The latest edition of Kingpins24 Amsterdam, taking place digitally, gathered the denim community once again from April 20 to April 22. The SPIN OFF selected some of the most interesting innovations and projects presented during the last edition of the blue cloth–centered marathon.
Henry Wong, product development director, AGI Denim:
"Hemp, especially in its cottonized form, is an emerging winner in the world of fibers that can be used to create denim jeans. AGI has invested in new facilities designed to maximize yarn and fabric quality with inputs like cottonized hemp and recycled fibers. Among our latest developments there is our Cradle to Cradle certified HempX material. The award recognizes product achievement in environmental and social performance across five critical sustainability categories: material health, material reuse, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship and social fairness.” 
Junaid Sadfar, executive director, Beximco Denims:
“We have developed Transparent Hues, our lowest-impact environmental dyeing process through which we have eliminated water consumption by 90%, we replaced conventional chemical with organic chemicals, we don’t produce any salt, we don’t throw out any dye but recover and reuse it many times. This process can be used for darker shades or sulfur colors and can replace every conventional technology.” 
Calik Denim, video presentation:
“Thanks to Calik Denim’s Dyepro technology, it can dye its warp through a completely water-free technology. Besides, no chemical waste occurs during dyeing as the chemicals are reused. Calik Denim commits to apply the Dyepro technology to all of its indigo-dyed products by 2025.” 
Enrique Silla, president, Jeanologia:
“Jeanologia and Cone Denim have partnered together for the Mission Zero project which aims to eliminate 100% of jeanswear waste from the fabric to the final garment by 2025.” 
Steve Maggard, president, Cone Denim:
“Cone currently uses Jeanologia’s G2 Ozone finishing ranges, lasers and Bluescan machinery. Additionally, it will install a Zero Liquid Discharge wastewater treatment system in our mill in Cone Denim Parras in Northern Mexico. It will enable us to make significant advances towards Cone’s 2025 water usage reduction goal. Our Zero Liquid Discharge wastewater treatment facility will recycle 90% of the water used at the facility back into the manufacturing process, leaving only a small amount of water that is lost due to evaporation needing to be replaced with fresh water. No wastewater will be discharged into the environment and once completely operational this summer, the Zero Liquid Discharge facility will save over 140 million gallons of water a year–the equivalent of 16,000 gallons per hour.” 
Jean Hegedus, director of sustainability, The Lycra Company:
“We are happy to unveil The Lycra Company’s newest, sustainable innovations Coolmax and Thermolite EcoMade made from 100% textile waste. This technology–we achieved it in collaboration with Itochu Corporation–is the first of a number of planned innovations from The Lycra Company aimed at advancing the circular economy. We’re excited about taking this first step toward circularity.”
Miles Johnson, designer:
“I collaborated with Crescent Bahuman’s (CBL) to create the new hemp collection ‘Now or Never’ inspired by the climate change protests of the Sixties and of today. I think hemp is the future for a more sustainable denim industry.” 
Zaki Saleemi, vice president, Crescent Bahuman Ltd:
“Crescent Bahuman’s collaboration with Miles Johnson expresses the constant desire to push the boundaries of eco-fashion. This unique collection not only boasts a high content of hemp but also utilizes sustainable, waterless dyeing methods, core spun hemp yarn techniques, ecru hemp and 100% sustainable blends of hemp, Tencel, Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) cotton and organic cotton. Cotton-free blends of hemp and Tencel replicating the feel and character of cotton are a part of the collection.”
Michael Kininmonth, project manager, Lenzing:
“Lenzing has unveiled Bast Recast, a new Tencel Lyocell Hemp denim capsule collection that showcases how such blends can be used and capture the industry zeitgeist. The collection offers conventional and cottonized hemp from a fabric collection by Naveena Denim Limited and other industry players including Endrime, Jeanologia, Crafil, Officina+39 and Warp Face.” 
Aydan Tuzun, executive director of global sales and marketing, Naveena Denim Mills:
“Naveena Denim Mills is launching the Stays Fresh technology from Polygiene. Thanks to it, clothes remain fresh and odor-free, so they can be washed less frequently. Consumer use stands for the majority, approximately 2/3 of the environmental footprint of a garment. Indeed, consumers can reduce the environmental impact of apparel by simply washing clothes less frequently. We hope our new Stays Fresh technology inspires consumers to wear their garments more, wash them less and make them last longer.
According to Polygiene’s calculations by skipping one wash every three ones, a consumer can save 40% water, 45% energy and 1.5 hours per week which makes nine days in a year for an estimated amount of nearly US$500. Only by saving every tenth wash, we could save 47 million tons of CO2 and 4.5 billion of cubic meters of fresh water globally.” 
Menno van Meurs, owner, Tenue de Nimes, Amsterdam:
“During this time we were closed, we did lots of experimenting and product development. We also took some fabrics from selvedge denim White Oak Cone Denim and produced a selection of kimonos we sold out in 24 minutes. Our friends at Candiani gave us some rolls of selvedge denim, and did the same with it. And when all those fabrics were sold out we opened our archives and found an amazing Navajo design fabric we also transformed into kimonos. So basically nobody covered with some fabrics is safe with us as we are going to make everything become a kimono right now.” 
Dr. Sedef Uncu Aki, sales & marketing, sustainability, PD, R&D, planning and operations director, Orta:
"In the world only 8.5% is recycled. In the textile industry the circularity rate is even lower than that as only 1% of the fiber for clothing is recycled into new clothing representing a loss of more than US$100 billion worth of materials each year and most of the recycled material is recycled into lower value applications like cleaning cloths, insulation cloths and mattress stuffing. Recently we have partnered with Gama, a recycling center in Turkey. We send Gama our textile waste, and they send us the recycled fiber that we can use in new denim fiber production for beautiful new products.” 
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Henry Wong, product development director, AGI Denim:
"Hemp, especially in its cottonized form, is an emerging winner in the world of fibers that can be used to create denim jeans. AGI has invested in new facilities designed to maximize yarn and fabric quality with inputs like cottonized hemp and recycled fibers. Among our latest developments there is our Cradle to Cradle certified HempX material. The award recognizes product achievement in environmental and social performance across five critical sustainability categories: material health, material reuse, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship and social fairness.”
Photo: Screenshot KP24
Henry Wong, product development director, AGI Denim
Junaid Sadfar, executive director, Beximco Denims:
“We have developed Transparent Hues, our lowest-impact environmental dyeing process through which we have eliminated water consumption by 90%, we replaced conventional chemical with organic chemicals, we don’t produce any salt, we don’t throw out any dye but recover and reuse it many times. This process can be used for darker shades or sulfur colors and can replace every conventional technology.”
Photo: Screenshot KP24
Junaid Sadfar, executive director, Beximco Denims
Calik Denim, video presentation:
“Thanks to Calik Denim’s Dyepro technology, it can dye its warp through a completely water-free technology. Besides, no chemical waste occurs during dyeing as the chemicals are reused. Calik Denim commits to apply the Dyepro technology to all of its indigo-dyed products by 2025.”
Photo: Calik Denim
Calik Dyepro campaign image
Enrique Silla, president, Jeanologia:
“Jeanologia and Cone Denim have partnered together for the Mission Zero project which aims to eliminate 100% of jeanswear waste from the fabric to the final garment by 2025.”
Photo: Jeanologia/Cone Denim
Road To Mission Zero Collection by Jeanologia and Cone Denim
Steve Maggard, president, Cone Denim:
“Cone currently uses Jeanologia’s G2 Ozone finishing ranges, lasers and Bluescan machinery. Additionally, it will install a Zero Liquid Discharge wastewater treatment system in our mill in Cone Denim Parras in Northern Mexico. It will enable us to make significant advances towards Cone’s 2025 water usage reduction goal. Our Zero Liquid Discharge wastewater treatment facility will recycle 90% of the water used at the facility back into the manufacturing process, leaving only a small amount of water that is lost due to evaporation needing to be replaced with fresh water. No wastewater will be discharged into the environment and once completely operational this summer, the Zero Liquid Discharge facility will save over 140 million gallons of water a year–the equivalent of 16,000 gallons per hour.”
Photo: Cone Denim
Cone Denim video presentation of its Blue Selvedge denim (screenshot)
Jean Hegedus, director of sustainability, The Lycra Company:
“We are happy to unveil The Lycra Company’s newest, sustainable innovations Coolmax and Thermolite EcoMade made from 100% textile waste. This technology–we achieved it in collaboration with Itochu Corporation–is the first of a number of planned innovations from The Lycra Company aimed at advancing the circular economy. We’re excited about taking this first step toward circularity.”
