reducing water consumption.

As a result of The Laundry (R )Evolution, Tonello developed two innovative and patent-pending processes: OBleach and Wake.

OBleach is the new Tonello process, which, by using only ozone, “returns to the future” with an authentic, sustainable and cool Bleach. Without chemicals.
This is possible thanks to a combination of the technologies part of our All-In-One System.
In short, the real Bleach without Bleach has finally arrived. And this in the year of the total ban of permanganate too.

Wake is the first totally natural dyeing system that uses only plants and biodegradable vegetable waste like flowers, berries and roots, without harmful chemicals additives.

The capsule collection will be displayed at KINGPINS24 on October 27th during the seminar held by Alice Tonello and Piero Turk.

A selected supply chain combined with big data model to shape a controlled eco-innovative change, for Bangladesh and the entire sector. The Kingpins Show Amsterdam (23-24 October 2019) is once again the chosen setting for GENESIS:M&J Group to present its highly innovative proposals and latest advancements in the world of garment manufacturing. The strategy behind the new approach of the Group’s leading facility is based on three main pillars: an accurate supply-chain selection, unique sustainable data control with START TO MEASURE™ system improved, and the development of safer work conditions and processes.

Confirming its prestigious partnerships with brands like Diesel, G-Star Raw, Jack & Jones, C&A and Celio, among many others, GENESIS brings on the stage of the world-renowned denim exhibition its vision to drive positive change in the sector. In the ever-changing denim and apparel scenario the company’s strategy aims at leading a forefront approach in major garment manufacturing, relying on high-quality standards and unprecedent technological innovation. The goal is not only to consolidate penetration in European markets, but also to provide an alternative model to fast-fashion standards.

• Bangladesh’s biggest denim expo takes place 5-6 November
• The show runs concurrently with the Sustainable Apparel Forum Bangladesh
• From 4-6 November, Bangladesh becomes the perfect meeting point for stakeholders in the global apparel industry

DHAKA - Responsibility is the theme of the 11th Bangladesh Denim Expo which takes place on 5th and 6th November at International Convention City in Bashundhara, Dhaka. The event, now firmly established as one of the world’s leading denim trade shows, runs alongside the Bangladesh Sustainable Apparel Forum.

Bangladesh Denim Expo

Around 100 exhibitors from 11 countries, including host Bangladesh, will participate in this year’s denim expo. Other participating countries are china, Japan, Italy, India, Singapore, Brazil, Spain, Pakistan, Turkey and Germany.

H&M Group is collaborating with Bangladesh Denim Expo for the forthcoming 11th edition of the event and a number of guest speakers will be present from the company, including Pierre Borjesson, head of sustainability, global production. Other guest speakers include Andrew Olah, the founder of Kingpins Denim show, Alice Tonello, R&D director with the Tonello Group, world renowned denim designer, Piero Turk and Jordi Juani, Asia regional director with Jeanologia.

Through a series of product displays, presentations, seminar sessions & panel discussions, the Expo will encourage healthy debate and interaction among exhibitors and visitors to champion a more responsible denim industry. One of these, of course, is sustainability and within this sits the issue of responsibility – an overriding theme of this year’s event. Denim manufacture faces huge challenges with regards its social and environmental responsibility, with production techniques having potentially far-reaching ramifications for the environment as well as people involved in the production process.

However, the industry and its supply chain are making impressive progress on these issues with Bangladesh – now the world’s largest producer of denim – leading the way in terms of addressing some of the sustainability challenges relating to denim production, including excessive use of water and chemicals. Mostafiz Uddin is the organiser of Bangladesh Denim Expo. Uddin has watched with interest the evolution of the denim industry, with each Expo marking continued and gradual progress being made by the more progressive players in the industry.

Uddin says: “The way that business and product development is conducted can have far reaching consequences on the environment, on the people that make the product and the product’s end use & life-span. “It is the duty of all stakeholders in the apparel industry to acknowledge this responsibility and to analyse our business practices, for the benefit of all.” Emphasising the theme of responsibility within Denim Expo is the fact that revenues from the expo support the running and presentation of the Sustainable Apparel Forum.

Sustainable Apparel Forum

The Sustainable Apparel Forum (SAF) is the biggest annual sustainable apparel event in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE) along with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) as co-organiser will jointly carry out the 2nd edition of the SAF on 5th Nov 2019.

