Following through on its commitment to exclusively using certified-organic cotton by 2023, sustainable denim brand Everlane debuted what it calls its cleanest denim to-date.
The brand introduced Clean Denim, a three-piece denim collection made with Candiani Denim’s organic cotton and Roica V550 blend fabrics.
Developed exclusively for Candiani by Roica’s parent company, Asahi Kasei, this version of Roica V550 yarn debuted in 2019 as the first C2C-certified Gold stretch fiber, and has since been featured in collections from brands like G-Star. Everlane is one of the first U.S. denim labels to use the fabric.
Unlike other stretch fibers that pose an environmental threat as they break down, the Roica V550 degrades without releasing any harmful substances, as verified and tested by Hohenstein Institute. The international research and testing company awarded the innovation its “environmental compatibility” certificate.
In addition to incorporating cleaner stretch fibers, the brand announced it’s moving all of its denim to organic cotton. Though Everlane has used organic cotton in denim before—and last year debuted a T-shirt made with GOTS-certified organic cotton grown and milled in India’s Madhya Pradesh region—this is the first complete collection to feature the fiber since setting that goal. All items in the Clean range feature 98.5 percent GOTS-certified organic cotton and 1.5 percent Roica. Each piece is produced with microplastic-free dyes and recycled trim.
Though Everlane has built its reputation on fair and transparent practices, its credentials were challenged last year when ethical fashion non-profit Remake released its 2020 Transparency Report and awarded the company a ranking of “Offender” for what it saw as a failure to provide details on workers and how they’re treated.
Everlane responded to the ranking by stating that it has always been transparent about factories and pricing, and that it’s working to make details surrounding its supply chain more accessible.
Though it only ventured into denim in 2017, the category has since become its top mover, bringing in an increasing number of new customers each quarter.
The Clean Denim collection includes high-rise baggy jeans, high-rise denim shorts with a frayed hem and a denim jacket, all available in light and dark washes.