A tie-up between denim brand Triarchy, fabric producer AGI Denim, recycled cellulose dissolving pulp manufacturer Renewcell, threadmaker Coats, technology developer Jeanologia and laundry auxiliaries and colourants supplier Kaiser Tekstil has resulted in Cellsius, a five-piece denim capsule described as the result of “designing with the earth in mind”.
Comprising a pair of jeans, a jacket, a tunic dress, a vest and shorts, the collection is fully recyclable, according to its maker, having been produced in line with Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s circularity minded Jeans Redesign guidelines. It is exclusively available for purchase via retail partner Neiman Marcus and Los Angeles-based Triarchy’s own website.
Importantly, the fabric is a 100% cellulosic blend, containing 70% organic cotton fibres, 21% viscose from sustainably managed forests and 9% Circulose pulp, Renewcell’s flagship ingredient brand made from cotton-rich textile waste such as used jeanswear articles. AGI partner Coats provided its water-soluble EcoCycle threads, which afforded the manufacturer opportunity to assess EcoCycle’s suitability in denims designed for not only long-lasting durability, but also easy disassembly and recycling at end of life.
Later, Jeanologia lasers were used to facilitate an eco-friendlier dry finishing process, whereas Kaiser-supplied ozone bleach and pumice stone-free enzymes helped eliminate “harmful chemicals” from the wet process.
Instead of conventional zippers, biodegradable lyocell-fibre buttons were used for fastenings where required.
AGI’s own ReFresh system, which uses only 100% recycled wastewater, played an important role, from dyeing and finishing through washing. Executive director, Ahmed Javed, called the various processes behind the capsule both radical and responsible, paying tribute to the business’ supply chain partners.
“We hope this collaboration acts as a blueprint for scaling circular manufacturing,” he said, “as it creates a business model that can bring about collective action for better clothes”.
The vertical denim manufacturer notably announced it had become “the only textile company worldwide” to obtain end-to-end LEED Gold certification in February, after its fabric unit followed its spinning mill and garment facilities in achieving gold-level certification earlier this year.
Coats, Renewcell and Triarchy all discussed the challenges of textile-to-textile recycling alongside AGI and Ani Wells from Simply Suzette during Kingpins Amsterdam last October.