G-Star RAW’s new stretch denim collection was designed to be upcycled
Image credit: G-Star RAW
Dutch denim giant G-Star RAW has continued to up its own ante when it comes
to helping to clean up denim — the conventional production of which is
notoriously polluting and
water-intensive:
The brand has been working to recycle its jeans into
new
since 2012; released the first-ever Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Gold level-certified
denim in
late 2017 (check out G-Star’s complete collection of sustainable
denim ...).
Now, its Spring 2020 line of men’s and women’s jackets and jeans is 100 percent
recyclable — each piece made from organic cotton, blended with a sustainable
stretch fiber. The brand says the items are created using only renewable energy
and zero toxic chemicals, and all water used during the wash process is
recycled. The brand’s dedication to sustainable design and materials earned it
what, to date, had been the highest denim product certification yet issued by
the Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute — at least until late last
month, when …
C&A launches world’s most sustainable denim: Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Platinum
Image credit: C&A
Circularity by Design: How to Influence Sustainable Consumer Behaviors
Join us Thursday, December 5, at 1pm ET for a free webinar on making circular behaviors the easy choice! Nudge & behavioral design expert Sille Krukow will explore the power of Consumer Behavior Design to drive circular decision-making and encourage behaviors including recycling and using take-back services. She will share key insights on consumer psychology, behavior design related to in-store and on-pack experiences, and how small changes in the environment can help make it easy for consumers to choose circularity.
European fashion retailer C&A — already a pioneer in C2C-certified textiles
since the release of the first Cradle to Cradle Certified™ GOLD
T-shirts
in 2017 and denim
garments
in 2018 — has grabbed the baton, last week unveiling another world’s first with
Rajby Textiles’ Beluga
Denim,
the first fabric ever to be awarded Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Platinum. The
fabric was introduced on Friday at the C2C Congress
2020 in Berlin.
To create what is now considered the world’s most sustainable denim, C&A
partnered with long-term supplier Rajby and advisor Eco Intelligent Growth
(EIG), which collaborated
with MBDC on the material health assessment component of the
multi-faceted certification.
Read more about Beluga
Denim …
Genomatica, Aquafil create industry-first sustainable nylon
Image credit: Genomatica/YouTube
Meanwhile, nylon is the first completely synthetic fiber to be made into consumer
products; these days, the strong and versatile material has become nearly
ubiquitous in its applications, especially in textiles — where it can found in
everything from apparel to rope and carpet. Unfortunately, traditional
production methods of the wonder fiber, which is made from crude oil, emit an
estimated 60 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
Enter
Genomatica
— the San Diego-based bioengineering firm that develops biobased and renewable
alternatives to a host of widely used materials and chemicals, with a goal of
enabling more sustainable everyday products. The company has led the industry by
creating a renewable form of
1,4-butanediol
(BDO) — an organic compound that is widely used for the production of plastics,
solvents, electronic chemicals and elastic fibers. It has followed with other
bio-based alternatives such as its Brontide™ butylene glycol, which is
revolutionizing products such as personal care
drops;
and has been hard at work for the past several years developing renewable nylon
intermediates,
and partnering with
ECONYL
producer Aquafil, to develop a commercially advantageous process for
producing biobased
caprolactam
— a key ingredient used in producing Aquafil’s signature 100
percent sustainable
nylon.
Now, Genomatica and Aquafil are celebrating their production of the world’s
first renewably sourced ton of the key ingredient for nylon-6 — made from
plants, instead of crude oil. Here’s a video that CEO Christophe Schilling made
last year, describing the process of developing a plant-based nylon alternative:
Read more about Genomatica’s breakthrough in renewable
nylon
…
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Feb 5, 2020 1pm EST / 10am PST / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET