Long-time partners in sustainability, Candiani Denim and Denham the Jeanmaker teamed up to launch this week the world’s first biodegradable stretch denim.
Part of Denham’s new “Life is Movement” collection of jeans, the denim is created with Candiani’s patented plant-based Coreva Stretch Technology.
The Italian denim mill created this denim from organic cotton wrapped around a natural rubber core. By replacing the common synthetic and petrol-based elastomers with a new, custom-engineered component, Candiani said it has created an innovative biodegradable stretch denim fabric without compromising elasticity and recovery properties.
The result means brands can offer stretch jeans made from renewable resources and free from plastics and micro-plastics.
“In a world where resources are diminishing and landfills are overflowing with discarded garments, it’s our duty to look for renewable resources, in addition to biodegradable and compostable materials,” said Alberto Candiani, owner of Candiani Denim. “Denim has to take the lead as the indigo flag of this revolution. We are not doing this because there is a demand, but because it’s the right thing to do.”
The first range of bio-stretch selvedge is exclusive to Denham, and available immediately at Denham stores and on its website. The collection includes limited and individually numbered jeans in its signature York and Razor styles for men.
Biodegradable components have been an area of investment for Candiani. In 2018, the mill debuted its 80th anniversary fabric, ReGen, a rigid selvedge fabric composed of 50 percent Refibra fibers and 50 percent recycled fibers. The fabric won the ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award, held in conjunction with the ITMA 2019 textile machinery trade show in June.
In Spring 2019, Candiani released a stretch version, ReLast, made with a recycled elastomer developed excusively for the mill by Asahi Kasei. At Kingpins Amsterdam in October, Candiani rolled out the last of its “Re” family of fabrics, ReSolve, a fabric made with organic cotton and a degradable stretch yarn.