This is the second edition of the Sustainable Apparel Forum, with the first-ever forum held in 2017 in Dhaka. The objective of this year’s forum is accelerating the momentum of sustainability in Bangladesh apparel industry.

The forum will see more than 50 speakers gathered from Bangladesh and overseas sharing expert opinions across five panel discussions covering current issues in the country’s apparel industry. These include human resources, transparency in business, water conservation, purchasing practices, sustainable chemical management, waste management, circular economy in textiles and climate change to name a few.

Additionally, the conference will host several knowledge building technical presentations from renowned organisations which will cover different issues relating to sustainability, including waste management, protection of the environment and better working conditions.

Speakers at the show include Md. Shahriar Alam, MP, Honourable State Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh, H. E. Benoit Préfonatine High Commissioner, High Commission of Canada, Bangladesh, and Dr. Rubana Huq President, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association, Sheikh Fazle Fahim, President, Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industries, Pierre Börjesson, Head of Sustainability – Global Production, H&M Group, Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director, International Labor Organization, Peter McCallister, Executive Director, Ethical Trading Initiative and H.E. Winnie Estrup Petersen Ambassador, Embassy of Denmark, Bangladesh.

Prior to this year’s conference, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh and the Sweden Embassy in Bangladesh will also co-host two roundtable discussion in collaboration with BAE and in association with BGMEA on 4 November, 2019, while H&M, Better Work Bangladesh and C&A Foundation are partners in the event.
The conference will be followed by showcasing different innovative, sustainable & best work practices in RMG manufacturing factories in Bangladesh. Following the discussions, a series of recommendations will be made, and a Sustainability Roadmap for the Bangladesh apparel industry will be formulated.

This year’s SAF promises to be the biggest yet. Added by Mr Mostafiz Uddin in the recent press briefing for the event: “The title for this year’s Sustainable Apparel Forum is enabling sustainability through policy and leadership. The time for talking on sustainability issues is over. It is now time for actions. That’s why the focus of this year’s show is on practical, pragmatic actions the textile industry can adopt to improve its environmental footprint.”

Garmon Chemicals confirms itself as a pioneer in chemistry specifically applied to garment treatment, at the forefront in terms of product research and active promotion on the sustainable issue. The Dutch show is the ideal stage to present a preview of the latest innovation born out of Garmon’s volcanic R&D department. It is Avol Lime, the revolutionary and ecologicallyadvanced neutralizing agent. Used in combination with Avol Oxy White (the bleaching agent that represents the safe alternative to potassium permanganate), it allows to obtain a fully safe and sustainable bleaching process.

white&green: solutions for eco-bleaching
white&green is the ultimate solution to obtain a safe and sustainable jeans discoloration process. The new line provides two avant-garde solutions: two highly performant products, both representing a safe and conscious alternative.
Two souls presenting unique characteristics:

The “white” soul

• the hightest level of whiteness
• superior bright shades
• stylish vintage looks
• extraordinary contrasts

The “green” soul

• safe alternative to dangerous products
• significant energy savings
• classified in ZDHC gateway (from level 1)
• greenofchange® approved

HUB 1922, the fashion division of the RUDOLF GROUP, takes the stage at the Kingpins Show in Amsterdam and presents new technologies that make it possible to move away from environmentally questionable industrial practices.
HUB 1922 also announces the opening of the new company building in an ancient textile factory near Milan.

It was only six months ago that the RUDOLF GROUP, with its fashion Division named HUB 1922, began its journey through the fascinating world of garment finishing. Since then, the team has made significant progress and has moved from being a newcomer to the business to a solid and reliable reality. “HUB 1922 introduces the Rudolf Group to design thinking,” says Alberto De Conti, Head of Fashion Division at Rudolf Group. “And when you break perceived restrictions and paradigms within a strongly science-driven organization, only sky is the limit.”

For an entire semester, the organisation remained focused on one, single goal without getting distracted from it: to become the partner of choice for environmentally conscious advancements in garment processing that are rooted in real experience and science.
Emphasis was put on listening attentively to the market and on engineering solutions proactively, without being prompted.

When it comes to Denim, two separate yet correlated calls for action were heard:
1. the need for a serious departure from established industrial practices that are environmentally questionable
2. the opportunity to change the current rules and stir toward enhanced product quality.