Steve Stewart, chief innovation officer, The Lycra Company:
“We are all different in sizes. We might have put on some weight or might have found a jean we like whose fit is not exactly right for us–which can all be particularly frustrating. Today we can share the right solution to help consumers find that great pair of well-fitting jeans across the wide range of body shapes and sizes.
Lycra Freef!t technology is our innovative yarn and fabric innovation that delivers optimum stretch, recovery and retractive power to have a wider fit window. It has characteristics like high, easy stretch and lower compressive force. It has low growth and shrinkage properties and a soft hand. It utilizes both Lycra fiber and Lycra T400, as part of the Lycra DualFX platform technology. This can really help support brands and retailers to develop extra sizing, not only to reduce SKUs but also to increase consumer satisfaction, as one size can be worn by more sizes.”
Photo: The Lycra Company
The Lycra Company's Lycra fiber for denim (image pic)
Miles Johnson, designer:
“I collaborated with Crescent Bahuman’s (CBL) to create the new hemp collection ‘Now or Never’ inspired by the climate change protests of the Sixties and of today. I think hemp is the future for a more sustainable denim industry.”
Photo: Screenshot Kingpins
Miles Johnson, designer
Zaki Saleemi, vice president, Crescent Bahuman Ltd:
“Crescent Bahuman’s collaboration with Miles Johnson expresses the constant desire to push the boundaries of eco-fashion. This unique collection not only boasts a high content of hemp but also utilizes sustainable, waterless dyeing methods, core spun hemp yarn techniques, ecru hemp and 100% sustainable blends of hemp, Tencel, Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) cotton and organic cotton. Cotton-free blends of hemp and Tencel replicating the feel and character of cotton are a part of the collection.”
Michael Kininmonth, project manager, Lenzing:
“Lenzing has unveiled Bast Recast, a new Tencel Lyocell Hemp denim capsule collection that showcases how such blends can be used and capture the industry zeitgeist. The collection offers conventional and cottonized hemp from a fabric collection by Naveena Denim Limited and other industry players including Endrime, Jeanologia, Crafil, Officina+39 and Warp Face.”
Photo: Nick Clements/Tencel
Look of Bast Recast, a new Tencel Lyocell Hemp denim capsule collection
Aydan Tuzun, executive director of global sales and marketing, Naveena Denim Mills:
“Naveena Denim Mills is launching the Stays Fresh technology from Polygiene. Thanks to it, clothes remain fresh and odor-free, so they can be washed less frequently. Consumer use stands for the majority, approximately 2/3 of the environmental footprint of a garment. Indeed, consumers can reduce the environmental impact of apparel by simply washing clothes less frequently. We hope our new Stays Fresh technology inspires consumers to wear their garments more, wash them less and make them last longer.
According to Polygiene’s calculations by skipping one wash every three ones, a consumer can save 40% water, 45% energy and 1.5 hours per week which makes nine days in a year for an estimated amount of nearly US$500. Only by saving every tenth wash, we could save 47 million tons of CO2 and 4.5 billion of cubic meters of fresh water globally.”
Photo: Naveena Denim Mills
Naveena Denim Mills video presentation (screenshot)
Menno van Meurs, owner, Tenue de Nimes, Amsterdam:
“During this time we were closed, we did lots of experimenting and product development. We also took some fabrics from selvedge denim White Oak Cone Denim and produced a selection of kimonos we sold out in 24 minutes. Our friends at Candiani gave us some rolls of selvedge denim, and did the same with it. And when all those fabrics were sold out we opened our archives and found an amazing Navajo design fabric we also transformed into kimonos. So basically nobody covered with some fabrics is safe with us as we are going to make everything become a kimono right now.”
Photo: Screenshot Kingpins
Menno van Meurs, owner, Tenue de Nimes
Dr. Sedef Uncu Aki, sales & marketing, sustainability, PD, R&D, planning and operations director, Orta:
"In the world only 8.5% is recycled. In the textile industry the circularity rate is even lower than that as only 1% of the fiber for clothing is recycled into new clothing representing a loss of more than US$100 billion worth of materials each year and most of the recycled material is recycled into lower value applications like cleaning cloths, insulation cloths and mattress stuffing. Recently we have partnered with Gama, a recycling center in Turkey. We send Gama our textile waste, and they send us the recycled fiber that we can use in new denim fiber production for beautiful new products.”
Photo: Screenshot Kingpins
Dr. Sedef Uncu Aki, sales & marketing, sustainability, PD, R&D, planning and operations director, Orta
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