Pangaia launches denim collection made from Himalayan nettles

London-based sustainable lifestyle brand, Pangaia, is expanding its product line with the debut of their first-ever denim collection, designed by Jonathan Cheung, a former Levi’s denim designer.

The new denim fabric is made using Himalayan nettles and organic cotton imported from India, as well as a revolutionary technology to ensure the denim is very durable, softer, and comfortable.

The pieces are then woven on a shuttle loom at a slow speed utilizing Candiani‘s water and dye saving process in Italy. Customers will be able to access product-level impact reporting through a digital passport included with each denim item.

The gender-neutral collection is available in both a darker blue rinse wash and a classic blue mid-wash and is designed for unisex size. The three-piece collection consists of a pan-sex straight leg denim pant, a women’s high-rise straight leg pant, and a unisex ’90s-inspired jacket.

Jonathan Cheung said that the denim jean is the most democratic, inclusive, hard-wearing, long-lasting, and culturally influential article of apparel in all of human history. Their approach has been similar to farm-to-table, starting with the plants to create even better, one-of-a-kind denim. This is only the start. Right now, they’re practically growing the future jeans.

According to the brand, the usage of Himalayan nettle is the first time that selvage denim has been created with fiber, continuing its quest to discover alternatives to “overproduced, resource-intensive fabrics like cotton.”

Wild Himalayan nettle was already “on the menu” when Cheung joined Pangaia’s denim project. For denim, the company looked to explore hemp and agricultural waste fibers, but nettle showed the most promise. The fiber met Pangaia’s requirements for durability and sustainability. The hollow core of the linguini-shaped fiber also has thermoregulating capabilities.

The collection’s development during covid presented “huge amounts of obstacles,” but it also encouraged partners to work in new ways. Before moving on to physical fits, the team rendered the initial examples in 3D, with the majority of them taking place via Zoom.