Denim sustainability & innovation: Responsible colour

The denim industry has long been discussing the ways to convert its dyeing process into a more sustainable approach, but with consumers increasingly looking to shop consciously, brands are continuing their pursuit for sustainable and innovative options in their production.  

With WGSN on the ground at significant denim tradeshows and discussing innovative developments with suppliers and industry professionals, we regularly release key intelligence reports that take our learnings and combine them with creative and environmental concerns, which also focus on the uncertainty around economic challenges, to give digestible and actionable approaches to the denim market. 

In our recent report, Sustainability & Innovation: Denim Responsible Colour, we explore trends that can lower the chemical and carbon impact of denim colour processing, from innovative indigo solutions to zero-waste colour. See below two trends we highlighted in the report. 

Zero-waste colour

"Textile waste turns into dyestuff, either pounding coloured textiles to a powder pigment or creating a dye from colour lifted from textile waste to save products from landfill to ensure a step towards a circular economy.”
– Nicole Ajimal, Fabric and Sourcing Strategist, WGSN Fashion

Mineral dyes

“Another natural dyeing route seeing innovation uses minerals such as clay and sand, a technique rooted in ancestral processes that have skin-friendly antibacterial benefits and can safely biodegrade at end of life.”
– Nicole Ajimal, Fabric and Sourcing Strategist, WGSN Fashion

The report also looks at best practices with examples currently being used within the denim industry, working towards a transparent supply chain. Get access to WGSN here if you like to read the full report and see these and many other trends that are shaping the future of the denim market.