The denim washing industry and many other denim brands such as Levi’s, H&M, M&S, KMART and UNIQLO have all made an effort to make changes to the industry, in order to make it more sustainable and adapt to using a greener manufacturing system.

There have recently been a lot of developments around the denim industry, all of which focus on reducing water, or cutting it out completely, to new software being developed to help the denim industry move into becoming more sustainable. Companies such as Levi, UNIQLO have made a substantial contribution to creating a greener manufacturing process for the denim washing industry. Levi designed a new version of their denim called Levi’s WaterLess and managed to conserve 3.5 billion litres of water throughout the manufacturing finishing stage. Furthermore, UNIQLO collaborated with the Jeans Innovation Center (JIC) and through using engraving, nano-bubble technology, ozone washing and water recycling, which are all excellent, more sustainable editions to the manufacturing process, UNIQLO managed to reduce their water wastage by 90%.

These adaptions to a more sustainable, innovative, greener manufacturing process, showcase how important involving new software in a process can be. Previous additions to the process have included software such as water-free laser technology, e-flow systems, eco-wash and sustainable dye technology. These innovations were placed into the manufacturing process to make it greener and more sustainable through their design enabling them to monitor water usage, save energy and reduce pollution. All these new changes come with two measuring systems that track the process of denim washing and what goes into the process. These systems are, Environmental Impact Measuring (EIM) software which evaluates the environmental effects laundry processes have, while Environmental Score (eScore) software tracks resource consumption by machines for comparative analysis. On top of this Gujarat-based denim manufacturer Avadat Apparels and Nuvate It Solutions have created a new system called, Wash It laundry ERP. This system focuses on the sustainability of all the washing processes occurring and streamlines laundry planning, data management and chemical and water optimisation. Ensuring the denim washing industry is becoming more sustainable and is adopting a greener manufacturing process which is always improving.

Siddharth Wilson, VP of Production and Washing (Denims), Spykar Lifestyles commented, “It is very important to adapt innovations. We as a brand are stepping into the sustainable processes by introducing RE:MINED – an initiative that reduces freshwater consumption by recycling and reusing treated water, low-impact laundry processes using state-of-the-art technology and ecological chemicals promoting a non-hazardous workplace for our labour force, resulting in reduced impact on our environment and people.”