After being dressed to the nines in loungewear during Covid-19, many consumers are unwilling to give up clothing made with stretch blends—a popular, yet hard to recycle, fabric. However, one Turkish manufacturer has found a sustainable alternative that is 100 percent circular.
Established in 2012 as an integrated yarn spinning and weaving mill, Maritaş Denim has always placed an emphasis on using eco-friendly textile materials during production and in raising environmental awareness.
In line with its vision for a more sustainable future, Maritaş Denim has produced a new collection, CYCLE-FX, which utilizes sustainable stretch solutions.
But while stretch in denim surged amid new post-pandemic comfort demands, stretch and stretch-blends can be notoriously difficult to recycle.
Before creating CYCLE-FX, Maritaş Denim noticed one of the textile industry’s biggest challenges was the incorporation of blended fabrics and synthetic components with high percentage in composition, which prevented denim from being recycled.
To combat this, Maritaş Denim created CYCLE-FX—part of its Fall/Winter 2023-2024 collection—which contains elastane (a material that provides stretch) and recycled cotton. This makes it 100 percent circular with no supportive synthetic yarn and with “more special” qualities than some other high-elastic stretch fabrics, according to the company.
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“At Maritaş, we focus on sustainable development and change. While Maritaş Denim is a young company, we live and work for products that will reverse the existing impacts of the industrial revolution,” said Fatih Kesim, general manager of Maritaş Denim. “We dedicate ourselves to innovation and development that will harmonize nature and people.”
Unlike other brands that have been selling stretch fabric with recycled fibers in them—like recycled cotton or polyester—CYCLE-FX is “much more than that.” In fact, CYCLE-FX contains stretch technology that allows consumers to recycle the denim once it’s no longer desirable or wearable. “This is the only recyclable or suitable circular life high-elastic stretch fabric,” Kesim said.
“Achieving a sustainable future for people and nature is possible with existing and expected technology adaptations to each other, but only with major shifts in development and production areas,” Kesim added. “Making these shifts will require a willingness to think and act differently by putting technological development and the environment on equal footings.”
Looking toward the future
CYCLE-FX is just the beginning for Maritaş Denim. Now, Maritaş is taking it one step further and focusing on the use of regenerative cotton products for its future collections.
While Maritaş was using licensed regenerative cotton in previous seasons, the company recently joined forces with Harran University. Their regenerative cotton project will be held in Harran plain in “the heart” of southeastern Turkey and one of the most important agricultural areas, according to the Maritaş Denim team.
“In 2023, we plan to receive the cotton and generate products accordingly. Additionally, we plan on creating a detailed report that will research and report on the challenges, benefits and help others understand and develop best practices on regenerative cotton,” Kesim said. “We hope this project will be a sustainable and regenerative guide for the future of our industry.”
To learn more about Maritaş Denim click here.