Exhibitors at Kingpins Amsterdam last week presented their Spring/Summer 2021 investments in denim’s future, prioritiaing alternative fibers, smart blends and biodegradable components. Arvind presented Hemp Exotica, a range of hemp blended denim touted for its durability, anti-microbial, UV and abrasion-resistant properties. Hemp was a small piece of ADM’s collection, which emphasised recycled materials and alternative organic chemicals. The mill is using a liquid black without sulfate, reducing its impact on the environment by 60 percent.

Kaltex presented a focused group of 37 SKUs besides highlighting areas where it is using Repreve polyester, post-consumer waste, scraps from its own factory, and recycled ring-dyed yarn for efficient laser finishing. The mill’s Stacked grouping combines these eco concepts to tell a complete sustainable story.

For its Modern Retro collection, Cone Denim is pumping up the amount of Tencel and Tencel x Refibra going into fabrics, and post-consumer black polyester. Meanwhile, the mill’s new collaboration with apparel manufacturer Crystal International builds on Cone’s Sustainblue Collection of fabrics featuring responsible cotton, recycled content and environmentally friendly processing.

The Crystal x Cone collaboration includes a range of rigid and stretch denims made with recycled post-consumer waste cotton, Repreve, and Cone’s Distilled Indigo eco-friendly dyes. Candiani bowed ReSolve, the third member of its “Re” Family fabrics. ReSolve fabrics are made with organic cotton and a customised Roica V550 degradable stretch yarn developed exclusively for Candiani by Roica’s parent company, Asahi Kasei.