European firms Tejidos Royo, Tailorlux creates ‘Lowest Impact’ denim

Two European firms have teamed up to create a denim fabric that they label “lowest impact.” The new fabric, which will have marks showing its organic provenance, is the brainchild of Spanish denim manufacturer Tejidos Royo and German traceability solutions company Tailorlux.

The businesses aim to collaborate with a Spanish cotton ginner in September to integrate Tailorlux IntegriTEX patented technology into newly harvested, high-quality cotton bales.

The technique prevents fraud, blending, and unreliable greenwashing claims by using fluorescent markers that give fibers their unique “optical fingerprint,” and therefore plays a vital role in certifying organic goods. Machine-readable smart sensors are included in the luminous pigments, allowing them to detect the dilution of original ingredients from thread to fabric to clothing.

In addition to traceability, the fabric will also use Tejidos Royo’s Dry Indigo revolutionary foam dying method, which utilizes no water and almost eliminates chemical compounds from the denim dyeing process. Tejidos Royo presented the concept in April 2018 in partnership with Gaston Systems Inc. and Indigo Mill Designs, with early-stage investment given by Kontoor Brands-owned Wrangler and Walmart.

Dry Indigo saved the mill 4.7 million liters of water, 9,696 tonnes of chemical products, and 803 megabytes of electricity from February 2019 to February 2020, and the mill was awarded the European Business Award for the Environment (EBAE) 2020-2021, Business Process, in November for its work with the technology.

Tailorlux general manager, Tobias Herzog, said that they’re really pleased with Tejidos Royo’s commitment to sustainability, and they’re excited to collaborate on this initiative since both firms [are devoted to building] a better, more sustainable textile world.