LOOKING TOWARDS A FUTURE MATERIAL LANDSCAPE INCORPORATING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FROM BOSSA
In an increasingly volatile environment since the start of the year, the fashion industry is currently facing the greatest challenge of rebuilding a supply chain heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For many forward-thinking companies, however, it also means new and urgent opportunities to integrate sustainability principles and actions that protect the people and environments impacted in the short-term, while working towards a more sustainable future in the long-term by accelerating innovative technologies and strategies.
Outside their own operations, companies are also facing a severe shift in consumer habits: “Two thirds of consumers state that sustainability has become a more important priority to combat climate change following COVID-19.” (McKinsey post COVID-19 consumer survey, from CEO Agenda 2020 Covid 19 Edition).
“Fashion players must harness these innovations and scale up those that work in order to make radical and enduring changes to their organizations — and to the wider industry — after the dust settles.” The State of Fashion, 2020 — Coronavirus update, and McKinsey report
Investing in innovative production technologies is one important way to support a sustainable business model. BOSSA, a core exhibitor mill at the Future Fabrics Expo for two years in a row, has been developing innovative manufacturing processes that focus on energy efficiency, water conservation, and textile recycling for the denim industry.
Bossa’s visionary approach also includes investment in a blockchain technology that benefits their own internal mapping along the value chain, and enables transparency for the consumer. The technology, called D- CHRONICLES, has been created in partnership with FIBRETRACE, featuring a smart label inside the garment that means the consumer can track and trace every step of the supply chain with their smart phone, from the raw material, right through to the finished garment. With this new blockchain technology, all actors within Bossa’s supply chain can be accountable for the information that is committed to the chain of custody, and the consumer experiences an enlightening connection to the entire product journey.
BOSSA has also made further advancements on their SAVEBLU+ concept, which is a new way of salvaging and reclaiming wastewater within their supply chain during the dyeing and finishing processes. The warp-dyeing process does not use caustic chemicals and saves 85% of water in comparison to conventional dyeing.
We spoke to BOSSA about their vision on what a post-pandemic world will entail and what their goals and plans will be moving forward.
BOSSA: We know that the situation caused by COVID 19 is affecting everyone around the world. We want to ensure that people within the industry: from consumers to factory workers know that we are trying to play a big role in this situation, more than ever before. This means continuing to develop our materials within our collection that will help enable the protection and preservation of the environment.
At the start of our establishment, BOSSA adopted the three major R’s in our policies: recycle, reduce, and re-use, which aims to prevent waste and conserve natural resources. These systems will continue to help maintain critical impacts on the environment and will sustain a system where natural resources are renewed and waste will never be accumulated. At BOSSA, we are continuing to push boundaries, and are currently developing a zero-waste, closed-loop life cycle within our manufacturing facility.
In our last interview together, Bossa had just released post-consumer recycled denim (PCRD) blends. Have brands picked up on this trend?
BOSSA: We have different projects with our PCRD production with multiple brands like Nudie, Kuyichi, Mango, etc. You can watch our videos from our YouTube channel about this project and production process:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkYEajTg2Ag
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfuGwcEYl80&t=17s
How do you think fashion can have a positive impact on nature and communities?
BOSSA: Fashion is a complicated industry that involves long and varied supply chains: from raw material, textile manufacture, clothing construction, shipping, retail, use, to the disposal of the garment.
At BOSSA, we lead one of the largest textile mills in Turkey, and have been actively involved in the protection and preservation of the environment since our establishment. The rapid rise of conventional cotton has had a significant impact, causing ecological and environmental damage. The rising awareness of this irreversible damage has provoked mills and manufacturers to actively play their roles to try and revert this.
BOSSA R&D department has done a lot of work to produce first-class yarn. Since the beginning of this year, BOSSA has started to use all of our textile offcuts in our manufacturing. This will lead us towards a zero-waste policy, which will hopefully inspire other stakeholders in the denim industry to adopt these practices within their supply chain.
