#Denim
ISKO took part in Amazon Destination Denim to design denim for the future
A four day extravaganza to reimagine the retail experience of finding the perfect pair of jeans: this was Amazon Destination Denim. It took place from October 24th to 27th at Berlin’s Kuehlhaus and it will continue on Amazon online hub, where customers can experience interactive features. ISKO was involved in this landmark online and offline fashion event, sharing the knowledge and expertise that made the company the denim ingredient brand behind people’s favorite jeans.
Supported by the latest innovative Amazon technology, the occasion resulted in an unprecedented scenario for the whole fashion industry. Structured in a six-week online activation and a four-day live event, it revolved around an agenda fully-packed with panels, workshops and various activities. Among these, a Digital Catwalk, a styling experience to “Discover your perfect pair” of jeans with the support of Amazon Alexa voice assistant, a selection of capsule collections gathered by leading fashion influencers and an exclusive launch party, on October 24th.
Designing denim for the future: a panel to tackle the industry’s improvement and best practices from field to shelf.
On Sunday, October 27th, ISKO sponsored and hosted the panel “Designing denim for the future”, gathering four denim experts to discuss the industry’s current situation and what more could be done to ensure a more responsible future in fashion, highlighting how the sustainability global issue might be tackled through small but effective decisions.
Targeting the entire production chain, to foster awareness and knowledge among industry players and final consumers, the discussion was led by Keith O’Brien, ISKO Marketing & Business Development Manager, and involved Elena Faleschini, ISKO Global Field Marketing Manager, Sophie Schope, G-star Sustainability Manager, Tony Tonnaer, Kings of Indigo Founder and Roian Atwood, Wrangler Senior Director of Global Sustainable Business.
Moderator: Keith O’Brian
ISKO Marketing & Business Development Manager
Keith is Marketing & Business Development Manager at ISKO, leading denim ingredient brand behind everyone’s favorite jeans. The company is committed to developing an integrated field- to-fabric approach in every step of the value chain, with a strong focus on preserving the planet, its resources and its people. Keith leads the strategic marketing activity and brand partnerships in the UK with a focus on positioning ISKO as a leader in Responsible InnovationTM in the UK market.
Elena Faleschini
ISKO Global Field Marketing Manager
Elena Faleschini is Global Field Marketing Manager at ISKO, leading denim ingredient brand for the fashion industry and pioneer in the world of responsible denim production. She manages and defines business strategies with key clients globally, overseeing marketing activations such as co-branding, events, trade shows, training, and road shows in line with the company’s Responsible InnovationTM approach.
Sophie Schope
G-star Sustainability Manager
Sofie believes that with transparency at the top of its agenda, the fashion industry can make huge changes to becoming more sustainable. Through her work as Sustainability Manager at G- STAR – implementing new strategies, working with suppliers and partners, as well as managing collaborations and new initiatives – she is navigating the denim giant into a more sustainable future.
Tony Tonnaer
Kings of Indigo Founder
Firm in the belief that neither sustainability nor quality should be compromised for a stylish end- product, Tony founded Kings of Indigo to make sustainable denim and clothing that is made to last, and does not cost the earth. The Amsterdam-based brand helps customers shop thoughtfully by being totally transparent – from the specific organic cotton content of each item to their entirely recycled labels.
Roian Atwood
Wrangler Senior Director of Global Sustainable Business
As Wrangler Senior Director of Global Sustainable Business, Roian Atwood has covered a major role in the shift to more positive practices. Wrangler has led the charge of late, developing the IndigoodTM Foam-Dye process to eliminate water waste from the dyeing process as well as use 60% less energy and produce 60% less waste.
Responsible InnovationTM to enhance industry improvement.
As emerged during the discussion and its opening video, responsibility in the fashion industry is a valuable and feasible option to be developed through awareness and collaboration. Miles Johnson’s “Light on the Land” was presented at the beginning of the panel as an example of this positive and responsible approach. Realized with the support of both ISKO and its research on style and design hub Creative RoomTM, this is a project featuring innovative textile concepts belonging to the R-TWOTM platform, the latest advancement of the mill’s reusing and recycling strategy.
These fabrics are made with a mix or blend of reused cotton, obtained from production loss with Content Claim Standard Certification (CCS) of Textile Exchange, and recycled polyester certified by the Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) or Global Recycle Standard (GRS), depending on the percentage used.
The platform delivers a futuristic and innovative responsible approach, as it allows to decrease the usage of raw materials while improving sourcing efficiency through the recovery of production losses. These are added back into the spinning process to obtain re-used cotton yarn that is fully traced, documented and audited. This verification process has been pioneered by the company in partnership with its yarn supplier Sanko, offering full clarity into the traceability of re-used cotton from field to fabric. The reused cotton is then blended with the certified recycled polyester to create R-TWOTM fabrics.
With a strong holistic Responsible InnovationTM approach deeply rooted in the company’s DNA, ISKO has committed to the quest for increasingly sustainable solutions since the very beginning.
Being the first mill in the world awarded both the EU Ecolabel and Nordic Swan Ecolabel, the company has a portfolio of 25,000+ responsibly produced textile concepts, ranging from traditional denim to cutting-edge patented technologies. Life-Cycle Assessments (LCAs) have been obtained for each one of them, ensured by independently verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPD®s). These assess the lifecycle of products and provide the water usage and carbon footprint of 1 square meter of fabric to allow our customers make responsible sourcing choices.
To further advance the development of increasingly sustainable ways to tackle textile productions and to maintain an open dialogue with all the different stakeholders, ISKO has also become part of Textile Exchange in March 2019. This global non-profit organization focuses on minimizing the impacts of the textile industry on the world’s water, soil, air and people, allowing the mill to shape and design more responsible business models and more efficient practices.
