Dutch denim maker G-Star Raw is launching the most sustainable denim ever. G-Star uses 100 per cent organic cotton, which doesn’t use pesticides that are unnatural, synthetic or chemical. Its organic crops are grown from non-genetically modified seeds and the majority of global production is rain-fed.
The company has developed a new indigo technology that uses 70 per cent less chemicals, no salts, and produces no-salt byproduct. Pre-reduced indigo is combined with a liquid based organic agent that replaces the conventional use of sodium hydrosulphite — a major problem in indigo dyeing.
The conventional technique for washing denim can use nearly 2,000 gallons of water to make one pair of jeans. With G-Star 98 per cent of the water used to wash the jeans gets recycled and reused, and the small percentage left evaporates.
Other measures include replacing rivets and zippers with eco-finished metal buttons to make each garment 98 per cent recyclable, enforcing a code of conduct with suppliers and working to trace all raw materials back to their origins. For the buttons, G-Star collaborated with YKK on metal that doesn’t require electroplating baths during production, which eliminates acid and toxic chemicals.
As much as possible, G-Star uses recycled cotton from post-consumer or post-industrial waste material for its apparel.
