Denim Resolution: An Interview with Kipas Textiles

21st May 2020     News

 

Kipas Textiles is one of the largest sustainable yarn, fabric and denim manufacturers in Europe, and a featured core exhibitor at our 9th Future Fabrics Expo. The vertically-integrated textile mill recently co-created a circular textiles innovation with the brand Tommy Hilfiger, who launched a 100% recycled cotton denim last year, far exceeding the industry standard average content of 30% recycled cotton. 

 

To create this 100% recycled cotton, Kipas’ innovative research and development team applied pre-consumer cotton waste in a mechanical separation process (ref: Sourcing Journal) to retrieve fibres and create yarns that could be woven into new denim fabric. Compared to conventional fabrics, this 100% recycled fabric is also produced using significantly less water, fewer chemicals, and less energy.

 

Although Kipas Textiles works behind-the-scenes, the company has an extensive reach, with an annual production capacity of 80 million meters of fabric, a daily production of 330 tonnes of yarn, over 5 million garments annually, and over 6500 employees. Based in Turkey, Kipas Textiles has several divisions across the textile production chain, and their Denim division in particular has over 1500 employees and produces 50 million meters of fabric.  Kipas is also part of the Ellen MacArthur’s The Jeans Redesign project — an industry-wide collective project that aims to transition denim production towards a circular economy. Kipas also has long-term partnerships with Lenzing Group for their fibres, such as EcoVero™, Tencel™ and Refibra™, which support raw material sources and processing innovations that do not contribute to the loss or degradation of natural forests.

 

 

We were excited to have Kipas join our 9th Future Fabrics Expo in January 2020 for the first time, and sat down with a member of their team to find out more about their denim recycling processes, their upcoming innovations and their business ethos.  

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What are the main sustainable products Kipas creates, and what key aspects make them more sustainable than conventionally-produced denim?

 

Kipas Textiles ensures sustainable production with minimum resource usage in water, energy, and  hazardous discharges, while also applying maximum recycling technologies. Sustainability is at the core of our thinking when we develop a new fabric. We are tackling waste and pollution through via environmentally-friendly production methods and the latest recycling technologies. 

 

Our main and latest sustainable products include:

 

Low-impact finishing techniques, such as using laser to digitise the design and development of denim finishing to create the desired look without harmful practices such as sandblasting. Our latest development of Innotech fabrics does not use water during the fabric finishing process, and consumes less water during the indigo dyeing process because of our ConservBlue eco-friendly dyeing method. This is a real game changer in water savings.

 

“Resolution” fabrics is a collection that was developed with a sustainable approach to fibre compositions at the forefront of the development process. In this concept, we emphasise durability, recyclability, minimal waste, and minimal use of natural resources. We have produced fibres with a low environmental impact on nature, such as linen, hemp, TENCEL™, and TENCEL™ Modal (including mixtures like 50% hemp / 50% TENCEL™ for a soft touch).  

 

FIT-ID (Identity driven fit), is an interactive denim technology geared to deliver individual user-experience with high elasticity and cotton content for maximum comfort and softness. With this feature, we minimise the risk of buying wrong size jeans, which is especially convenient for online shopping.

 

ConservBlue is an eco-friendly dyeing method by Kipas Denim that uses 94% less water and 23% fewer energy sources. The dye lost during the washing process is also recycled for reuse. In 2019, the pre-treatment system in our facility was used to recycle 42% of wastewater.

 

 

How do recycled materials play a part in the future landscape of the denim industry?

 

Less than 1% of the material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing, representing a loss of natural resources and therefore compromising the planet for future generations. It is our mission to reduce, reuse, and recycle industrial waste, to keep materials in use once a product and its components can no longer be reused or repaired. In the process of recycling waste materials, less energy is consumed compared to the energy required to convert raw materials into products. Through our partnership with Unifi for the supply of Repreve® fibres – which is produced with less energy, water, and less carbon footprint – Kipas Textiles has contributed to the recycling of 180 million plastic bottles (up to 2019). 

 

Then, together with our customers like IKEA and Tommy Hilfiger, we aim to increase consumer awareness and provide them with more in-depth knowledge about sustainability in fashion.

 

The denim industry is heavily dependent on water, which is a scarce resource. What is Kipas doing to reduce its reliance?

 

Our recent development of Innotech fabrics were produced with a zero-water finishing method. IN addition, we’ve developed ‘Conserv Blue’, which is an eco-friendly dyeing method that uses 94% less water and 23% fewer energy sources. The dye lost during the washing process is also recycled for reuse. In 2019, the pre-treatment system in our facility was used to recycle 42% of wastewater. Our target is to operate with 100% recycled water throughout entire production by 2025. 

 

 

What are your goals and plans moving forward?

 

Sustainable production is in our DNA, and we are committed to make a positive impact in the fashion and textile industry. Kipas’ spinning mill is committed to improving cotton farming practices globally. We are producing 60% of our products with sustainable resources, recycling 100% of production waste, and embracing waste as a revenue. Our goal is to use 100% sustainable resources in 2025.

 

We are also climate positive. We consume 15% less energy per meter with Industry 4.0 investments and since 2019, 100% of our energy comes from our own renewable resources, meaning our electricity-induced carbon footprint has decreased by 97%. We use CO2 to neutralise our wastewater, which therefore emits less carbon into nature. Our target is to become carbon neutral by 2025.

 

Sustainability will be a major focus in the 2020s, and consumers will be redefining their relationship with products by embracing circularity. In the face of rapid change in the world, recycling and circular production processes will be championed. The materials of the past will become revenue for the future.

 

Our vision is to lead the change towards circular and renewable industries while being a fair and reliable company. Using our size and scale, we are working to catalyse systemic changes across our own operations, our entire value chain and the wider industry. In this way, we can continue to engage our customers and provide good products – today, and in the future.

 

 

 

Discover more about Kipas Textiles here: 

 Website  | Instagram – Kipas Denim | Instagram – Kipas Textile | Facebook | LinkedIn 

 

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